Louis Pasteur 's Experiment

Louis Pasteur - One of the first to disprove spontaneous generation. A French scientist who proved that micro organisms was carried by dust not air. (French 1864)

Spontaneous Generation

• The idea that organisms originate directly from nonliving matter.
• "life from nonlife"
• abiogenisis - (a-not bio-life genesis-origin)

Pasteur's Problem Where do the microbes come from to cause broth to decay. Hypothesis: Microbes come from cells of organisms on dust particles in the air; not the air itself. Pasteur put broth into several special S-shaped flasks Each flask was boiled and placed at various locations
Pasteur's Experiment Step 1 S-shaped Flask Filled with broth The special shaped was intended to trap any dust particles coming in.
Pasteur's Experiment Step 2 Flasks boiled Flasks boiled Micropes Killed
Pasteur's Experiment Step 3 Flask Left Out Flask left at various locations Did not turn cloudy Microbes not found
Pasteur's Experiment Step 3 Flask Left Out Notice the dust that collected in the neck of the flask
Pasteur's Experiment Results What did Pasteur's experiment show? Was his hypothesis correct or incorrect?

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Copyright ©, 1998 Tim Lynch