Bacteria What is Bacteria Bacteria are single cell

Bacteria

What is Bacteria? Bacteria are single cell organisms Are you a single cell organism? No way! We are made up of trillions of cells. But bacteria are unique and only need one cell to survive.

Shapes of Bacteria There are 3 shapes of bacteria: Round-shaped cocci Rod-shaped bacilli Spiral-shaped spirilla

Bacteria Most bacteria are parasites… meaning that they rely on another living organism to live. Some can make their own food and aren’t parasitic.

Good Bacteria! Not all bacteria is bad! You have bacteria living inside of you! There is bacteria inside our intestines (our gut) that helps us to digest food. There is bacteria in milk that promotes a healthy gut! There is also bacteria in the soil. Bacteria helps turn milk into cheese.

Bad Bacteria Bad bacteria can make our bellies hurt. They can make us sick They can make food go bad.

Sickness Bacteria can multiply very quickly 1 cell divides into 2 cells This can cause damage to other cells and make you sick

Growing Bacteria We can grow bacteria in a Petri dish We can supply good conditions for bacteria to grow by using a Petri dish with agar gel later on the bottom that provides the bacteria with nutrients.

Materials You will all get a Petri dish with a cover. There is agar in the bottom of the plates… don’t touch it with your hands! You will get a Q-tip

Safety You must have your lab coat and glasses on Don’t touch the agar plate Don’t stick your nose close to the Petri dish. . Especially after it is swabbed Nothing goes in your mouth. . yuck!

Procedure Find something in the room you would like the swab that you think would have lots of bacteria on it IDEAS: doorknob, drawer handle, drain of sink, your mouth, the floor… Once you decide what you want to swab, you will dip your Q- tip into the beaker of water we will be going around with Take your wet Q-tip and swab something Once you have swabbed something, take your Q-tip and wipe it on to your Petri dish in a squiggly line