Microscope Lab free essay sample

1. Briefly describe the steps required to aseptically transfer bacteria from an unknown to a tube of liquid broth. You might have to research this using the T button (Tell Me More About ) To aseptically transfer bacteria from an unknown to a tube of liquid broth you have to flame the loop or wire before you begin to sterilize it. You then remove the caps from the tubes and flame the mouths of the tubes to prevent air-borne contamination. When all this is done, you have to pick up the inoculum or unknown culture by running the sterile loop or wire down into the tube. Once you got the inoculum you drop it into the sterile medium to inoculate it. 2. What is the purpose of aseptic technique? The purpose of using the aseptic technique is to prevent contamination when handling your cultures. 3. Does your lab report contain any messages when your inoculation was not complete? What change in the traffic signals indicates an unsuccessful inoculation? The lab report does not mention anything about inoculation. We will write a custom essay sample on Microscope Lab or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There’s only a reference if auto-inoculation was used. If inoculation was unsuccessful, the light turns red 4. Does you lab report contain any messages when you dont follow aseptic procedures for transferring bacteria? What change in the traffic signal indicates contamination? The lab report does not contain any message when aseptic procedures were not followed. The traffic signals turn red when contamination occurs. 5. What indication is there that the loop has been sterilized? When it is flamed for a few seconds and is sterile, the loop turns red. 6. How much time is provided for users of VUMIE 2012 before the Contamination light turns red? You will have to just time this and be specific, i. e. how many seconds, minutes, etc. 58 seconds is provided for users before the contamination light turns red. 7. In regards to Phenol Red Sorbitol: What was the name of the test that used Phenol Red Sorbitol? Sorbitol Fermentation test How do you interpret the difference between positive and negative results for this test? The test is to see if the microbe can ferment the sorbitol. A pH indicator in the medium changes color to indicate acid production. Phenol red is red at neutral pH but turns yellow at 6. 8 or lower, indicating fermentation which is a positive result. If it stays red or turns magenta or hot pink, that indicates that the pH level has risen and it is negative. What results did you get? The medium turned a deep red indicating a negative result. 8. In regards to the Christiansens Urea Broth: What was the name of the test that used Christiansens urea broth? Urea Hydrolysis Test (Christiansen’s) How do you interpret the difference between positive and negative results for this test? The test is to see if the microbe can use the urea to grow. If the urea can be used by the microbe, the pH indicator in the medium changes color to magenta or hot pink to indicate alkali/base production which means that it is positive. If the Urea does not change color, it is negative. What results did you get? The medium turned a deep red indicating a positive result 9. After performing Question #18, describe at least two warnings/messages that appear most frequently by the software? (You will have to go ahead and identify your unknown before this will show, in red, on your lab report. This can be done by clicking on Unknown and then clicking on Identify. ) Loop was not flamed before inoculation – inoculum contaminated – medium contaminated [I did not get any error messages on the report, only in the virtual lab and I couldn’t identify an unknown because all microbes were eliminated. I have no clue how that happened. I am working on my experiments and redoing everything to see where I went wrong. ] 10. After completing the entire activity, comment on what changes in your actions you will make to improve your ability to successfully use aseptic technique the next time you work in the Virtual Lab. I will practice several times to transfer the inoculum to the medium with the aseptic procedure and be careful to remember sterilizing everything, working fast and not leaving anything uncovered or in a precarious position.