Bacteriology 102 – Exp. 5.4:
Extra Growth Curve Information

When scientists in the "real world" do growth curves, they want the information to be as accurate as possible. Often they are comparing the growth rates of two very similar bacteria, or the same bacterium in different conditions (for example, all-purpose medium vs. minimal medium). So it is important that the growth curves are accurate, or small differences will not be seen. Here is an example of how scientists can make accurate growth curve graphs.

A researcher will start several cultures, and take samples from them at intervals, such as every 30 min. So, if the first culture's data looked like this:

The second culture's data, when added to the first culture's data would look like this:

Add the third culture's data:

And the fourth:

As you can see, the best-fit line is more obvious for this graph than it is for the first graph.

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Page last modified on 10/21/03 at noon, CDT.

John Lindquist, Department of Bacteriology

University of Wisconsin – Madison