How dirty is your phone case?

• What objects did you decide to sample and why?

I’ve decided to sample my group’s phone cases because it was the most convenient object around that wasn’t taken.

• What type of growth did you see on Day 3? on Day 7? Describe the growth.

On Day 3, I noticed a small growth only on my first quadrant (Brian) and it was a tiny colony. On Day 7, quadrant 1 grew a large circle in the middle filled with a black organism. I infer that the “black organism” was probably mold. Quadrant 2 (Grace) grew a smaller circle and quadrant 3 (Horea) grew 2 small circles.

• Did you have growth from all the samples? If not, why do you think that happened?

There was only growth in Quadrant 1, 2, and 3 but not quadrant 4. I believe that the phone case owner of quadrant 4 (me) is a germaphobe and likes to be very clean.

• What sample yielded the most growth of organisms? Why do you think that happened?

Quadrant 1 yielded the most growth of organisms. I suspect that Brian doesn’t like being clean and probably doesn’t frequently wash his hands. No offense

• Did anything about the growth you observed surprise you?

Honestly, I was really shocked that my quadrant showed no signs of growth. I thought my phone case would be the dirtiest of them all.

• Describe the plate of your lab mate. What did you notice about their plate?

I decided to compare my plate with Grace’s plate because she decided to sample our phones which is related to my experiment. I noticed that Grace’s plate had very similar results in terms of bacteria growth.

• Compare and contrast your plate with your lab mate's plate.

My plate barely had any significant amount of growth. Quadrant 1 had the most growth overall and I believe it even developed mold inside the microorganisms. Quadrant 3 had the second most growth, however it is still very little. Quadrant 2 had the second least amount of growth, it almost looks like a spec of organisms. Lastly, Quadrant 4 had no signs of growth whatsoever.

As I compare my plate to Grace’s plate, I noticed we had almost identical results. My section on both plates had no signs of growth at all and Grace’s section had the second least amount of growth. Meanwhile, Horea’s section on Grace’s plate had the most growth then Brian’s with the second most. On my plate, the order is switched whereas Brian had the most growth then Horea’s.

• Reflection: What does this mini experiment reveal to you about the ubiquity of microorganisms?

This experiment just supports my theory that our phones are extremely dirty especially since we are always holding onto them on a daily bases. We could touch door knobs and other filthy objects, then use our phones and contaminate it.

• Write at least 3 scientific questions based on your observation.

What can you do to prevent bacteria growth on commonly touched objects such as your phones or cases?

How can we identify which organisms lay dormant on our phones?

Can these microorganisms potentially be harmful and even cause sickness?

• Write 1 hypothesis based on the questions above.

If you take great care of yourself and your belonging, then you’ll significantly reduce the amount of microorganisms present.

Day 3 plate

Day 7 plate

Grace's Plate