Using Practical Techniques to Investigate Factors that Affect the Growth of Microorganisms

Comprehend the step-by-step methodology for microbiological experiments, including sterilisation of equipment, aseptic techniques, and safe disposal of biological waste.
Recognize the necessity of a controlled environment for microbe cultivation, ensuring uncontaminated growth media and conditions.
Understand that even minute quantities of foreign substances or variations in conditions can significantly alter results, emphasising the importance of precision and consistency.

Identify various factors such as temperature, pH, oxygen levels, and nutrient availability, which can affect the rate of microbial growth.
Learn that microbes have specific ranges of conditions, the ‘tolerance ranges’, within which they can survive and grow.
Be aware that certain bacteria, known as extremophiles, can exist in environments of extreme heat, cold, or acidity.

Learn how to manipulate these factors in a laboratory setting using equipment such as pH meters, oxygen probes, incubators, or sterile culture mediums.
Appreciate the ability to monitor growth of organisms using methods such as microscopic analysis or turbidity measurements.
Realise how growth curves, created from collected data, provide vital information about the lifecycle phases of the microorganism under observation: lag phase, log phase, stationary phase, and death phase.

Master the skills to interpret experimental results and understand how changes in the growth environment impacted the organism’s growth pattern.
Utilise graphs and charts to visualise this data and draw meaningful conclusions.
Understand the possible sources of error or inconsistency in the methodology and outcome of the experiment.

Apply knowledge of growth factors to determine optimal conditions for specific microorganisms, which can be resourceful in industries like food processing, brewing, or clinical microbiology.
Extrapolate experimental findings to larger-scale implementations or real-world scenarios.
Interpret data for use in other scientific fields or practical applications, such as in the analysis of pathogenic microorganisms in medicine, or in the assessment of the effect of pollutants on an ecosystem’s microbiota.