Materials Required:
l Slice of bread
l 2 paper plates
l Spray bottle
l Water
l Magnifying glass
Procedure:
- Place a slice of bread on a paper plate. Homemade bread or one of the natural breads without preservatives works best, but ordinary bread will also do the job.
- Fill a spray bottle with water and gently mist the top of the bread until it is moist. Do not soak the entire slice.
- Let the bread sit in the open air for a few minutes, then set another paper plate, upside down, over the first. This will form a raised cover for the bread. Leave the entire experiment in a warm, dark place for several days.
- You will soon see a light gray fuzzy material covering the bread. If you check the bread each day now, the growth will become heavier and turn dark.
This Is What Happens:
You probably knew that the material growing on the bread is called mold—a unique kind of plant. Mold is not green and does not make its own food in sunlight. In this experiment, the mold drew nourishment from the bread. Even though mold can spoil food, sometimes it is helpful, and people grow it on purpose like you did. Many cheeses and certain drugs, such as penicillin, are made from mold.
Use a magnifying glass and examine your mold carefully. Do you see small dark spheres on the ends of stalks? These structures help to grow new mold. Tear the bread apart and look at the torn edge. There are several white threads growing into the bread. These are similar to the roots of a plant.
