Our team performed two experiments: one one the effect of different cleaning agents and one on which area of a bathroom has the greatest amount of bacteria. below are the full formal lab reports for each.

Experiment 1: The Effect of Various Cleaning Agents on E. Coli K17

Introduction

Our team, the Funkadelic Four, studied the affect of different cleaning agents on bacteria. We used a harmless strain of E. Coli for our experiment: E. Coli K17. We did not want to accidentally culture any dangerous bacteria for safety reasons. We used three disinfectants: bleach, a waxie spray, and an ammonia solution. Both the bleach and the ammonia had a concentration of one part disinfectant to ten parts water. The waxie spray, known s the Solution Station 700 Disinfectant Cleaner, is mostly made up of Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride. So this spray resembled our ammonia solution greatly, except that it had a different concentration of ammonia. It is 100% soluble in water; yet, our team decided to not dilute this spray since when used in classrooms it is usually not diluted. We chose these three disinfectants because they are commonly used in our community. We had visited three hospitals, all of which used ammonia to disinfect their premises. We knew that our school as well as many others in our community used the waxie 700 spray to take care of bacteria in their exercise equipment. For example, our school uses this spray on gym mats after they have been used. Finally, we knew that all of our school’s science labs used bleach to clean their countertops after an experiment involving bacteria. We became interested in finding who was using the best disinfectant, so we formed this experiment. Our research helped us form a problem and a testable hypothesis. The purpose of our experiment was to find out which disinfectant best combated this harmless strain of E. Coli. Our hypothesis was that the ammonia would be the most effective cleaning agent. This seemed like a logical hypothesis since many hospitals used this disinfectant. Seeing as most hospitals would test their disinfectants before use, it seemed logical that ammonia was the best cleaning agent.

Problem: Which disinfectant kills the most bacteria? The waxie spray, the ammonia, or the bleach?

Hypothesis: The ammonia kills the most E. Coli K17 since it is used by most hospitals.

Materials

* Seven petri dishes each with a standard agar.
* 750 m L of LB nutrient broth
* Four plastic vials (microcentrifuge tubes)
* Foam tube rack
* Three colonies of E. Coli from a starter agar plate
* Ammonia solution diluted in water in a one to ten ratio
* Bleach solution diluted in water in a one to ten ratio
* Waxie 700 Spray
* Ten sterile transfer pipettes
* Thirteen sterile loops
* Cup for biohazard waste
* Two Roles of Tape: of different colors
* Incubator
* Refrigerator
* Goggles
* Aprons
* Gloves
* Sharpie Pen
* Digital Microscope
* Notebook and Pencil
* Seven Index Cards
* Ruler
* Camera

Methods

Safety precautions: Wear goggles, gloves, and an apron at all times. It is essential to prevent contamination, seeing as even the least dangerous strain of bacteria can be made extremely dangerous. Conduct experiments in an enclosed room with only people following the above precautions. Never set down a loop or pipette that have already been used. Fill a cup with bleach solution, labeling it “Biohazard Waste.” Place all used tools in this cup. Keep the cup far away from reach of anyone so that it does not accidentally get knocked over. Do not bring any instruments such as notebooks, pencils, cameras, etc. near the experimenting area if you have already touched the bacteria. Finally, when all the bacteria samples have been safely stowed and the agar plates taped together, clean the tables carefully with the bleach solution. Remove gloves, apron, and goggles and stow them away in their proper locations. Important: whenever opening agar plates open them slightly to avoid any risk of contamination.

