Problem to be Solved:
What liquid dish detergent will reduce the amount of bacteria on kitchen sponges?
Hypothesis:
I think that the Dawn Anti-bacterial dish soap will work the best.
Procedure:
Materials Needed:
9 new sponges
4 original soaps
4 anti-bacterial soaps
40 dirty utensils
soiling agent
1. Get 40 new plastic spoons, molasses, 5 petri dishes, 18 sterile cotton swabs, identification stickers, and a thermometer.
2. Take molasses and cover the front of the spoon with half of a teaspoon of molasses. Make sure that the spoon is covered totally on the front. Let them sit for one week.
3. Get petri dishes and sterile cotton swabs. Put identification stickers on the bottom of the petri dish.
4. Open a new pack of sponges.
5. Get a swab and dip it in distilled water.
6. Swab the sponge.
7. Lightly swab the petri dish.
8. Get one half of a teaspoon of soap ready.
9. Get five spoons.
10. Fill the sink with approximately 15 cups of water at 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
11. Put the spoons in the water.
12. Immediately start washing the spoons. Make sure that all of the molasses is off of the spoon.
13. Swab the sponge when done. Do not rinse the sponge.
14. Lightly swab the petri dish.
14. Keep repeating steps 4-11 until all of the soaps and
spoons have been done.
16. For the control group, swab a sponge the rinse the sponge with boiling water. Swab the sponge.
17. When the petri dish has had all of the sections swabbed, tape it shut and never open it again.
18. Wait one week and take pictures. On the same day, record the amount of spots of bacteria. If spots are large enough to measure, measure them in millimeters. Make sure you keep a good logbook.
Control Group:
My control group was the sponge rinsed with boiling water.
Results:
Boiling water killed all of the bacteria.
For three of the four brands of dish detergent, the antibacterial soap had
less bacteria growth than the original soap.
Dawn original and antibacterial
dish detergents both had very low bacteria growth.
Conclusion:
Dawn anti-bacterial soap killed the most bacteria. In further experiments, different soiling agents would be tested. They would also sit for different amounts of time and in different places. I would also used different soaps and different amounts of soap. Also different water temperatures would be tested.
Biblical Application:
Psalm 51:7 says "Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow." God cleans our hearts. He forgives us of our sins. I cleaned spoons soiled with molasses. The spoons were like our hearts. Until they were cleaned with soap and water, they were dirty. Our hearts are dirty until God forgives us of our sins.
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1st Place, 8th Life Science, PCA Science Fair