Yeast Observation

Part of the study on Fungi, we also observed yeasts reproducing.

Materials Needed:
* 1 T. Baker's yeast
* 1 T. sugar
* 2 C. warm water
* Methylene blue
* compound microscope
* depression slide
* cover slip
* cup or glass
* medicine dropper

Procedure:
1) In a glass, mix yeast, sugar and warm water. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes. You are waiting for the yeast cells to grow and multiply.

2)Using the medicine dropper, place a drop of the yeast mixture into the well of a depression slide. Add 1 drop of methylene blue stain. Place a cover slip over the sample and place on the microscope stage.

3) Focus on low power. Then, move to high power. Identify a reproducing cell and the tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide given off by the cells.

Getting to know Fungi

  Black mold: magnified @ 4/0.16x

In this activity, we will grow and observe a number of different fungi which are present in our environment.

Materials Needed:
* slice of hard cheese
* slice of bread
* orange, apple or banana peel
* 3 sealable plastic sandwich bags

Procedure:
1) Inoculate your growing media (bread, cheese and fruit peel) by gently wiping each across a dusty surface.
2) Place each item inside individual sandwich bags. Add 2 tablespoons of water to each bag and then seal.
3) Place all 3 bags in a dark, warm location for 4 to 5 days or however long it takes to see mold growing in each item.

After 8 days, we removed the samples. Except for the cheese which we need to redo, we got these:

The orange peel

The bread

After observing the molds (color, size, smell, etc), we cut an entire colony from the orange peel and the bread and mounted it on the microscope slide.

Woooow! we were blown by what we saw. "Cool, Mom" was what Gia's first reaction. We are now officially loving our microscope and what it can do! =D

The orange peel had black molds growing on it. After several researches, we found out that it is Aspergillus Niger.

Kingdom : Fungi
Class: Eurotiomycetes
Order: Eurotiales
Family: Trichocomaceae
Genus: Arpergillus

Aspergillus Niger: magnified @10/0.25x

The bread on the other hand, had green mold with white cover on it. It is said to be Penicillium mold.

Kingdom : Fungi
Class: Eurotiomycetes
Order: Eurotiales
Family: Trichocomaceae
Genus:Penicillium

Penicillium magnified @ 4/0.16x

Penicillium magnified @ 10/0.25x

 
Results of the cheese will be posted here soon.

What an awesome day spent experimenting and researching and getting to know Fungus/Fungi!!

Practicing the Use of the Microscope

 

In these succeeding activities, we familiarized ourselves with our newly-arrived compound microscope. We got excited with all the possibilities and discoveries we shall experience using it.

Our first activity was to learn how to prepare a wet-mount slide and observe that slide using the microscope.

Activity 1: 

* Cut a small letter "g" from the newspaper and place it at the center of the glass slide. Newspaper works best for this activity as it is fairly thin and allows light to pass through it for easier observation on the microscope.

Drawing what we saw: top - magnification @ 4/0.16x; below - magnification @ 10/0.25x

Activity 2:

We did the same for a piece of blue thread and Gia's hair.

Blue thread mounted on a slide

@ High magnification: 10/0.25x

Hair at low magnification: 4/0.16x

Hair at high magnification: 10/0.25x

Awesome first tries, right? Can't wait for the next experiments.

A Different kind of Birthday

Yes, a surprise birthday gift from my Mom. A ticket to Jonas Brothers concert in Manila!

A great excuse for Music Appreciation, being independent (yes, our Mom's were not with us---they were outside at the mall window shopping while waiting for us haha), and enjoying being a teenager.

My friend, Yeda, and I had a wonderful  and unforgettable night to remember. Really enjoyed singing and dancing with the Jonas Brothers.