Pearson Interactive Labs

In this virtual laboratory exercise, students will use biochemical tests to characterize an unknown Gram-positive bacterium, including the catalase test, phenyl ethyl alcohol agar, mannitol salt agar, blood agar, DNase agar and bile esculin agar.

Students use aseptic technique to transfer a bacterial culture to various media without contamination. They work progressively through the steps of aseptic technique using three culture media. While transferring from the first media, student errors are identified and corrected. During the second transfer, students have to rely on what they learned previously to make decisions, but their errors are caught and corrected. In the final transfer, they must recall the steps of aseptic technique and apply them. 

In this virtual lab, students will perform a streak for isolation to isolate different types of bacteria that are present in a sample from an infected wound. The isolation streaks are performed to obtain single, isolated colonies that will be further differentiated by the colony characteristics. The isolation streak will separate out the infecting bacteria as pure colonies, which can be sampled and identified, helping inform treatment.

In this virtual lab, students will perform acid-fast stains on control organisms and then analyze them along with an acid-fast stain from a sick patient’s sputum sample to determine the presence of acid-fast bacteria. Students will gain an understanding of the benefits of the acid-fast stain as a reliable, rapid detection technique for acid-fast bacteria, like the one that causes tuberculosis.

Students will become well-versed in the Kirby-Bauer antimicrobial sensitivity procedure in this virtual lab. After a procedural overview on how to perform and interpret results, students will perform the procedure on two pure liquid bacterial cultures and evaluate drug sensitivity based on measured zones of inhibition and their correlation with values in a standard table. The lesson ends by examining the clinical relevance of the learned technique as well as common misconceptions and technique errors.

In this virtual laboratory exercise, students will use biochemical tests to characterize an unknown Gram-negative bacterium, including MacConkey agar, SIM agar, MRVP broth, urea broth, citrate agar, nitrate broth, and phenol red carbohydrate broth.

In this virtual lab, students prepare smears and perform simple stains on both solid and liquid bacterial cultures. They view stained specimens under the microscope to determine microbial presence and cellular morphology. Next, relying on what they have learned in the lab, students explore simple staining for presumptive pathogen identification. Finally, students will examine common errors like incorrect smear thickness and improper heat-fixing technique.

In this virtual lab experiment, students will learn the proper care of a microscope, its principal components, the common problems that can occur while in use and how to examine microbial samples to determine results. Students begin by visualizing the causative agent of a patient’s illness by bringing the culprit organism into focus and ultimately identifying the organism implicated by a rapid test.

In this virtual lab, endospore stains will be performed on various bacterial specimens to identify the presence or absence of endospores. During this exercise, students will learn the process of endospore staining and apply this technique to control clinical samples. Next, they will conduct an endospore staining procedure to look for the presence of C. difficile under a microscope. This information will inform treatment and protect the other residents in the medical facility.

In this virtual lab, students will explore the importance of using serial dilutions and viable plate counts to enumerate bacterial concentrations in real life samples. Students will also demonstrate the process of using the serial dilution and viable plate count to enumerate bacterial concentrations in clinical samples, thereby helping diagnose a simulated patient.

In this virtual lab, students will explore the differences between various physical methods for their effectiveness at controlling the growth of microorganisms. Students will work as a member of a patient safety team to actively examine the efficacy of the use of dry heat, autoclave, and UV light as physical methods of controlling the growth of bacteria in a simulated clinical environment.