Alejandro Fonseca Cruz 1004

BIOLOGY LAB REPORT

BACTERIAL FERMENTATION
Mother of vinegar
 Background
The mother of vinegar is a slimy membrane composed of yeast and bacterial cells that
develop on the surface, where through the process of fermentation produce alcohol and
then by other fermentation process produce VINEGAR. The mother of vinegar is also
an acetic acid bacterium that develops on fermenting alcoholic liquids, which turns
alcohol into acetic acid with the help of oxygen from the air.
The first fermentation that it produces in anaerobic conditions, in the dark and in the
absence of electron acceptors, organic compounds are catabolized by strictly anaerobic
or facultative anaerobic bacteria (mother of vinegar) by internally balanced REDOX
reactions, that creates alcohol and produce Carbon dioxide; then start the acetic acid
bacterium’s fermentation this reaction goes from alcohol into vinegar, and produces
acetate, this fermentation is called homoacetic acid fermentation, for doing those
fermentation with need a type of sugar, and in this case is the “PANELA”. This sugar is
a disaccharide of glucose and fructose.

MOTHER OF VINEGAR little mother of vinegar in process of fermentation

Alejandro Fonseca Cruz 1004

Table 1: Variables
INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT CONTROLLED
The sugar (panela) CO2 production The sugar (panela)
Time Alcohol produce Time
Oxygen Water of panela
Sun light
temperature

WHICH SAMPLE OF “THE MOTHER OF VINEGAR” REACTION PRODUCE MORE

CARBON DIOXIDE IN 120 SECONDS?
Table 2: Control Variables
CONTROLLED VARIABLE METHOD OF CONTROL
The sugar (panela) The amount of sugar take into boiling water
Time The reaction will be allowed to proceed for a
week. Time for each trial
Water of panela The volume of this liquid reaction
Sun light Control the sun light, by taking the bottle of
the reaction to a dark place
Temperature I would us a temperature of 40ºC for the water
bath

The mother of vinegar will take like 8 days for start producing carbon dioxide because; the
sugar we use is saccharose, a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, so it takes more time to
break up the bonds, so the sample 2 would produce more carbon dioxide than sample 1 and
3.

MATERIALS:
 1 Mother of vinegar
 3 Bottles
 500ml of water
 1 dark place
 Slab of “Panela”
 Data logger
PROCEDURE:
1. We boil the 500ml of water, and then we take the slab of “Panela” and take it into
the boiling water, to dissolve it. We wait until the solution cool down.
2. We clean up the 3 bottles, and put the Mother of vinegar into it, then set the
aqueous solution of panel cool down into it.
3. Then we seal the bottles, and take them to a dark place, for make the reaction start.
Alejandro Fonseca Cruz 1004

4. Take 6 ml of the yeast for each trial.

5. In the Lab, we must take three trials for each bottle of the carbon dioxide produced
at 40ºC, and after a Water bath.

DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

Sample one, 2 weeks of Fermentation
Sample two, 1 month of Fermentation
Sample three, 1 week of Fermentation
Table 3: Raw data Collected of Carbon Dioxide Produced
TRIAL1 TRIAL2 TRIAL3
SAMPLE 1 (83.80-81.23)/120 0.00525 0.00839
SAMPLE 2 0.01283 0.01375 0.01333
SAMPLE3 0.00425 0.00908 0.009

Table 1
0.025
0.02
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
trial1 trial2 trial3

sample1 sample2 sample3

We use this formula:

Table four & five: Average of Carbon dioxide

Average

sample1 0,01168

sample2 0,013303333
Alejandro Fonseca Cruz 1004

sample3 0,007443333

Average
0.014
0.012
0.01
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
sample1 sample2 sample3

Error bars and 2-sampTTest

P>0.05 is Insignificant when P<0.05 is Significant
S1-S2 P= 0.77
S1-S3 P= 0.48
S2-S3 P= 0.063
All are Insignificant
Standard Deviation :
Sample1 Sx= 0.0856
Sample2 Sx= 0.00046057
Sample3 Sx= 0.0027

S1-S2
0.0135 0.013303333
0.013
0.0125
0.012 0.01168
0.0115
0.011
0.0105
sample1 sample2
Alejandro Fonseca Cruz 1004

S1-S3
0.014
0.01168
0.012
0.01
0.008 0.007443333
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
sample1 sample3

S2-S3
0.014 0.013303333
0.012
0.01
0.008 0.007443333
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
sample2 sample3

Conclusion
I accept part my Hypothesis because the Sample 2 produced more CO 2 than sample 1 and 3,
because it have more time of fermentation (1 Month) so it can break up the bonds of saccharose,
meanwhile the Sample 1 and 3 got less time for fermentation (1 week, 2 weeks). The only mistake
in my hypothesis was that, I said the mother of vinegar starts to produce carbon dioxide in 8 days.
It start to produce CO2 earlier.

Observations
In the Lab, I got some mistakes, I leave the tube of the data logger close to the heater and it burns,
also I leave the beaker of the water bath get over the 40ºC.

Something that can help the experiment is to get the beaker of the water bath, close to the stove
when we get the temperature required, to have a constant temperature.

http://pitasrock.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_vinegar
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetobacteria
http://web.oranim.ac.il/courses/microbiology/Bacterial%20Fermentation%20Nature.pdf