Carbohydrate Fermentation Testing
Cynthia Alonzo, M.S.
Version 42-0241-00-01
Lab Report Assistant
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
Observations
Experiment
Carbohydrate Fermentation Testing
173
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Questions
A. What is fermentation?
B. Why is it important not to incubate the fermentation tubes beyond 24 hours?
C. Why is phenol red added to the fermentation tubes?
D. Why do bacteria have differences in the carbohydrates they can ferment?
E. Why does the formation of yellow color indicate fermentation?
F. What information can be gained by running a fermentation series on a particular microbe?
G. What does a dark pink or red color indicate?
H. What is the source of the air bubble that may form in the Durham tube?
I. Based on your results, what is the carbohydrate profile for S. epidermidis?
J. Based on your results, what is the carbohydrate profile for S. cerevisiae?