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Moldy Jell-O

In the lab, Moldy Jell-O, students design experiments to determine how substrate and environmental conditions influence growth of common molds. Students carry out their experiments, analyze and interpret their evidence, and prepare a report.

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We invite comments on this Hands-On Activity and the accompanying Teacher Preparation Notes, including suggestions for other teachers who are planning to use the activity, useful preparatory or follow-up activities, additional resources or any questions you have related to the activity, or a brief description of any problem you might have encountered. If you have a relevant Word document you would like to have posted on this comments page, such as a version of the protocol you have used in your classroom, or if you would prefer to send your comments or questions in a private message, please write Ingrid Waldron at iwaldron@sas.upenn.edu.

See also a complete list of activities:
Hands-on Activities for Teaching Biology to High School and Middle School Students

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Comments

Serendip Visitor's picture

Would this lab still work if

Submitted by Serendip Visitor (guest) on Tue, 10/18/2011 - 9:51am.

Would this lab still work if i were to use store bougth jell-o

Ingrid Waldron's picture

Yes

Submitted by Ingrid Waldron (guest) on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 4:48am.

Please see the Teacher Preparation Notes for further clarification.

Ingrid Waldron

Monica's picture

Jello

Submitted by Monica (guest) on Tue, 08/02/2011 - 2:54am.

Hello,

I am teaching a class in Malaysia and do not know if I can get Jello. Will agar agar work? It is their version of jello, yet denser. Just thought I would ask, before I try it out myself. :)

Thanks.

iwaldron's picture

Agar agar versus Jell-O

Submitted by iwaldron on Tue, 08/02/2011 - 7:20am.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I believe that as long as agar agar contains protein, sugar and water, the results should be the same.  Please let us know what you find out.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To preserve the value of these learning activities for other teachers, please do not post keys for any questions from any of these activities!

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Authors

Dr. Ingrid Waldron is Professor Emerita in the Biology Department at the University of Pennsylvania. Co-authors include Dr. Jennifer Doherty, who is an Assistant Professor in the Physiology Department at Michigan State University, and Dr. Lori Spindler, who is a Lecturer in the Biology Department at the University of Pennsylvania. They have developed these activities in collaboration with colleagues at Penn and middle school and high school teachers in the Philadelphia area. We are grateful to Craig Douglas for his generous help with graphics.

 

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