Jackie Flaherty Biology Bacteria Project.docx

In Mrs. Bernier's Biology class, students were put into groups to conduct an experiment. In this experiment, groups created a hypothesis to test how bacteria would react to different antibiotic disks. Groups took swabs of bacteria from four different objects or locations in their school and lightly spread the bacteria across agar that was placed in Petri dishes. For the next couple of days, students would monitor and observe the bacteria growth around each antibiotic disk and also a blank disk. For this experiment my hypothesis was accepted. The Penicillin killed gram-positive bacteria that were located in penicillin section; however there were still some colonies of bacteria that had grown in that section which means the bacteria that formed was gram-negative. Same with the antibiotic Kanamycin, this killed the gram-negative bacteria in its section but did not kill the gram-positive bacteria which still grew. After recording our data into packets that were given to us by our teacher, students then used Microsoft Office to type out a full lab report. In Microsoft Office, I used graphs and charts to show my data that my group and I collected. Throughout this project I had many strengths and weaknesses. My strengths included, taking swab samples and monitoring the different growths of bacteria. My weaknesses however, included not recording data right away and waiting until later. This had a negative effect on me, because I was not able to record some of the different observations that I made. If I were to do this project again, I would focus more on recording my data and observations earlier, so that I don't miss out on any vital information. The group and I learned a lot from this investigation. We learned just how much bacteria Is on the objects that we come in contact with. The thing that shocked us the most, was just how much bacteria was found on the water fountain which; without any antibiotic to fight off and kill  bacteria had a growth of twenty-nine colonies!  This was an eye opening experiment. It just goes to show how much bacteria humans interact with every day.

Standards Assessed:

GSEs

LS1 (9-11)-3b: Students demonstrate an understanding of structure and function-survival requirements by explaining the relationship between and amongst the specialized structures of a cell and their function (e.g. transport of materials, energy transfer, protein building, waste disposal, information feedback, and even movement).

Ls2 (9-11)-3b

Students demonstrate an understanding an understanding of equilibrium in an ecosystem describing ways in which humans can modify ecosystems and describe and predict the potential impact (e.g. human population growth; technology; destruction of habits; agriculture; pollution; and atmospheric changes).

Common Core

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy. WHST.9-10.2 Write information/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technology processes.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2a Introduce a topic and organized ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details , quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10c Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHTS.9-10e Establishes and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of discipline in which they are writing.
• CCSS.ELA-Literact.WHTS.9-10.f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

This was a very fun and challenging lab that I enjoyed. It was amazing to find out just how much bacteria people come into contact with every day. For this lab I received a grade of 90. I agree with this grade, because I put a lot of time and effort into this lab and my grade benefitted from it. Based on my teacher’s comments and assessment, I lost point on minor things such as grammar and punctuation. For the future I will make sure to revise my lab reports multiple times to check for these minor errors to save me points. I hope to do more labs like this in the near future.