1. First label four vials as follows: E. Coli, Ammonia, Bleach, and Waxie. Place all four in the foam tube rack on the table.
2. Add 750 m L of the LB broth to the plastic vial labeled “E. Coli.”
3. Slightly open the starter plate to avoid contamination. Using a sterile loop, lift one colony of the bacteria, noting the size of the colony.
4. Close the starter plate and open the tube labeled “E. Coli”. Place the loop in the tube and swirl rapidly for ten seconds.
5. Place the sterile loop in the Biohazard Waste cup.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 two more times using a new sterile loop each time. Make sure the colonies are of an equal size.
7. Close the starter plate and place in the incubator. It is not needed for the rest of the experiment.
8. Lift the plastic vial from the rack and mix it by holding it firmly and flicking it. Do this many times until you are certain that the E. coli has been spread equally across the entire surface.
9. Fill the other three plastic vials with 250 m L of the appropriate solution, using a sterile pipette each time. In the vial labeled “Bleach” put 300 m L of the 10% bleach solution, and so on. Place all pipettes in the Biohazard Waste cup.
10. Label the agar plates as follows: Control, Ammonia 1 st Bacteria, Bleach 1 st Bacteria, Waxie 1 st Bacteria, Ammonia 2 nd Bacteria, Bleach 2 nd Bacteria, and Waxie 2 nd Bacteria. Make sure the labels are on the opposite side of the agar.
11. Using a sterile pipette, add 100 m L of the ammonia solution from the plastic vial to the agar plate labeled Ammonia 2 nd Bacteria. Close the tube. Place the pipette into the Biohazard Waste cup.
12. Using a sterile loop, skate the ammonia evenly across the agar plate. Place the sterile loop in the Biohazard Waste cup. Close the plate.
13. Repeat steps 11-12 with the waxie and the bleach. Make sure they are placed in the Bleach 2 nd Bacteria plate and the Waxie 2 nd Bacteria plate.
14. Open the vial labeled E. Coli. Take a new sterile pipette and take 100 m L of the mixture. Add this to the plate labeled Control.
15. Skate this carefully using a new sterile loop. It is essential that this be skated evenly across the entire agar. Close the plate immediately after completion. Do not lay the loop and pipette from the previous step on the table. Have a teammate hold them firmly in their hands.
16. Repeat steps 14-15 using the same pipette and loop with the following plates: Ammonia 1 st Bacteria, Waxie 1 st Bacteria, and Bleach 1 st Bacteria. Now place the sterile loop and the pipette into the Biohazard Waste cup.
17. Take a new sterile pipette and 100 m L of solution from the vial labeled E. Coli. Close the vial.
18. Transfer the solution to the plate labeled Ammonia 2 nd Bacteria. Place the pipette in the Biohazard Waste cup.
19. Take a new sterile loop and skate evenly across the plate. Upon completion, place the loop in the Biohazard Waste cup.
20. Repeat steps 17-19 twice with the plates labeled Bleach 2 nd Bacteria and Waxie 2 nd Bacteria.
21. Remove the vial labeled E. Coli from the rack. Give this to an experienced adult who can safely dispose of it. This solution will no longer be needed through the course of this experiment. Also give the cup of Biohazard Waste to this adult.
22. Make sure all the three remaining vials are securely closed and in their foam rack. Then place them in the refrigerator. At this time, there should still be a considerable amount of solution left in each vial.
23. Retrieve two long pieces of tape, of different colors, and label them with the date and the time.
24. Stack the plates labeled Control, Ammonia 2 nd Bacteria, Bleach 2 nd Bacteria, and Waxie 2 nd Bacteria. Tape them securely and place them in the incubator upside down. The agar should be on top. This is done to prevent condensation from sinking onto the bacteria and therefore preventing their growth. Remember the color of the tape with which you have held these plates.
25. Stack the plates labeled Ammonia 1 st Bacteria, Bleach 1 st Bacteria, and Waxie 1 st Bacteria. Tape them securely and place them in the incubator upside down with the agar on top. Note the color of this tape.
26. Clean your lab station carefully. Dispose of the gloves, and stow away the lab apron and goggles.
27. After precisely 24 hours, prepare for a continuation of the experiment. Wear goggles, a lab apron, and gloves. Set up your lab station again. Make another cup labeled Biohazard Waste filled with a 10% bleach solution.
28. Open the incubator and remove the stack of three plates labeled Ammonia 1 st Bacteria, Bleach 1 st Bacteria, and Waxie 1 st Bacteria. Do not remove the other stack.
29. Remove the tape and carefully unstuck the three plates. The plates should have bacteria growing on them already.
30. Remove the three vials in the foam rack from the refrigerator and place them on the table. Obtain three new sterile pipettes and three new sterile loops.
31. Using the sterile pipette, take 100 m L of the ammonia solution and place it in the plate labeled Ammonia 1 st Bacteria.
32. Using the sterile loop, evenly skate this solution over the bacteria and the agar. Place both the pipette and the loop into the Biohazard Waste cup.
33. Repeat steps 31-32 twice more for the plates labeled Bleach 1 st Bacteria and Waxie 1 st Bacteria. Use a new pipette and loop each time and dispose of them carefully.
34. Remove the three vials from the foam rack and give them to an experienced adult who can safely dispose of them. Also give them the new Biohazard Waste cup to dispose of safely. These will not be needed for the duration of the experiment.
35. Stack these three plates and tape using the same color as before. Label this tape with the new date and time. The time should be approximately the same as the previous day’s experiment.
36. After securing the plates safely, place them in the incubator upside down with the agar on top. Close the incubator.
37. Throw away the foam rack. Clean the lab station carefully. Dispose of the gloves and stow away the lab apron and the goggles.
38. After 24 more hours, again wear gloves, goggles, and the lab apron. Set up your lab station again by taking out a camera, notebook, pencil, microscope, and ruler. Make sure the camera, notebook, and pencil are not on the same table as the bacteria will be on. Also, these three instruments must be handled by someone who has not come in contact with the bacteria.
39. Carefully remove all seven plates from the incubator, remove the tape, and lay all the plates, agar side down, side by side.
40. Set up the microscope and set it to low power. Using the ruler measure the field of view in millimeters for low power. Ask a team member to note this down in the notebook. Remove the ruler.
41. Open the control plate so that the labeling is removed and place it under the microscope. Note the size of each colony and the number of colonies in the entire plate by calculating the number of colonies within the field of view. Ask a team member to note these numbers down in the notebook. Close the plate.
42. Take an index card and label it exactly like the plate. Note the number of colonies and the size. Place this above the Petri dish and ask a team member who has not touched the bacteria to take a picture.
43. Repeat steps 41-42 for all seven plates. At the end, you should have accurate data for each plate and pictures of each one.
44. Safely stow the microscope and place the camera and notebook away. Tape the dishes in two piles (there is no need for labeling since you no longer need them) and place them in the incubator. Remind your instructor to dispose of them safely later.
45. Carefully clean the entire lab station using the disinfectant that you found was most effective. Remove your gloves, apron and goggles. Record your data.

