Chapter 11, Problem 1Q

What is a contaminant?

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The definition of the term contaminant.

Introduction:

The microbiology is the science involved in the study of microbes. There are many different types of microbes present in biological systems. The culturing is a technique of growing microbes in a laboratory condition.

Explanation of Solution

In a microbial culture, a contaminant is described as a foreign microbe, which is not desirable. In case, when a single type of specific microbes is being cultured, some microbes can grow in the nutrient medium. These microbes are not desired in the culture and contaminate the nutrient medium. The introduction of the contaminant can be caused by neglecting the sterilizing techniques and not taking proper precautions.