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Objective 1: Observe and summarize information about microorganisms.
a. Examine and illustrate size, shape, and structure of organisms found in an environment such as pond water.
b. Compare characteristics common in observed organisms (e.g., color, movement, appendages, shape) and infer their function (e.g., green color found in organisms that are producers, appendages help movement).
c. Research and report on a microorganism’s requirements (i.e., food, water, air, waste disposal, temperature of environment, reproduction).
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Objective 2: Demonstrate the skills needed to plan and conduct an experiment to determine a microorganism’s requirements in a specific environment.
a. Formulate a question about microorganisms that can be answered with a student experiment.
b. Develop a hypothesis for a question about microorganisms based on observations and prior knowledge.
c. Plan and carry out an investigation on microorganisms. {Note: Teacher must examine plans and procedures to assure the safety of students; for additional information, you may wish to read microbe safety information on Utah Science Home Page.}
d. Display results in an appropriate format (e.g., graphs, tables, diagrams).
e. Prepare a written summary or conclusion to describe the results in terms of the hypothesis for the investigation on microorganisms.
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Objective 3: Identify positive and negative effects of microorganisms and how science has developed positive uses for some microorganisms and overcome the negative effects of others.
a. Describe in writing how microorganisms serve as decomposers in the environment.
b. Identify how microorganisms are used as food or in the production of food (e.g., yeast helps bread rise, fungi flavor cheese, algae are used in ice cream, bacteria are used to make cheese and yogurt).
c. Identify helpful uses of microorganisms (e.g., clean up oil spills, purify water, digest food in digestive tract, antibiotics) and the role of science in the development of understanding that led to positive uses (i.e., Pasteur established the existence, growth, and control of bacteria; Fleming isolated and developed penicillin).
d. Relate several diseases caused by microorganisms to the organism causing the disease (e.g., athlete’s foot -fungi, streptococcus throat -bacteria, giardia -protozoa).
Observe and report on microorganisms’ harmful effects on food (e.g., causes fruits and vegetables to rot, destroys food bearing plants, makes milk sour).
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