Where are the most germs in your school
Abstract
Germs are microorganisms that are found everywhere in the world including humans, animals, and even plants. There are four types of germs: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. One interesting fact is that germs reproduce faster in certain places than others and many don’t know about it. This lab will talk about where in schools are germs multiplied at the fastest rates.
Introduction
Have adults ever tell you to wash your hands before you eat? If not, you may gain the initiative to do so. Bacteria are single-celled organisms, so small human sight can’t see them without the help of a microscope. A microscope lets a human eye visualize objects as small as 0.2 microns making it a tool very important for one to understand how microorganisms work. The question arises how can one figure out the germiest place at schools? Well since bacteria grows so fast in seconds we can sample different locations by using a technique called streaking. Streaking is a procedure where we utilize agar plates to isolate a colony of microorganisms. With the use of this technique and of a microscope we can visualize where are the largest colonies of germs found. Hypothesis: Human waste is said to carry a lot of germs. My hypothesis would be that the largest colony of germs will be found in a bathroom and the least will be found on a cafeteria tray as they should always be clean for next use.
Materials and Methods
Materials used:
- Microscope- aids human sight to see smaller organisms
- A source of bacteria (different locations throughout the school)
- A swab – helps in the process of streaking
- Lysol – kills unwanted germs from the agar plate
- Agar plate- helps isolate a small portion of a microscopic colony
- Paper towel- keeps your working area clean
- Media- Attracts microorganisms
Procedure:
Image 1
The process all starts with a agar plate. The agar plate helps isolate a portion of one colony of microorganisms. To make sure this is done correctly the agar plate has to be wiped using a paper towel and Lysol. We then place some media on the agar plate. Media looks like jelly and contains nutrients for bacteria to thrive on and reproduce. After, you will sterilize the test surface for example a handle of a water fountain and drag a swab across the surface. Followingly, you will push the tip of the swab across the agar plate mainly on one side and turn it 12 o’clock and repeat the process on another side. (You may repeat this step various times for better results) You will place the agar plate under a microscope and record the results.
Results
Table 1
As table 1 illustrates the largest colony of germs can be found in the classroom’s water fountain. This is because it is exposed to interactions with people’s mouth and hands. Everytime you shake your friends hand germs are passed the average being 1,200 CFU/in sq. The results I found very surprising that also countered my hypothesis was that there was less germs in a toilet seat than a keyboard. I expected that a toilet seat is exposed to human waste and for that reason it should have the most germs. Another surprising result was that cafeteria trays have the third highest colony of germs found in a school, something that shouldn’t happen as students place their food to consume.
Discussion
The purpose of this lab is to answer the question: Where is the germiest place at a school? The best technique I had found that would help me find out this answer was streaking. As I stated above streaking helps isolate one colony of microorganisms and by doing this we can observe the population under a microscope.
- Find the targeted locations- This was very important because you can’t test things close to each other as they would have similar results.
- Streaking (Agar plate)- This is the most important step in this experiment this is because all the results would be based on this step and if done wrong it can change the results vastly.
- Recording results- Recording results is also a major step in this experiment because it helps you visualize the results after you’re done with the experiment. It can also help others attempting to do the same experiment as they can view your results and compare.
Conclusion
Lastly, as I stated in my hypothesis I believed the largest colony of germs would be found in a bathroom seat. The experiment data proves otherwise coming at the third lowest population of germs found in 10 different locations at a school. With the help of a microscope and the technique of streaking we are able to conclude our results that the largest colony of germs can be found in a classroom’s water fountain and the smallest colony of germs can be found at the classroom’s pet cage. To improve results one should repeat the step of streaking more than one time at a location something I would do.
References
“The 7 Germiest Places in Schools.” SSC Services for Education, 30 Jan. 2019, utilized Image 1 and gathered information about the procedures of this lab report. sscserv.com/germs-in-school/.
“Germiest Places at Schools.” NSF RSS, utilized Table 1 for my lab report twww.nsf.org/consumer-resources/studies-surveys-infographics/germ-studies/germiest-places-schools.
