PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

(University of the City of

Manila) Intramuros, Manila

College of Nursing

PRE-LABORATORY REPORT in MICROBIOLOGY

YEAST BALLOONS EXPERIMENT

Student Name: Instructor’s Name: Prof. Ernesto F. Mania Jr.

Date the lab was performed/submitted: 04/29/2022 EXPERIMENT #: 1

I. Introduction / Purpose

Yeasts are unicellular microorganisms of the fungi kingdom. The organisms in the Kingdom Fungi are
not capable of making their own food. Just like humans, yeasts get energy from digesting sugar. They rely on
sugar found in their environment to provide them with this energy so that they can grow and reproduce. The
chemical reaction of oxygen and food to create energy is known as metabolism. There are many species of
yeast, and each has a particular food source. Certain yeast feed on a variety of natural sources of sugar such as
fruits, nectar from plants, and molasses from the plant crop called sorghum. Others break down wood and corn
stalks. In doing this, a compound called ethanol is produced. This compound can be used in our cars like
gasoline. Another species breaks down sugar from grain into alcohol. Others break down fruits into wine, which
is another type of alcohol. Bread recipes rely on yeast to break down sugar in our dough. All these processes are
called fermentation.
Yeasts are facultative anaerobe, which means that they can respire or ferment depending upon
environmental conditions. In the presence of oxygen, respiration takes place which what is called aerobic
respiration where the process requires sugar and oxygen and produces water and carbon dioxide as metabolic
waste products. Anaerobic respiration is when fermentation occurs without the presence of oxygen. Both
processes require sugar to produce cellular energy but in this chemical reaction of fermentation, ethanol and
carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products are produced. For the yeast cell, this chemical reaction is necessary
to produce the energy for life. The alcohol and the carbon dioxide are waste products produced by the yeast. It
is these waste products that we take advantage of.
In this experiment, yeasts are eating sugar that is reacting with the oxygen in the air. As a result of this
chemical metabolic process, the yeasts release carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. These CO2 gas molecules then rise,
inflating the balloons. The main types of sugar are Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, and Lactose. Just as humans
have a favorite food, yeasts have a preferred type of sugar. Since yeasts can’t taste, they define their favorite
sugar by how easy it is to break down the sugar. In this experiment, students will use the respiration abilities of
yeast to blow up balloons. This activity will reinforce the basic principles of respiration as a fundamental
metabolic process for living organisms using yeast as a model. The students will observe the yeast’s preferred
sugar by observing how much each balloon expands with gas as the largest balloon is a result of more sugar
consumption and more CO2 bubbles.
II. Materials and Method

5 different types of sugars: • Warm water

- Granulated sugar (sucrose), • Active dry yeast
- corn syrup (glucose), • 6 balloons
- milk (lactose), • Paper
- honey (fructose) • Scotch tape
- Artificial Sweetener • Plastic cover
• Laboratory gowns
6 narrow-mouthed jars or bottles • Rag/ towel
- Bottle 1- No Sugar • Pencil/Ballpen
- Bottle 2- Granulated sugar (sucrose), • Ruler
- Bottle 3- corn syrup (glucose), • Plastic bag/Garbage
- Bottle 4- Milk (lactose),
- Bottle 5- Honey (fructose)
- Bottle 6- Artificial Sweetener

Step-by-step Methods:

1. Put 2 teaspoons of one type of sugar into one of the jars or bottles. Repeat with the other
types of sugar, labeling each jar or bottle with the type of sugar inside it.
2. Leave one bottle without sugar as an experimental control.
3. Add 3 tablespoons of warm water (~120°F) to each bottle.
4. Add 2 teaspoons of yeast to each bottle.
5. Secure a balloon over the top of each bottle and swirl gently. 6. Wait several hours and
observe.
6. Submit your documentation and prepare to present your results next meeting

III. References

Laird, P. & Cosgrove, J. (n.d.). A Swell Swab: Yeast Fermentation. Science in the Real World
Microbes In Action. Retrieved from
https://www.umsl.edu/microbes/Classroom%20Activities/Swell%20Lab.pdf

Science Bob (n.d.). Blow up a balloon with yeast. Experiments. Retrieved from
https://sciencebob.com/blow-up-a-balloon-with-yeast/

McClure, S. (2018). Sugar and Yeast Balloon Experiment. Happy Brown House. Retrieved from
https://happybrownhouse.com/sugar-yeast-balloon-experiment/