Ch 3: Microbiology Laboratory Procedures
About This Chapter
Microbiology Laboratory Procedures - Chapter Summary
This chapter helps you review a variety of lab procedures in microbiology. Follow along with our expert instructors to study topics like microscopy, Gram stains, bacterial growth mechanisms, serial dilution and bacterial enumeration. Each lesson comes with a short self-assessment quiz, and the chapter concludes with a comprehensive multiple-choice exam. Our instructors are happy to help you out if you have any questions. You can study the chapter at any time using your desktop, laptop or mobile device. By the end of the chapter, you should be able to:
- Explain the applications and types of microscopy
- Compare simple and differential stains
- Recognize a Gram stain background
- Assess Gram stain procedure and theory
- Identify types of bacterial growth mechanisms
- Evaluate lab experiments for bacteria growth
- Interpret the phases and stages of bacterial growth and generation time
- Define the bacterial enumeration method
- Describe the serial dilution technique
- Distinguish between selective and differential media in microbiology
1. Microscopy Types & Applications
What is microscopy and how do we use it? Learn about the different types of microscopes and the ways we use them for practical purposes. You can then take a quiz and test what you've learned.
2. Simple and Differential Stains: Definition and Examples
Observing tiny bacteria under the microscope is not as easy as it sounds. In this lesson, we will examine several staining techniques used to color bacteria, enhancing their visibility.
3. The Gram Stain: Background and Example Organisms
Every microbiology student should be familiar with the Gram stain. In this first of two lessons on this technique, we will look at some of the background information before describing and viewing some relevant example organisms.
4. The Gram Stain: Theory and Procedure
In this lesson, we will focus on the individual steps of the Gram stain procedure. In this second of two lessons on the Gram stain, we will examine the theory and procedure behind how each step contributes to the process as a whole.
5. Growing Bacteria in a Lab: Experiments & Conditions
Despite the fact that bacteria are growing all around you, they can be surprisingly difficult to grow in a lab. This lesson will explore some of the basics involved in culturing bacteria for experimentation.
6. What Is Bacterial Growth & Generation Time? - Curves, Phases & Stages
Bacteria are able to reproduce at an incredibly rapid pace. In this lesson, we will examine the different phases of bacterial growth and how to calculate population numbers based on generation times and culture size.
7. Bacterial Enumeration: Definition, Methods & Example
In this lesson, we'll learn about bacterial enumeration. We will discuss what this process is and different enumeration methods such as standard plate count, direct microscopic counts, cell mass determination, measurement of cellular activity, and much more.
8. Serial Dilution in Microbiology: Calculation, Method & Technique
Working with billions of tiny cells can pose a problem when you need to count the total number of cells in a sample. Fortunately, through precise serial dilution of a sample, it is possible to get down to a number that is much easier to work with.
9. Differential & Selective Media in Microbiology
Every microbiologist eventually has to grow cultures of bacteria for their experiments. In this lesson, we will investigate selective and differential media, two techniques to make culturing bacterial species a little more efficient.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the UExcel Microbiology: Study Guide & Test Prep course
- Early History of Microbiology
- Fundamentals of Microbiology
- Understanding Genetics & DNA
- Understanding Metabolism
- Bacterial Biology
- Understanding Diseases
- Protozoan Diseases
- Understanding Viruses
- Overview of DNA Viruses
- Overview of RNA Viruses
- Overview of Fungal Infections
- Illnesses & Infections of the GI Tract
- Overview of Bacterial STDs
- Understanding Blood-Borne Bacterial Diseases
- Respiratory Bacterial Infections
- Bacterial Skin and Wound Infections
- Immunology Basics
- Structure & Function of the Immune System
- Overview of Antigens
- Disorders of the Immune System
- Serological & Diagnostic Reactions
- Antimicrobial Drugs Overview
- Sterilization & Antiseptic Methods
- Chemical Methods of Microbial Control
- Effectiveness of Antiseptics & Disinfectants
- Microbiology & the Environment
- Food & Industrial Microbiology Overview
- UExcel Microbiology Flashcards