Mold is a type of fungus; it is neither plant nor animal but is still alive. Molds can be both found indoors and outdoors. There is no concrete number of molds known, but it is roughly estimated from tens of thousands to three hundred thousand or even more. The role of mold cannot be overestimated; to name penicillin as a type of mold would be enough.
The best conditions for mold growth are warm (preferable temperatures are 40 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit), damp and humid, but molds can also survive dry conditions that do not contribute to normal mold growth. Molds can grow on different types of food, thus making them unfit to eat. Also, they can spread on walls, floors, and ceilings, and on personal possessions.
To grow molds and to study what conditions they grow the best in, I have conducted the following experiment, which tested four samples. For the experiment, I needed 4 slices of bread, some water, some saran wrap, and magnifying glass. The experiment took me two weeks, and it was conducted as follows.
I worked on four samples at a time. First, I took a few days-old pieces of bread (it shouldn’t have been too stale) and sliced them in half. The first half was sealed in saran wrap, and the other was exposed to air.
The second piece of bread was also sliced in half. One half I left in the dark (actually, it was a paper bag), whereas the other one I left in strong light (to observe the work of sunlight).
The third piece of bread I also sliced in half. One half was very dry; on the other one, I put 1 tsp of water. Every day I put a few drops of water on this half.
As for the fourth piece of bread, I put half of it in the dark warm place, on the top of the fridge in a paper bag, and the other half I put in the cold dark place (it was refrigerator).
As mold grows slowly, there was no need to check it more than twice a day. I found observing it once a day more practical. Every day I examined the changes either with a naked eye or a magnifying glass and recorded the changes in appearance.
Molds developed on some of the samples. Namely, in the first sample, the sealed bread developed molds more slowly than the unsealed bread. In the second sample, the bread kept in darkness developed molds more quickly than the bread that I kept in the light. In the third sample, the wet bread developed mold more quickly than the dry bread. As for the fourth sample, the mold in the warm place developed more quickly than the bread in the cold place.
Thus, the experiment proved that molds grow best in warm, dark, and moist conditions. Also, the experiment enlarged my knowledge about the storage of food. It turned out that bread should be stored in some sealed places, in the refrigerator, in the light, in some dry and cool places to keep it from molds.
I realized that various foods (such as cheese, oranges, tomatoes, potatoes, lemons, etc.) might grow molds if left exposed. People should use some artificial and natural preservatives to preserve their food.
When the experiment was completed, I carefully discarded the bread, disturbing it as little as possible so as not to scatter mold spores.
The simple experiment that I conducted widened my knowledge of mold growth and enabled me to find its practical application.