The independent or manipulated variable in this experiment is the type of disinfectant used. The dependent or responding variable is the amount of bacteria remaining after each spray is used. The controlled variables are time grown, type of initial bacteria, amount of initial bacteria, temperature of growth, concentration of E. Coli solution, and the amount of disinfectants used. We controlled the time grown by placing the Petri dishes in the incubator and taking them out at the same time. To control the type of initial bacteria, we used only the E. Coli K17 strain. To control the concentration of the E. Coli solution and the amount of initial bacteria, we made sure to add a constant amount of LB broth to three similarly sized colonies of E. coli. We also took a controlled amount of the E. Coli solution to each Petri dish. The temperature of growth was controlled because we placed all Petri dishes in the same incubator. Finally, we would always use 100 micro Liters of the disinfectants for each Petri dish to control the amount of cleaning agents used each time. The control group was the Petri dish with only E. Coli K17 in it. By growing this agar plate, we were able to compare all of our experimental group plates to it. The experimental group was the other six Petri dishes.

Results

Discussion

Our hypothesis was rejected. The ammonia was not the best disinfectant. Although the ammonia was clearly the best disinfectant during our first experiment, our repetition showed that bleach could also be very useful. However, since the Waxie 700 spray consistently came close to the best disinfectant, eliminating a relatively constant amount of colonies each time, our team believes it is the best of all three. This is shown in the bar graphs above. Although the Waxie spray was never the absolute best disinfectant, it consistently left only 64-97 colonies of bacteria. At times, the ammonia left 125 while the bleach left 175. It is logical that the ammonia works almost as well as the Waxie 700 spray, however, because the Waxie spray is made of mostly ammonia. Perhaps the concentration of ammonia in the Waxie was more effective than our own 10% concentration. It was also logical that the average colony size in each Petri dish was within a tight range: between .6 and .95 mm. This proved that we had properly diluted the E. Coli K17 with LB nutrient broth. A more diluted solution would have produced smaller colonies while a less diluted solution would have made larger ones. The size of the colonies was proof that we had successfully followed the experimental procedure and successfully controlled one of our variables: the dilution.

