*Disclaimer: Anything on this blog does not reflect Franciscan University in any way, shape or form. *
Class date: Thursday, August 29th 2013
Dear blog, and blog readers,
Yesterday, on August 29th, we went down to the Ohio river! Our purpose was to collect samples from various places around the river. We specifically tested the soil close to the edge of the river, as well as water from inside a bucket that washed up to the riverbank.
We hypothesized that the areas around the river would be extremely contaminated due to our unfavorable location in Steubenville, Ohio, where the river and air are rather polluted due to former steel mills and and current paper mills. We believe that the soil in particular would be more contaminated than other samples such as air, concrete, a boat, or a plastic bucket. This is because not only is soil moist, which is a favorable environment for bacteria to grow, but it is also likely contains other nutrients for even more bacteria to thrive. We believe that it is likely that the other sample materials may not have had these additional nutrients.
Our sample collection process consisted of swabbing the desired test area, and then smearing the sample across the petri dish (which was previously prepared in the class before) in a wave motion.
Unfortunately, though, we were not allowed to go swimming. . .
From Left to Right: Max McManus, Daniel Miles (Kolbe Clare R.D.), and Samantha M. Hennerty
We hypothesized that the areas around the river would be extremely contaminated due to our unfavorable location in Steubenville, Ohio, where the river and air are rather polluted due to former steel mills and and current paper mills. We believe that the soil in particular would be more contaminated than other samples such as air, concrete, a boat, or a plastic bucket. This is because not only is soil moist, which is a favorable environment for bacteria to grow, but it is also likely contains other nutrients for even more bacteria to thrive. We believe that it is likely that the other sample materials may not have had these additional nutrients.
Our sample collection process consisted of swabbing the desired test area, and then smearing the sample across the petri dish (which was previously prepared in the class before) in a wave motion.
Unfortunately, though, we were not allowed to go swimming. . .
When we returned from the river, we went back to the lab and placed our samples in an incubator that maintains the temperature in which they were collected (30 degrees Celsius- Air Temperature). Today is August 30th, and we are planning on retrieving our samples during our next lab period. We expect our samples to be highly contaminated to say the least. . . but in particular the soil sample.
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