MICROORGANISMS AND DECAY

 INVESTIGATE HOW TEMPERATURE AFFECTS THE RATE OF DECAY

A group of students conducted an experiment to study how temperature affects the decay of organic material. They used slices of bread as the organic material and placed them in sealed containers at four different temperatures:

1. 4°C (refrigerator temperature)
2. 25°C (room temperature)
3. 37°C (human body temperature)
4. 50°C (high temperature)

The scientists observed the bread slices over 10 days and recorded the following data:

Temperature (°C)	Day 2	Day 4	Day 6	Day 8	Day 10
4°C	No decay	Slight discoloration	Moderate discoloration	Visible mould spots	Significant mould growth
25°C	Slight discoloration	Moderate discoloration	Visible mould spots	Significant mould growth	Complete decay
37°C	Moderate discoloration	Visible mould spots	Significant mould growth	Complete decay	Complete decay
50°C	No decay	No decay	Slight discoloration	Moderate discoloration	Visible mould spots