There are a few sources of error in our experiment. First of all, our average of the size of the colonies for each Petri dish was inaccurate. For a more accurate average, we would have to make a weighted average; we would see how many colonies were each size and create an average based on that. Instead, we simply averaged the limits of the range of the size. This would be inaccurate because perhaps far more colonies were one size than another. For example, if the range was .8 mm – 1.1 mm, we said the average size was .95 mm. However, perhaps only one colony was 1.1 mm while hundreds were .8 mm. This made us less accurate. A second source of error in our experiment was the possibility of contamination. Every time we opened up the Petri dish, it was possible for any other bacteria to enter and contaminate our sample of pure E. Coli K17. However, our team believes this did not occur since all the colonies were of a relatively similar size after having grown for two days. Another source of error is slight differences in amount of disinfectants placed on the Petri dishes. Although we set a clear goal of 100 micro Liters per Petri dish, occasionally we would accidentally place a tiny bit more on the dish. However, since 100 micro Liters is already such a small amount, the slightest change can make a huge difference. Finally, towards the end of our first time through the procedure, the agar plates were burned because of high temperatures in the incubator. However, since the bacteria continued to grow we are not sure if the bacterial growth was affected by the burning.

There are many further steps we can take to expand on our experiment and improve upon it. First of all, we can conduct more repetitions of the same experiment to see if one of the three disinfectants gets a clear upper hand. Perhaps ammonia really is the best disinfectant. We can only know for sure after having conducted many more repetitions to eliminate some of the error. Next, we can extend the culture time to see if any of the cleaning agents have a long-term effect. Do such disinfectants wear off over time? Do they work as well after one day as they do after five? Another extension would be to test different concentrations of Ammonia. If one concentration (in the Waxie 700 spray) is better than another (our 10% ammonia solution), then perhaps there is another concentration that is even better. Perhaps different concentrations of bleach are also less effective or more effective. Also, we could see if the ammonia and the bleach work better together than they do separately. The possibilities for extensions are endless, and our team hopes to conduct some of these additional experiments in the near future.

Second Experiment:

The Area in School Bathrooms that Holds the Greatest Number of Bacteria

Introduction

Our team, the Funkadelic Four, studied which area in our school bathrooms had the greatest amount of bacteria. We used sterile loops to get a sample of the bacteria from each selected area, then cultured the samples on an agar in a standard incubator to see what the concentration of bacteria in each area was relative to the other tested areas. We became interested in this question, as we reasoned that any area with the ability of growing a large quantity of bacteria also had the potential to grow a dangerous strain of bacteria. These dangerous strains could include MRSA, methicillin-resistant staph aureus. By discovering which areas in the bathroom contained the highest level of bacteria, we could both educate the public, making them more aware and subsequently less likely to come in contact with those areas, and alert the cleaning staff of our school so that they can take action, cleaning the contaminated areas more thoroughly. Our research helped us form a problem and a testable hypothesis. Our hypothesis was that the stall lock would contain the highest levels of bacteria. This seemed like a logical hypothesis since one dirties their hands by going to the bathroom, and the lock is touched when leaving the stall after doing so. We believed that, because one washes their hands after using the bathroom, neither the door handle nor the paper towel dispenser handle would have a high amount of bacteria. Also, the sink handle would be exposed to a lot of water, making it cleaner. Finally, students only touch the toilet flusher once during their visit to their bathroom, not twice. Because of the above reasons, we believed that the stall lock would contain the highest amount of bacteria.

Problem: Which area in a bathroom has the greatest amount of bacteria: the bathroom stall lock, door handle, toilet flusher, paper towel dispenser handle, or sink handle.?

Hypothesis: The stall lock contains the greatest amount of bacteria.

Materials

* Ten Petri dishes each with a standard agar.
* 2500 m L of LB nutrient broth
* Ten plastic vials (microcentrifuge tubes)
* Foam tube rack
* Eleven sterile transfer pipettes
* Twenty sterile loops
* Cup for biohazard waste
* Tape
* Incubator
* Goggles
* Aprons
* Gloves
* Pen
* Slips of paper
* Digital Microscope
* Notebook and Pencil
* Ruler
* Camera

Methods

Safety precautions: Wear goggles, gloves, and an apron at all times. It is essential to prevent contamination, seeing as even the least dangerous strain of bacteria can be made extremely dangerous. Conduct experiments in an enclosed room with only people following the above precautions. Never set down a loop or pipette that have already been used. Fill a cup with bleach solution, labeling it “Biohazard Waste.” Place all used tools in this cup. Keep the cup far away from reach of anyone so that it does not accidentally get knocked over. Do not bring any instruments such as notebooks, pencils, cameras, etc. near the experimenting area if you have already touched the bacteria. Finally, when all the bacteria samples have been safely stowed and the agar plates taped together, clean the tables carefully with the bleach solution. Remove gloves, apron, and goggles and stow them away in their proper locations. Important: whenever opening agar plates open them slightly to avoid any risk of contamination.

