Yeast is a tiny organism that is used to make many of our favorite foods, like bread and beer. By studying yeast, we can learn how to make these foods taste even better and last longer.

The yeasts are one very important group of fungi. The common yeast used in baking bread grows very fast. You can complete an experiment in two days! The basic idea in this method is to measure the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released during the growth of yeast. 

Can yeast inflate a balloon using nothing but the sugar in soda pop? Yeast produces carbon dioxide gas as it feeds. This project captures that gas in a balloon and measures how much each drink produces.

You add a teaspoon of dried yeast to bottles of different sodas and water. A balloon stretched over each bottle traps the CO2. After placing the bottles in a warm spot you measure how large each balloon grows.

The results show which drinks give yeast the most food. You can also test whether the amount of sugar in a drink matches the amount of gas produced.

Purpose: TRY GROWING YOUR OWN YEAST FUNGUS!!!


Introduction:

The yeasts are one very important group of fungi. The common yeast used in
baking bread grows very fast. You can complete an experiment in two days! The
basic idea in this method is to measure the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2)
released during the growth of yeast. The growth of the yeast stops when one of
the nutrients required by the yeast is gone, or when the liquid gets too acid
(low pH) and kills the yeast. If you want to try this experiment, follow the
directions below.


Materials:

 * A teaspoon measure
 * A permanent marker
 * Active dry yeast (used in baking bread--do not use quick-rising varieties.)
   This yeast is available in jars if you are planning on doing a large
   experiment.
 * Bottled soda pop or water in equal amounts. Different items contain different
   ounces per container. Shake each soda bottle and let the foam settle before
   opening, or open and allow to go flat overnight.
 * Identical round, thin latex balloons--"water balloons" are slow to expand.
   Non-Mylar® "helium-quality" balloons give good results.


Procedure:

DIRECTIONS FOR GROWING YEAST

 * Label each bottle with a number to keep track of what each one
   contains--control, treatment and contents, so that you can tell bottles
   containing the same solution (replicates) apart. Color is not a reliable
   means of identification--the caramel color used in cola is a carbohydrate and
   the yeast can eat it.
 * Put a teaspoon of dried yeast in each bottle.
 * Seal the bottles tightly and shake the bottle.
 * Remove the lids and stretch a balloon over the mouth of each bottle. The
   balloon should fit very tightly so that the carbon dioxide does not leak into
   the air. Click for an Alternative Method
 * Place each container in a warm area out of direct sunlight (top of
   refrigerator or clothes dryer) where they will not be disturbed.
 * Record the diameters of the balloons, time since start of experiment, etc.
   for each bottle. One good method of measurement is to wrap a string around
   each bottle at its widest point, and then measure the length of the wrapped
   string against a yardstick. Record any other things you see happen. Did the
   color change? Did one balloon have a hole in it?
 * Calculate the average diameter of the balloons in each treatment and the
   controls. The average is calculated by adding all the diameters of all the
   balloons in a treatment then dividing by the number of balloons in the
   treatment.
 * Compare the results (average balloon diameters) of the experiment.
 * A graph of the averages might help show your results.


QUESTIONS TO HELP DESIGN EXPERIMENTS

 * Is the average of the treatments larger than the average of the controls?
 * Is the average of one treatment larger than the averages of the other
   treatments?
 * Is carbonated water a better control than non-carbonated water in experiments
   with different kinds of soda pop?
 * Is the amount of sugar used in a bottle related to the amount of carbon
   dioxide released into the balloon? Hint: graph sugar concentration versus
   average balloon size.


Yeast, Soda Pop, and CO2 Balloons

How to grow your own yeast fungus

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Microbiology is the study of tiny living things that we can't see with our eyes, like bacteria, viruses and fungi. Microbiologists study how these microorganisms grow, reproduce, and interact with their environment, and how they can affect our health.

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Yeast, Soda Pop, and CO2 Balloons

Hypothesis

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