4.2: Identifying Microorganisms
4.2.1: Plating and Culturing
Read this article, which describes how media can be used to grow microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. Media is prepared using various agents that will either enhance or inhibit the growth of certain organisms.
4.2.2: Differential Staining
4.2.2.1: Gram Staining
Read these lecture slides for a demonstration of the gram staining procedure.
4.2.2.2: Acid Fast Staining
Study this short demonstration of the acid-fast staining procedure. Acid-fast staining is used to differentiate between organisms like the acid-fast positive "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" and other acid-fast negative organisms. Complete the two short review activities to evaluate how much you have learned. You will only be able to access the second activity after completing the first matching activity on the last slide of the presentation.
Complete this quiz. After clicking on the link above, scroll down to "Self-Quiz" at the bottom of the page. After completing the quiz return to the first page and click on "Answers" to see the correct answers. There is a detailed introduction to this assessment above the "Self-Quiz." Be sure to visit the "Results" section, also note that clicking on the links under the empty frames brings you to annotated micrographs.
Complete this quiz. After clicking on the link above, scroll down to "Self-Quiz" at the bottom of the page. After completing the quiz return to the first page and click on "Answers" to see the correct answers. There is a detailed introduction to this assessment above the "Self-Quiz." Be sure to visit the "Results" section, also note that clicking on the links under the empty frames brings you to annotated micrographs.