Students Grow Bacteria Found

in Their School
By: Shannon McAuliffe and Yael Rubinstein
E Band

Abstract:
An experiment is being conducted to figure out if the high school Leon
M. Goldstein is as dirty or clean as people believe. Samples of some
parts of the school were taken and will be analyzed after the bacteria
grows for a few days. The samples taken were of a students neck, the
elevator and a corner of a staircase. By conducting this study,
conclusions can be drawn where the most dirty place of the school
resides, and for it to be disinfected before it can harm the schools
students and faculty. As flu season begins, people should be on high
alert to try and keep as healthy as possible. In high school, students
come in contact with many other students and the objects that they
touch. Bacteria is transferred from person to person. An experiment
was held asking students to take samples of what they believed to be
the least and most infected areas of the school. After three days of
growing their substances, it is safe to say that many hypotheses were
proven wrong. Several types of bacteria and fungus created colonies in
the petri dishes. The conclusion of this experiment was that bacteria
is everywhere and there is no way of seeing them and knowing if they
may cause damage to a person. After analyzing results, the best advice
to be given is for students to wash their hands frequently and avoid
touching their hands to their faces so they will not infect themselves
with bacteria transferred onto them.

Introduction:
Although they cannot be seen, bacteria are microscopic organisms that
can be found in the air, the soil, the water, on plants and animals,
including us. They are known as the building blocks of life and fall
into a category called the prokaryotes. Bacteria consist of only one
cell, but dont let their small size fool you. There are many
different types of bacteria that can be classified by their shape,
physical features, purposes and many other qualities. Different
bacteria have different functions, some can be harmful to the body and
cause infections, while others can be beneficial. In order for us to
view bacteria, it must grow into colonies with the help of nutrients.
Bacteria reproduce by a process called binary fission where a cell
divides into two identical daughter cells. During this process, DNA
replicates to produce a clone of the original cell.

Methods and Materials:

For this experiment, swabs of clean and dirty objects were taken. Two
petri dishes filled with nutrient agar, a substance that helps the
bacteria grow, were used to house the samples. The petri dishes were
split into 2 portions to separate the clean side from the dirty side.
Sterile swabs were moistened with distilled water and rubbed against
the objects chosen to analyze. The clean are chosen was a students

neck, and the dirty areas consisted of the elevator and the corner of
a staircase. After transferring whatever the swabs picked up to the
petri dishes, they were placed in an incubator of 35 degrees celsius
and 40% humidity for the span of three days.

Results:
In the first petri dish, not much bacteria was grown. On side A, there
were tiny, barely noticeable dots. On side B, a mixture of large
yellowish-orangish circles were visible along with many white,
crystally dots. In the second petri dish, there was a very significant
growth for both sides. On side A, a group of large, white circular
dots surrounded one yellow dot, twice the size of the white ones. On
side B, yellow dots, white dots and fuzzy brown clusters surrounded a
large dark brown colony. There was also a visible growth of clear,
whitish clumps layering the other growths.

Discussion:
According to the results, the high school may not be as clean as its
occupants might have hoped. In this experiment, the areas chosen were
thought to be the cleanest and dirtiest areas of the school. The
students neck was hoped to not grow as much bacteria as the other
samples because she said she had showered that morning, ridding
herself of most bacteria. The elevator was sampled because many people
enter and exit it, and even though people do not spend a lot of time
in it, it was assumed that it was filled with many germs. The corner
of the staircase was chosen because it already looked dirty and dusty.
A swab of the crevices were taken because it probably collected and
trapped bacteria that was building up. The petri dishes showed
significant growths for all the samples taken. Although one petri
dishes agar evaporated and not as much bacteria was able to grow,
there was still visible growth. In the first petri dish, the sample of
the elevator grew a type of white, crystally fungus and a few specs of
bacteria growth. On the second petri dish, the students neck grew
bacteria and the sample of the staircase was very infected. Fungus and
several bacterias grew colonies over the three day time span. After
this experiment, the school should be more thorough when cleaning
areas of the school. These bacterias and fungi may be harmful to
people if they are exposed to them.