Pasteurs Experiment

Science Practical Report

Venkat Aluru - 4 June y

SCIENCE PRACTICAL- VENKAT ALURU

Aim:
To disapprove the theory of spontaneous generation by using Louis Pasteurs experiment.
Spontaneous generation was once a theory that living things were created from non living
things for example, fish from the mud in previously dried lakes.

Hypothesis:
The experiment is to disapprove the theory of spontaneous generation therefore it would
logical to say that spontaneous generation doesnt occur as will be shown by the flask
which is exposed to the air while the conical flask not exposed to the air will be sterile.

Conical Flask Exposed To

Air

Conical Flask With

Stopper

Nutrient Broth

Materials:
Hot

SCIENCE PRACTICAL- VENKAT ALURU

Method:
1. Pour 150ml worth of nutrient broth into a conical flask with a stopper and one a conical
flask exposed to the air.
2. Using the hot plate, heat the two flasks to get rid of any living bacteria in the substance
and let them sit at room temperature.
3. After several days, observe the difference between the two conical flasks. The flask
with the stopper shouldnt have not changed significantly while the conical flask
which is exposed the air should have changed in colour, thickness and smell.

Results:
Conical Flask

Smell

Colour

Thickness

Exposed To The Air

Slight hint of smell

arising from the
substance

The flask was

discoloured while the
colour of the nutrient
broth was murky when
compared to the other
flask.

The nutrient broth in the

exposed flask seemed a
little runny and was
obvious that the
substance had been
heavily effected by the
bacteria which had
grown in the flask after
the mixture had been
heated.

Held By The Stopper

No smell arose from the

broth.

The colour had stayed

the same as after it was
heated.

The thickness of the

substance had also not
changed very
significantly.

The results disapproved the long standing theory of spontaneous generation. If theory of
spontaneous generations was real, the flask with the stopper would have become
reinfected because the germs would have spontaneously generated but since this did not
happen, this indicates that germs only come from other germs.

SCIENCE PRACTICAL- VENKAT ALURU

Discussion:
There are many differences between the experiment we conducted in class and the one
Pasteur did. In our experiment, we used conical flasks while Pasteur used a curved-neck
flask and this may impact our experiment because the curved-neck flasks have been built
to retain the sterility of the substance while the conical flask was not built for this purpose,
Pasteur also used a bunsen burner while our class used a hot plate and this is important in
our experiment because a hot plate distributes the heat evenly while a bunsen burner
distributes the heat inconsistently. The three variables which were controlled were the
amount of protein broth, temperature of the hot plate and the air being able to access the
protein broth (i.e the flask with the stopper and the flask exposed to the air). The
independent variable was the bacteria growth in the open flask while the dependent
variable was the time which both flasks where left for.My results support those of
Pasteurs as it shows that spontaneous generation does not occur through the evidence
that the flask with the stopper stays sterile while there is a build up of bacteria in the flask
exposed to the air. When Pasteur was alive, many people believed in spontaneous
generation which was the theory that all living things were created from non living
things.The setup used in the experiment is reliable because it showed the build up of
bacteria in one flask against a vastly different flask which looked clean and sterile.

Conclusion:
My hypothesis predicting that the flask with the stopper would stay the same therefore
my prediction was correct. Pasteurs experiment showed that the theory of spontaneous
generation was false and the experiment we have conducted in class also disapproved the
theory.The flask with the stopper has stayed the same from the time it had been heated
meaning it was still sterile while the flask exposed to the air, had been growing bacteria
and also had significantly changed in colour,smell and thickness.

SCIENCE PRACTICAL- VENKAT ALURU