Conservation of Energy: Mold Growth

Group 4 Project

The Group 2 members include: Anna Cory (Bio), Charlie Cisneros (Bio), Victoria Garza (Bio), Rylee Hollowell (Chem), David Jester

(Chem), Jarred Manning (Chem), Alex Rodriguez (Physics), Tyler Trail (Physics)

Research Question- How does thermal

energy affect the growth of mold on bread?

Hypothesis- If you apply more thermal energy to a mold, then the mold will grow at a faster rate. To test this, we observed moist bread in

3 different temperature environments

Research Question and Hypothesis

Oven Fridge 1 loaf of wheat bread Thermo gun Water

Materials

Step 1: Dampen the bread (3 separate pieces) Step 2: Place each piece in the selected

environment 1 in a fridge 1 in room temperature 1 in an oven

Step 3: Measure temperatures Fridge- 3.8° C Room Temp- 22.22° C Oven- 33.2° C

Step 4: Compare mold growth/ draw conclusions

Procedures

Biology-

Mold Research PowerPoint

Chemistry Lab Work Enzyme and Chemistry Research Supplies

Physics Work the Experiment Collect Data Draw Conclusions

Work Distribution

Experiment Setup

One piece of bread in a glass bowl in the oven

One in a plastic pitcher on the counter

One in a plastic pitcher in the fridge

Experiment in Action

Oven Room Temp Fridge

Raw Data

Time Temperature(C) Mold Growth

5 Days 2.8C No

5 Days 22.2C Yes

5 Days 33.2C No

Graphs

0 Celsius 33.2 Celsius22.2 Celsius

Optimal Mold Growth

Minimal Mold Growth

What we are using to draw conclusions

Mold growth grows optimally in environments that are not subject to too little thermal energy or too much thermal energy.

We are drawing conclusions from our graph which indicated an optimal temperature of growth at 22.2 Celsius.

The environments with more extreme temperatures at 3.8 Celsius and 33.2 Celsius did not yield any mold growth.

Conclusion: Expected Outcomes

According to our research, mold grows best in warm, moist environments that have access to open air.

This helped us to predict that the mold would grow on the bread that was set in room temperature.

Conclusion: Unexpected

Outcomes

According to our hypothesis, mold should have grown efficiently in the environment with the most heat energy. However, the mold did not grow in the oven.

We have determined that the oven was ultimately too dry, and possibly too hot for mold growth.

Our Conclusions From Different Perspectives

Biology: Neither the oven nor the fridge provided an optimal, moist and warm environment for mold growth. The oven was too warm and dry to allow for mold growth, and the fridge was too cold.

Chemistry: Bread has a natural amount of moisture in it. As a result, it is highly susceptible to mold growth, as mold is attracted to moisture. The mold breaks down enzymes on the bread so that it can consume the bread faster. It also releases digestive enzymes and assorted acids in order to increase its growth rate on the bread.

Our Conclusions From Different Perspectives Cont.

Physics: Because of thermodynamics, too much or too little heat energy (KE) will cause the mold to burn up or not grow at all. This is why the mold did not develop on the bread in the oven or the fridge.

Compared to our Hypothesis: The results contradict our hypothesis, because mold requires a balance of cold and heat in order to grow at optimal speed

Bibliography

"Mold on Bread." Mold and Bacteria Facts. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Mold and Moisture." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

Ellor, Tina. "Re: What Is Mold? How Does It Grow? Does Mold Grow in Colors?" MadSci Network. N.p., 6 Feb. 1999. Web.

Garcia, Hernan G., Jane Kondev, Nigel Orme, Julie A. Theriot, and Rob Phillips. "Thermodynamics of Biological Processes." Methods in Enzymology. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web.