In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming was studying Staphylococcus bacteria growing in culture dishes. He noticed that a mold called Penicillium was also growing in some of the dishes. A clear area existed around the mold because all the bacteria that had grown in this area had died. In the culture dishes without the mold, no clear areas were present. Fleming hypothesized that the mold must be producing a chemical that killed the bacteria. He decided to isolate this substance and test it to see if it would kill bacteria. Fleming transferred the mold to a nutrient broth solution. This solution contained all the materials the mold needed to grow. After the mold grew, he removed it from the nutrient broth and then added the broth to a culture of bacteria. He observed that the bacteria in the culture died. Fleming's experiments were later used to develop antibiotics. .
6. State the question or problem that Fleming investigated.
7. What was Fleming's hypothesis?
8. How was the hypothesis tested?
9. Write a statement that summarizes the results of the experiment.
10. This experiment lead to the development of what major medical advancement?