We think that bread that is dropped on the floor will begin to collect bacteria and germs immediately, and the longer it stays on the ground, the more contaminated it will become. We think bread that is left on the floor for longer periods of time, such as 30 minutes or 1 hour, will grow more visible mold than bread that is picked up quickly or not dropped at all. We also think that bread stored in a jar that is slightly open will grow more mold and show more contamination than bread stored in a completely closed jar, because air, moisture, and bacteria can enter the open jar more easily. Overall, we think that food picked up quickly is not as safe as people believe, and the 5-Second Rule may not be true.

Eating food dropped on the floor often causes no harm, but it carries a risk of consuming bacteria or viruses, potentially leading to food poisoning. Neurological & Cognitive Effects: Cutting-edge animal studies demonstrate that inhaling mould spores (even non-toxic ones) can trigger innate immune activation in the brain, leading to memory deficits, anxiety-like behaviour, and increased pain sensitivity.

controlled variable: the bread, and where we dropped the bread independant variable: The amount of time the bread was dropped ont he floor Dependant variable: the amount of mold that grows

1.We got the bread out and cut it 2. We set a timer 3. We dropped the bread on the ground for a specific the amount of time 4. We picked up the bread with gloves 5. We put the bread in a jar 6. We put the bread in a pantry

Week 1: No mould yet Week 2: looks like mould is starting to grow Week 3: We have mould on all of the breads except the 10 minutes and the no time where the lid of the jar was slightly open and the no time where the lid of the jar was fully closed.

In our experiment, we tested how the amount of time bread stayed on the floor affected mold and contamination. Most of the bread that was on the floor for longer periods, like 30 minutes and 1 hour, developed visible mold faster than the shorter time samples, which shows that leaving food on a surface for a long time increases the risk of contamination. Also the 10-minute sample did not show any mold growth during the observation period. This could mean that mold and bacteria do not always transfer or grow consistently, slight differences in temperature or air exposure probably affected the results.

The 5-second sample did show some mold growth in a few cases, which suggests that contamination can happen very quickly, even in a short time. The control samples that were not dropped and had their lids fully closed had the least mold at first, although some mold eventually appeared, showing that mold spores in the air can also grow over time.

Overall, our results suggest that the 5-Second Rule is likely a myth, since contamination appears to occur very quickly after food touches the floor. While leaving food longer on the ground may increase contamination, even short contact can still allow bacteria to transfer. This shows that eating dropped food may carry more risk than people assume.

In conclusion, our experiment showed that the amount of time bread stays on the floor does affect mold growth and contamination, but not always in a perfectly predictable way. The bread left on the floor for 30 minutes and 1 hour grew the most visible mold, while the 5-second and 30-second samples also showed contamination. However, the 10-minute sample did not grow mold, which shows that factors like moisture and where the bread landed can also affect results.

Storage conditions also made a difference. The bread that was not dropped at all—both the one stored in a slightly open jar and the one in a fully closed jar—did not grow mold. This suggests that simply being exposed to air is not enough to cause contamination, and that contact with the floor played a major role. Overall, our results suggest that the 5-Second Rule may not be reliable, because even short contact with the floor can lead to contamination.

This project can be used in real life because it helps people understand whether the 5-Second Rule is actually safe or just a myth. First, it can help people understand that bacteria spread faster than we might think, which can encourage better hygiene habits like cleaning floors more often and washing hands before eating. It can also help parents teach children about germs and why it is important not to eat food that has fallen on the ground. In schools, this experiment could be used as an example when learning about bacteria, mold growth, and how contamination works in real life. Restaurants and schools could also learn from this type of experiment by understanding how quickly contamination can happen. Overall, this project is important because it takes something people say all the time and tests it using science, helping people stay healthier and more aware of germs that they cannot see.

A source of error in our experiment was cross-contamination. While handling the different pieces of bread, We may have transferred bacteria from one sample to another. We used the same gloves without fully cleaning them between each trial, germs could have spread from one piece of bread to the next. Because of this, some samples have shown mold growth that did not only come from the floor but from accidental contact during handling. This affected the accuracy of our results and made it harder to tell which time interval truly had the most contamination. Another source of error was that mold spores naturally exist in the air. When I opened the jars to place the bread inside airborne spores entered the containers causing mold growth that was not only from contact with the floor.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/molds-food-are-they-dangerous https://www.healthline.com/health/mold-and-neurological-symptoms https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7231651/ https://www.today.com/health/diet-fitness/what-happens-if-you-eat-mold-rcna142965 https://www.epa.gov/mold/what-mold https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/mold

We would like to express our gratitude to those who supported us during our project. Firstly, we would like to thanks my parents and my partner's parents for supporting us throughout our project no matter what and motivating us towards specific goals. We would also like to thank Mr Downey for answering all our questions and keeping us posted on everything that is happening.