Air sampling

1. Expose an open blood agar plate in a particular school site.

2. Replace the cover of the plate.

3. Incubate at 35C for 24 hours

4. Count the number of colonies.

5. Describe the colonies on the culture media based on the color, size, outline,
constituency, surface (convex, concave or flat), and opacity

6. Lastly, perform gram stain on the colonies and observe morphology under the
microscope.

Background

Different fluid environments help you become aware of the varieties of microbes found in
liquid medium. Microorganisms show signs of movement which is considered as true motility or
a movement which is cause by the molecules in the liquid striking an object causing Brownian
movement, hence not a true motility. Microorganisms that are motile are more directed than
Brownian movement.

Many kinds of microbes can be found in an infusion of organic matter and in canal water.
Wet mount techniques can be used to observe easily the bacteria while hanging-drop
preparation can be used to examine the motility of larger microbes.

In microbiological studies, culture medium is needed to facilitate identification and to

determine the growth and metabolism of bacteria. To keep the bacteria alive and study their
growth, bacteria are inoculated to a culture medium. Prior to use and inoculation, all culture
medium to be used should be sterilized to prevent the entrance of unwanted microorganisms. A
method called aseptic technique is a procedure that excludes contaminants.

Agar slants are mediums that were left at an angle while the agar solidified in the test
tube. Broth culture is a liquid medium used to provide growth for bacteria. Through these media,
microbes can be identified according to their descriptions/characteristic growth in slants. For
broth culture, is a membrane, it is called pellicle. If microbial cells settle on the bottom, it forms
sediment.

Microorganisms can be found everywhere, anywhere. They are found in water, air, soil,
surface area and even in our bodies. In order to grow microbes in the laboratory, culture media
is needed which contain nutrients essential for their growth.

Microbes can be inoculated in petri plates containing solid media which provide surface
area for the observation for the characteristic growth of colonies. The incubation period includes
the time and temperature for bacteria to double/increase in number. After incubation, a colony
may appear in the petri plates. This aggregate of cells that arises from a single bacterial cell is
what we called colony.

In nature, microorganisms are diverse and are found growing as a complex mixed
population. It is difficult to study mixed culture because it is past ambiguity in determining which
organism is responsible for any activity.

In the previous experiment, it was mentioned that the contamination or the presence of
unwanted microorganism is common. Isolation is needed to separate the microorganism from a
mixed culture. To study their characteristics, microbes are cultured in an artificial environment
as a pure culture. A pure culture consists of a single kind of microbe. There are different
techniques commonly used to isolate bacteria: the streak plate and pour plate method. In the
streak plate technique, a loop is used to streak over the agar surface to develop into the colony.

A pour plate technique is a quantitative method that determines the number the number
of bacteria in a sample. A small amount of sample is place in the petri dish, and then a melted
agar is poured directly into petri plates. A plate between 25-250 colonies is selected. Less than
25 colonies are too few to count (TFTC). A plate greater then 250 colonies it too numerous to
count (TNTC).