Light and Moisture and its Affect on Muenster Cheese By, Brian Wheeler & Casey Gruttadauria

Introduction The purpose of this experiment is to see what environment mold grows better in, Light or Dark. And to see if mold grows better with more or less moisture. We believe that the least growth will happen when mold is in light and does not have any water/moisture on it. The cheese that is in the dark and has 15 drops of water on it we think will grow the most mold. We think the cheese that has more water on it will grow more mold. Between a dark and light environment, the cheese in the darker environment will grow more mold.

Experimental Design Dark No moist- ure Dark 5 drops of water Dark 10 drops of water Dark 15 drops of water Light No moist- ure Light 5 drops of water Light 10 drops of water Light 15 drops of water IV: Light and Moisture DV: Growth of mold

Controls and Constants The control of this experiment is the piece of muenster cheese that is in the light and that has no drops of water on it. Constants: The petri dish the cheese is placed in The type of cheese = muenster cheese The liquid used to moisten the cheese = water The temperature = room temperature The amount of time the cheese is in it’s environment in order to wait for mold growth

Procedure Get eight pieces of muenster cheese Get eight petri dishes Label the petri dishes according to what the experiment calls for Put the pieces of muenster cheese in the appropriate petri dishes Drop the appropriate amount of water on each slice of muenster cheese varying on what the label on the petri dish says, remember to add drops on a regular basis Put the pieces of muenster cheese in the petri dishes into plastic tubs Place the plastic tubs with the petri dishes labeled “dark” in a cabinet and the plastic tubs with the petri dishes labeled “light” on the counter near the window Take observations daily and take pictures whenever change in the muenster cheese has taken place

Results: Day 0 - Light

Day 0 Light No Drops

Day 0 Light 5 Drops

Day 0 Light 10 Drops

Day 0 Light 15 Drops

Results: Day 0 - Dark

Day 0 Dark No Drops

Day 0 Dark 5 Drops

Day 0 Dark 10 Drops

Day 0 Dark 15 Drops

Day 12 - Light

Day 12 Light No Drops

Day 12 Light 5 Drops

Day 12 light 10 Drops

Day 12 Light 15 Drops

Day 12 - Dark

Day 12 Dark No Drops

Day 12 Dark 5 Drops

Day 12 Dark 10 Drops

Day 12 Dark 15 Drops

Day 20 - Light

Day 20 - Dark

Conclusion After we did a mold transplant mold grew more on the cheese with more drops. We discovered that the cheese in the dark environment also grew more mold. The cheese without any drops of water which was in the light and dark did not grow any mold. Our experiment clearly showed that mold grows better in a darker environment than a lighter environment, and the mold grows better with more moisture.

Our Mold Under The Microscope