Love of Lab 1

Name: Jenneth Chin T. Corvera Date Performed: August 17, 2021

Section: XII Carson Date Submitted: August 22, 2021
Rating: ___________

Spontaneous Generation vs. Biogenesis

Introduction:
Spontaneous generation or abiogenesis is the idea that life could appear from a
nonliving material. On the other hand, biogenesis is the belief that life originates from pre-
existing life.
Objective: Determine if maggots can be spontaneously generated from meat using a controlled
experiment.
Materials:
3 glasses of the same size
3 slices of fresh meat (pork, beef, chicken) or mashed fruits (potato, papaya) as substitute
Clean stocking or gauze
Rubber bands
Cap or cover, cork
*Estimated Time Frame- 1 -5 days
Procedure:
1. Clean and dry three jars.
2. Put a piece of fresh meat at the bottom of the three jars.
3. Keep the first jar open and leave it outside the room where it will be exposed to flies. Label
this Jar A.
4. Seal the mouth of the second jar with clean stockings or gauze using a rubber band. Keep it
beside Jar A. Label this Jar B.
5. Tightly put the cap and seal the third jar. Keep it inside your house or room (dry area). Label
this Jar C.
6. Observe the appearance of maggots after several days to two weeks. Continue the observation
until you observe the growth of maggots.
7. Record your observations.

Observations: Anytime of the Day

Day 1:
At around 7:30 pm with the temperature of 26°C, the jars were closely observed. The
meat in jar A looked a little drier compared to 7 hours ago. It had no foul smell or
whatsoever, nor did it have any appearance of maggots, as to be expected. The meat in jar
B looked the same and just like the meat in jar A, did not have any foul smell. The meat
in jar C also had no changes in its appearance and in its smell. Meanwhile, the banana in
jar A already started to become slightly brown due to the heat from hours ago. The
banana in jar B had little to no discoloration compared to jar A, as it was sealed with
gauze. Lastly, the banana in jar C had no changes. All of the jars exhibited no changes in
smell and their seals were not removed.
Day 2:
The subjects were observed at 12:20 pm with the temperature being 32°C. The meat in jar
A seemed to be surrounded by an oily, almost yellowish liquid (assumably, liquified fat)
that was drying up and the meat had a slight bad smell. It also had a spot where mold was
forming. The meat in jar B also leaked the same liquid however it was notably less than
jar A and Jar C, and there were no signs of mold. Finally, the meat in jar C leaked the
same amount of liquid as jar A and had no signs of mold but there was condensation
happening inside the container. For the banana in jar A, it looked drier than the first day,
but its center is noticeably turning light brown. The banana in jar B looked the same as
yesterday, and same goes with Jar C except there was also an occurrence of condensation
in the container of Jar C.
Day 3:
 At 4:00 pm, the samples were wet due to the rain as they were left outside. Only the
contents of Jars C were dry. The contents of Jar B were only slightly wet as the gauze
served as protection. However, the contents of Jar A were completely drenched in rain.
This occurrence might have an effect on the subjects. The subjects are then moved to a
dryer, safer but still open area. They were observed once again at 6:00 pm. The meat in
Jar A had two small groups of fly eggs latched on to one side meanwhile the meats in Jar
B and C had no fly eggs, though jars B and C have shown subtle, not so noticeable
molds. The smell of Jar A had gotten worse, but still bearable and the container of Jar C
haven’t stopped condensing yet. There were also two flies flying around the meat jars.
Meanwhile the banana in jar A continued to discolor, most especially its center. The rest
of the bananas did not exhibit any notable changes but condensation was still occurring in
Jar C. Only the meat in Jar A had a change in its smell.