1. Assign a member of your group the recorder. This person should not touch any bacteria, but should still wear protective gear such as goggles, an apron, and gloves.
2. Label ten Petri dishes as follows: Girls’ bathroom paper towel handle, girls’ bathroom stall lock, girls’ bathroom door handle, girls’ bathroom toilet flusher, girls’ bathroom sink handle, boys’ bathroom paper towel handle, boys’ bathroom stall lock, boys’ bathroom door handle, boys’ bathroom toilet flusher, and boys’ bathroom sink handle.
3. Label ten plastic vials as follows: Girls’ bathroom paper towel handle, girls’ bathroom stall lock, girls’ bathroom door handle, girls’ bathroom toilet flusher, girls’ bathroom sink handle, boys’ bathroom paper towel handle, boys’ bathroom stall lock, boys’ bathroom door handle, boys’ bathroom toilet flusher, and boys’ bathroom sink handle.
4. Place the vials in foam tube racks.
5. Using a sterile pipette, put 250 m L of LB broth into each plastic vial.
6. Take the five plastic vials labeled “girls’ bathroom” along with five sterile loops still in the plastic bag and go to the nearest girls’ bathroom.
7. Remove one of the sterile loops from its plastic bag and swab the paper towel handle by scraping the looped end over the area being tested.
8. Remove the plastic vial labeled “girls’ bathroom paper towel handle” from the rack
9. Open the vial
10. Place the loop in the tube and swirl rapidly for ten seconds.
11. Close the vial and give the loop to a lab partner to hold.
12. Place the vial back on the rack.
13. Repeat steps 7-12 for the girls’ bathroom stall lock, girls’ bathroom door handle, girls’ bathroom toilet flusher, and girls’ bathroom sink handle.
14. Return to the lab and put the used loops in the biohazard waste cup.
15. Crack open the Petri dish labeled “girls’ bathroom paper towel handle.”
16. Open the plastic vial labeled “girls’ bathroom paper towel handle.”
17. Using a sterile pipette, put 100 m L of the liquid in the vial onto the Petri dish.
18. Place the pipette in the biohazard waste cup.
19. Using a sterile loop, gently skate the liquid in the Petri dish around so that it is equally distributed over the surface of the agar.
20. Place the loop in the biohazard waste cup.
21. Close the Petri dish.
22. Repeat steps 15-21 with the vials and Petri dishes labeled girls’ bathroom stall lock, girls’ bathroom door handle, girls’ bathroom toilet flusher, and girls’ bathroom sink handle.
23. Tape the five Petri dishes together and place in the incubator.
24. Repeat steps 4-23 in the boys’ bathroom with the Petri dishes and plastic vials labeled boys’ bathroom paper towel handle, boys’ bathroom stall lock, boys’ bathroom door handle, boys’ bathroom toilet flusher, and boys’ bathroom sink handle.
25. After three days, remove all of the Petri dishes from the incubator.
26. Label ten little slips of paper as follows: Girls’ bathroom paper towel handle, girls’ bathroom stall lock, girls’ bathroom door handle, girls’ bathroom toilet flusher, girls’ bathroom sink handle, boys’ bathroom paper towel handle, boys’ bathroom stall lock, boys’ bathroom door handle, boys’ bathroom toilet flusher, and boys’ bathroom sink handle.
27. Place each piece of paper with their matching labeled Petri dishes.
28. Take pictures of each culture. The camera should only be handled by the lab member who has not touched the bacteria.
29. Have the assigned recorder also sketch each Petri dish.
30. Set up the microscope and set it to low power.
31. Using the ruler measure the field of view in millimeters for low power.
32. The recorder should note this down in the notebook.
33. Remove the ruler.
34. Place the Petri dish labeled “girls’ bathroom paper towel handle” under the microscope.
35. Note the size of each colony and the number of colonies in the entire plate by calculating the number of colonies within the field of view.
36. Ask the recorder to note these numbers down in the notebook.
37. Close the plate.
38. Repeat steps 34-37 with all of the other Petri dishes, remembering to note down all data in the notebook.
39. Note down the area that had the most bacteria on average in both bathrooms.
40. Note down the area that had the least bacteria on average in both bathrooms.
41. Safely stow the microscope and place the camera and notebook away.
42. Tape the dishes in two piles (there is no need for labeling since you no longer need them) and place them in the incubator.
43. Remind your instructor to dispose of them safely later.
44. Carefully clean the entire lab station using a disinfectant.
45. Remove your gloves, apron and goggles.
46. If possible, repeat the experiment at a later date to ensure that the data you collected was accurate.

