| Subject Area | Biology/Bacteriology |
| Age/Grade Level | Freshmen or Sophomores |
| Estimated Length | 2 50-minute class periods |
| Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills | Basic Lab Safety Skills |
| Description of New Content | Introduces students to the idea that bacteria are all around them and even inside of them. This then leads into a discussion of why personal hygiene is important, followed by a discussion of the recent outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus in local public schools. Students will also be introduced to the use of a light microscope in the second class period. |
| Goals | By the end of the lesson, students will have discovered that bacteria can be found on a variety of different surfaces. They will have cultured bacteria on agar plates and looked at the bacteria that they found under a light microscope. Students will also discover the relationship between the amount of bacteria found on a surface and how often that surface is touched by humans during a normal day. At the end of the lesson, students will answer questions about the lesson.CopCreat |
| Materials Needed | Luria Broth Agar plates, Q-tips, light microscopes, microscope slides, microscope cover slips, toothpicks |
| Procedure | See worksheet here. |
| Evaluation | Questions to Answer 1. Were there any surfaces that did not result in the growth of bacteria? If so, why do you think that is the case? 2. You were asked to record the level of human contact for each surface that you swabbed. Did you notice any trends with respect to the amount of human contact a surface experienced and the amount of bacteria that grew on that surface? 3. Why do you think drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is such a big problem in schools specifically? Where else do you think this bacteria might be a big problem? Also, see worksheet here. |
| Extensions | This lesson could naturally lead into a lesson or discussion about the problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria. |