Tianne Godfrey

Title: rate of spoilage in milk

Aim: to investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of spoilage of fresh cow’s milk.

Hypothesis: the lower the temperature of the milk, the slower the rate of spoilage

The spoilage of milk is slower at lower temperatures.

Materials:

 Fresh milk cows milk

 250 ml beaker (2)

 refrigerator

 jars with lid (3)

 Hot plate

 Stirring rod

Procedure:

1. Label each jar: cold, room temperature and warmed

2. Using a 250ml beaker, pour 250ml of the fresh cow’s milk into the jars labelled room

temperature and cold.

3. Measure another 250ml in a beaker, and place on hot plate for 10minutes.

4. After ten minutes pour the warmed milk into the jar labeled warmed.

5. Place the jar labelled cold into the refrigerator, the warm and the room temperature jar on

a counter.

6. The jar labelled RTP is the control.

7. Do not shake the beakers

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8. Make observations everyday over a five-day period, record all observations in a suitable

table.

Expected results:

The control milk, at room temperature will spoil faster than the warm and cold milk
The cold milk will take a longer time to spoil compare to the room temperature and warm
milk

Treatment of results:

Milk is nutritional food with high levels of food protein, mil sugar and essential nutrients,

however, it contains bacteria that multiples if not properly handled. The first and most common

indicator of milk spoilage is the sour taste and white curd. Which is due to the milk bacteria

acting on the milk sugar converting it to lactic acid which is known for its sour taste.

The control milk at room temperature, would spoil faster than the warm milk because even

though both milks were put in the same environment, the room temperature milk, the room

temperature milk ill start spoiling first because warming kills some bacteria; contrary to that milk

usually spoils faster at high temperature, but because the warm milk was warm and some

bacteria was killed, there was less Bactria to start acting on the milk sugar to convert it to lactic

acid, however the room temperature milk has enough bacteria to starts spoiling whilst the

warmed milk reproduce more bacteria.

Refrigeration of milk severely retards bacterial growth as result it takes a longer period milk into

fridge to spoil, hence refrigerated milk indeed spoils at a slower rate relative to warmed and

room temperature milk. Even though some of the bacteria is killed during warming of the milk,

like stated before bacteria will start to reproduce when it Is place in the jar at room temperature,
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hence the milks at room temperature spoils faster than the cold. The effect of temperature on the

spoilage of milk is evident here.

Limitations:

 Rate of spoilage cannot be controlled

 The rate at which the bacteria act upon the milk sugar to convert to lactic acid cannot be

controlled