Timothy W. Strout
School and Background:
I teach AP Environmental Science and Regents Chemistry at Jericho High School. We are located in Jericho, NY
Research:
My research was on extremeophiles. This was a very easy experiment for teachers to use in a classroom. It can bring in a variety of topics without a lot of set up.
Topics you can use:
1) Environmental Science, pollution, environmental impact
2) Soil and aquatic ecology, soil microorganisms
3) Locomotion types
4) Microbiology
5) Basics of microscope, wet mount slides
Procedure:
1) Set up a series test tubes with nutrient broth.
2) Three will be adjusted to a pH of 3, three with a pH of 6.8, three with a pH of 10 and three with 8 % NaCl.
3) Then in each series add different soil types ( I used decomposing tree bark, leaf litter from Central Park and mud from constitution marsh.
4) Cap the tubes loosely, and let them sit a room temperature for a day or two. You will see lots of bacteria and fungi. The longer you let them sit the more growth you will get.
I extended the lab by streaking agar plates with each of the sample and was able to isolate some of the colonies for examination. If you decide on this part you will need to adjust the agar to the same conditions as the nutrient broth. You can not do the pH of three because the acid condition hydrolyzes the agar.
Results:
I got great growth in all nutrient broth tube except the pH of three. The only growth that was visible was some fungi in the tube with Central Park leaf litter.
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