Antibiotic Sensitivity Disc Bacteria Lab

Welcome! Years ago, I created this four-page lab manual to complement a lab kit from Carolina Biological (Antibiotic Sensitivity Disks Set #805081) I order and annually use in my advanced biology class. Years of application and refinement have resulted in this publication.

In this two-day laboratory investigation, students will test the effectiveness of six different antibiotics on E. coli and S. epidermis, respectively. Some of the medicines target Gram-positive bacteria, some target Gram-negative bacteria, while two of the antibiotics are broad-spectrum.

Important!

Materials needed for this investigation not included with this listing are the following.

• An incubator with calibrated temperature settings
• Petri dishes with agar
• Stock cultures of Staphylococcus epidermis (S. epi) and Escherichia coli (E. coli)
• Plastic disposable or nichrome inoculating loops
• Bunsen burners
• Safety pins or a formal disk dispenser
• Permanent markers
• An Antibiotics Sensitivity Disks Set #805081 from Carolina Biological Supply Company or a similar disk set from a different supply company.

In my lab manual, students will perform the following tasks.

• Write a purpose for the lab
• Follow an explicit procedure
• Sketch and label the growth of bacteria and the kill zones from the antibiotics for four Petri dishes.
• Summarize the two antibiotics most and least effective for S. epi and E. coli
• Identify which two antibiotics are broad-spectrum based on the results
• Describe or draw and label the outer structural difference s between Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria
• Consult the textbook or online resource to identify and describe four ways antibiotics neutralize and kill bacteria
• Identify and describe three possible sources of error that affected or could have affected the results.

This PDF file will become editable using an Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Program. This lab manual comes with a two-page key with the answers in bold, red font. Also, I edited this document with the premium version of Grammarly.

Thank you for your interest. I have published science lab kits, games, posters, books, and lessons through several science supply companies dating back to 2002. Order with confidence!