A simple method is presented to show bids the size of a microbe — a fungus hypha — compared to a human hair. Common household items are used to make sterile medium on a stove or hotplate, which is dispensed in the cells of a weekly plastic pill box. Mold fungi can be easily and safely grown on the medium from the classroom environment. A microscope capable of 200–400× is necessary. Students can use a hair from their own head to view a fungus and a hair side-by-side on the same slide. They will see that a microscopic fungus hypha is 20–50× smaller in diameter than a hair. Older students will also learn that microbes are measured in micrometers, that fungi are ubiquitous, and that decay is an inevitable part of Earth's processes.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 May 2013
A Hair & a Fungus: Showing Kids the Size of a Microbe
Dana L. Richter
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
The American Biology Teacher
Vol. 75 • No. 5
May 2013
Vol. 75 • No. 5
May 2013