Introduction:

The sole purpose of this experiment is to see if fungus

can grow on white crust less bread that has been treated
with the following substances: apple juice (acid), water
(neutral) and liquid hand soap (base).
The reason I chose these liquids is because these are
items we us everyday for various purposes. For example we
drink apple juice because of its vitamins, water is a
necessity for life and we use soap to sterilize our hands.
Other than the reasons mentioned earlier, my other
goal is to see what kind of environment fungi need, or to
grow best in.
In this experiment I used white bread because white
bread will not interfere with the countless colors of fungi.
Apple juice has a pH of 3, the water has a pH 0f 7 and
the liquid hand soap has a pH of 10.

Hypothesis:

Using my prior knowledge, I can say that molds an
only grow on bread that has a neutral substance in it
because bases are used to bacteria and molds, while acids
may intervene with the mold spores and may react with it.

Materials:

1) 12 white bread slices [crust less (ingredients: white
enriched flour, yeast and water)]

2) Concentrate dapple juice [(ACID) ingredients: apple
juice concentrate, water and sugar]

3) Liquid hand soap (BASE)

4) Water (NEUTRAL)

5) 12 3X4 reclosable bags

6) 3 teaspoons

7) 12 garage sale labels.

Procedure:

1) Designate each of the teaspoons to the usage of
basic, neutral and acidic substances.

2) Put a teaspoon of the basic substance on 4 slices of
bread.

3) Do the same as procedure 2 for the neutral and the
acidic substances.

4) Number the reclosable bags 1-12.

5) Put the 4 slices of basic bread in the bags
numbered 1-4.

6) Do the same thing for the neutral bread and
acidic bread. (Put neutral bread in bags
numbered 5-8 and put acidic bread in the bags
numbered 9-12.

7) Put the 12 garage sale labels on the bags.

8) Write in the labels:

9) Bag number 1: base, warm /light.

10) Bag number 2: base, warm/dark.

11) Bag number 3: base, cool/light.

12) Bag number 4: base, cool/dark.

13) Bag number 5: neutral, warm/light.

14) Bag number 6: neutral, warm/dark

15) Bag number 7: neutral, cool/light.

16) Bag number 8: neutral, cool/dark.

17) Bag number 9: acid, warm/light.

18) Bag number 10: acid, warm/dark

19) Bag number 11: acid, cool/light.

20) Bag number 12: acid, cool/dark.

21) Put the bags to its designated environment and
observe.


Data:

WARM/LIGHT WARM/DARK COOL/LIGHT COOL/DARK
1) Fungus grew
in small
quantities
around the
piece of bread,
except directly
on the basic
substance

2) Fungus
grew, but in
very little
quantities
around the
piece of bread.
There was an
absence of
mold on the
place where a
basic substance
was present.
The color of
the gray, but in
some parts it
was black.

pH






BASE
3) Fungus
completely
covered the
piece of bread.
The color of it
is gray, but in
some portions
its black

4) Fungus
grew around
the edge of
the piece of
bread. There
was an
absence of
mold directly
on the basic
substance.
The most
visible colors
of mold are:
gray, black
and in
extremely
small
quantities are
yellow molds
5) Nearly
covered by
fungus or molds
where the
neutral
substance
(water) was
present. The
color of the
mold was black
and gray


NEUTRAL
6) Fungus grew
in small
amounts
around the
piece of bread.
In the center of
the bread is a
golden kind of
fungus. The
most visible
colors of
fungus are:
gray, black,
yellow, and
golden

7) The piece
of bread is
almost
covered a
golden type of
molds with
patches of
black and gray
molds.

8) The piece
of bread is
completely
covered by a
mixture of
golden, black
and gray
molds.
9) A turquoise
type of fungus
has completely
covered the
piece of bread.
There is also a
strip of yellow
fungus

10) A turquoise
type of fungus
has completely
covered the
piece of bread.
A white kind of
fungus is also
visible.


ACID
11) A
turquoise type
of fungus has
completely
covered the
piece of bread.
At the bottom
of the piece of
bread is some
golden fungus.

12) A
turquoise type
of fungus has
completely
covered the
piece of
bread. Also,
there are some
patches a
golden
fungus.

Conclusion:

After the experiment I now can conclude that fungi
(molds) can unanimously grow on neutral bread. It can
grow on bread that has been treated with a weak acidic
substance. Never-the-less molds cannot grow on basic
bread, so it grows around the edge of the bread where the
basic substance wasnt present.
From this experiment I learned that fungus could
basically grow in any type of environment. I could have
significantly made this experiment better by carefully
controlling the temperature and humidity fluctuations.
Other than using only one type of the basic, neutral and
acidic substances, I could have used a wide range of them.

Bibliography:

I) Websites:
i) Molds.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/
nonprint/ (12 Nov 2004)
ii) Mold Guide.
http://epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldguide.ht
ml (12 Nov 2004)
iii) Fungus
http://www.franklin.com/present.html
(5 Nov 2004)
iv) Bkgrnd
http://www.geocities.com/~ymjcath/i
mg/bkgrnd/ (5 Nov 2004)
v) Soyhealth
http://www.planthealth.wise.edu/soyh
ealth/cause.html (5 Nov 2004)
vi) Mold01
http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/wee
klypics/-504.html (5 Nov 2004)
vii) Slime moulds
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/protist
a/slimemolds.html (24 Nov 2004)
viii) 20Mold http://www.pnw-
ag.wsu.edu/smallgrains/Snow%20Mol
d.html (24 Nov 2004)
ix) Indoor air
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/
indoorair/mold/ (15 Nov 2004)
x) Mold in dry wall
http://www.emarresources/photos/mol
dondrywall/ (15 Nov 2004)

II) Books:
i) Money, Nicholas P. Mr.
Bloomfields Orchard. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2002.
ii) Christensen, Clyde M. The Mold and
Man. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1975.

III) Encyclopedia Articles:
i) Molds Encarta Encyclopedia.
2004ed.