The independent or manipulated variable in this experiment is the location tested . The dependent or responding variable is the amount of bacteria grown in each Petri dish . The controlled variables are time grown, temperature of growth, and concentration of bacteria solution. We controlled the time grown by placing the Petri dishes in the incubator and taking them out at the same time. To control the concentration of the bacteria solution, we made sure to add a constant amount of LB broth to our samples . We also took a controlled amount of each diluted solution to each Petri dish. Finally, t he temperature of growth was controlled because we placed all Petri dishes in the same incubator . The experimental group was the other six Petri dishes. A control group was not needed.

Results:

Discussion

Our hypothesis was rejected. The area of the bathroom with the most bacteria was the paper towel dispenser handle. This was true in both the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms. In the boys’ bathroom, the toilet flusher had the second most colonies and in the girls’ bathroom the door handle took this position. The toilet flusher had the third most bacteria colonies in the girls’ bathroom. Since the door handle had far less bacteria than the paper towel dispenser, we concluded that it was extremely important to dry your hands. Whereas washing your hands removed some bacteria, the friction of drying your hands removes far more. Also, we noticed that most of the colonies had similar diameter size. However, some like the Boys’ Stall Lock sample were cultured to a far greater colony size than the rest. However, we made sure to keep all the Petri dishes with the same dilution. Therefore, these differences in size led our team to conclude that we had grown various types of bacteria. However, we do not have the facilities required to find out what type of bacteria we have grown. Also, our team found that the number of colonies after the bathrooms were cleaned were far less in each location. Although the size of the colonies varied slightly for this portion of the experiment, the differences were negligible. All of the bathrooms are cleaned using a Waxie 700 spray that we described in our first experiment. Since the number of colonies drastically reduced, we concluded that this disinfectant was effective.

There are a few sources of error in our experiment. First of all, our average of the size of the colonies for each Petri dish was inaccurate. For a more accurate average, we would have to make a weighted average; we would see how many colonies were each size and create an average based on that. Instead, we simply averaged the limits of the range of the size. This would be inaccurate because perhaps far more colonies were one size than another. For example, if the range was .8 mm – 1.1 mm, we said the average size was .95 mm. However, perhaps only one colony was 1.1 mm while hundreds were .8 mm. This made us less accurate. A second source of error in our experiment was the possibility of contamination. Every time we opened up the Petri dish, it was possible for any other bacteria to enter and contaminate our samples of bathroom bacteria. Since we cultured various types of bacteria, we were unable to see if such a contamination occurred. Finally, although we attempted to control the area that we swabbed for bacteria in each location, this may have slightly varied for each new place. Any differences in area swabbed would change the dilution of our LB and bacteria solution, changing the sizes of the colonies. Perhaps this was the cause of some of the slight variances in our data for the diameter size of the colonies.

There are many further steps we can take to expand on our experiment and improve upon it. First of all, we can conduct more repetitions of the same experiment to eliminate some of the error sources listed above. In our repetitions, we should make sure to follow the exact same procedure as before. Next, we can test different locations in the bathroom. For example, we can compare the bacteria levels on the floor to the bacteria on the Petri dishes we cultured. Also, we can test the amount of bacteria on the outside of the door handle and compare it to the amount of bacteria on the inside. This will allow us to see if more bacteria are accumulated outside of the bathroom or from the inside. Also, our team can test the effects of ammonia and bleach on the bathroom and compare these results to those in our first experiment. Finally, we can send the bacteria samples to another lab and learn what type of bacteria we have cultured.