Day 4:
With a temperature of 33°C, the containers were observed at 9:00 am under a sunny
weather. Both groups of fly eggs on the pork meat in Jar A have finally hatched, and the
mold appeared to be thicker. It had a sour smell, became darker in color and the liquified
fat is starting to get dry. A fly was seen sitting on the meat 30 minutes after the
observation. The meat in jar B did not have any eggs or maggots anywhere, even on top
of the gauze. Similar to jar A, the yellowish liquid surrounding the meat in jar B began to
dry up. Surprisingly, the liquid that the pork meat in Jar C leaked did not start to solidify,
and is still in the same state as Day 3. The banana in Jar A was covered in tiny spots of
fuzzy, white mold and became much darker in color in general. There also seemed to be
mold appearing on the bottom surface of the container. The banana in Jar B also started
to grow molds on its top layer and showed discoloration. Meanwhile, the banana in jar C
looked moist due to the condensation in the container, showed no signs of molds, and
only its edges became slightly discolored.
Day 5:
The subjects were observed at 9:10 pm with a temperature of 26°C. The maggots in Jar A
appeared to be much fatter than the previous day. The pork fat liquid that solidified a few
hours ago has almost disappeared, seemingly being eaten by the maggots. Some parts of
the meat turned completely dark brown, the rest a deep red or Dijon yellow. The smell
has become unbearably unpleasant. The gauze covering of Jar B still didn’t have any fly
eggs or maggots sitting on top, and the liquified pork fat in Jar C has not yet solidified.
The meats in both jar B and C had no additional mold growth, but their smells have
become more unpleasant than Day 4. The banana in jar A became fuzzier due to the
white mold and spots of new, greenish mold appeared on top near its center. The smell is
slightly overwhelming. The white mold on top of the banana in jar B began to spread, and
the color of its edges turned darker. Lastly, the molds on the bottom of the container of
Jar C has also become more noticeable, and only few parts of the banana became brown.
Description/ Introduction
The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) was one of the earliest recorded scholars
to articulate the theory of spontaneous generation, the notion that life can arise from nonliving
matter. However, an Italian physician known as Francesco Redi (1626–1697), performed an
experiment in 1668 that first disproved the idea that maggots spontaneously generate on meat left
out in the open air. In this 5-day experiment, we are to see and document which of the two,
biogenesis or abiogenesis, will occur. Conducted in a controlled environment that is vulnerable
to other factors, the subjects of this experiment — three slices of raw pork meat and three slices
of a ripe banana — are kept in different settings. The seals are not removed throughout the
experiment to ensure quality and reliability.
Table:
Pork (After 5 days) Jar A Jar B Jar C
Growth of Fungi Yes Yes Yes
Smell Putridly decay / Pungent / Foul Slightly sour
Rotting flesh
Color of meat Dark brown, deep Yellowish brown Light brown with
red with Dijon with faint pink pink and yellow
yellow
Growth of other organisms Yes (maggots) No No

Banana (After 5 days) Jar A Jar B Jar C

Growth of Fungi Yes Yes Yes
Smell Strong, overripe Musty, earthy, Diluted, damp,
smell slightly tropical estry / sweet
Color of banana Brown with subtle Yellow with Yellow
green on top brown tones
Growth of other organisms No No No

Conclusion:
To conclude, flies are necessary to produce flies; the maggots do not spontaneously arise
from rotting meat. In the experiment, only the meat in Jar A had fly eggs— which soon
hatched into maggots. This was possible because Jar A was left open and was swarmed
with multiple flies throughout the experiment. The flies could not get into Jars B and C,
so no maggots were produced. Although molds grew in all of the setups, it was because
before the experiment was conducted, the containers and subjects were already exposed
to air — which had mold spores in them. Mold is a simple, tiny living organism that
grows wherever it gets enough water to reproduce. This means that the growth of fungi in
the containers also came from a living organism, just like how maggots came from flies.
Both did not come from a nonliving matter. Therefore, life is necessary to produce life;
and that the hypothesis is disproven.
Post- Experiment Questions:
1. What was the hypothesis of the experiment?
The hypothesis of the experiment was that maggots and other living microorganisms can
be spontaneously generated from non-living matter with the use of a controlled experiment.
2. What is a controlled experiment? How is it applied in your experiment?
A controlled experiment is a type of experiment in which the factors are being kept
constant and consistent. It is done under controlled conditions. The subjects of the experiment
are separated into one or more control groups, increasing the reliability of the results. This is
applied in my experiment since my subjects are starting under the same conditions and
temperature. They are all placed outside, and the sizes of the subjects are similar. Therefore, the
variables of my experiment are fair and constant.
3. Why do you observe growth of fungi in all setups after several days of experiment?
Support your answer.
Growth of fungi in all setups are observed after several days of experiment since the
containers are not ‘air-tight.’ The subjects were already exposed to air before they were placed in
the containers. Mold spores are everywhere. They are found in the air we breathe and they stay
airborne indefinitely. They can attach itself to anything such as clothing, shoes, etc. In this case,
they are attached to the containers and more importantly, the subjects, allowing growth of fungi
to occur, despite jar B and jar C being sealed. Mold spores are heat resistant, cold resistant, and
can survive almost permanently without water or nutrients. Unless the pores were killed (via air
purifier, etc.) and the subjects were sterilized before the experiment, growth of fungi wouldn’t be
possible.
Documentation:
Before

Jar A Jar B Jar C

(Pork meat; August 17, 2021)

Jar A Jar B Jar C

(Banana slices; August 17, 2021)

After
Jar A Jar B Jar C

(Pork meat; August 21, 2021)

Jar A Jar B Jar C

(Banana slices; August 21, 2021)