IONATOR EXP VALIDITY

Biology Honors ClassElizabeth BarrecaMs. Rennier/Mr. SquireMarch 24, 2011

INTRODUCTION

Activeion’s Ionator EXP was brought to the attention of a Cuba High School biology class by combined efforts of a janitor, who received an Ionator sample, and two science teachers. The class assignment was to test the validity of Activeion’s Ionator EXP which claims that it “replaces the shelves of general-purpose cleaners, killing 99.9% (when used as directed) of germs and eliminating dirt” by spraying electrically charged water. If the Ionator was to work, the school may evaluate investing into a few units.  Considering the general cleaning solution used in the school, a bleach dilution was chosen to be tested against the electrically charged water produced.  The general hypothesis was that the Ionator EXP could not be as effective as bleach which has been successfully used for years. Using water as the control, an experiment was created to test the legitimacy of Activeion’s claim.

MATERIALS

• 24 50cm2 Petri dishes• Tape• Cotton Swabs• Ionator EXP• Water• Bleach diluted with water• Flat Surface • Septic tank bacteria and dirt

1. Bacteria were spread across a flat surface.

2. Over three similar surfaces, 8 areas of 30cm x 1cm were marked out with tape, resulting in a total of 24 marked areas.

3. The bleach dilution, water, or ionized water from the Ionator was sprayed on each section of 8.

4. A sample of each area was taken and streaked into individual Petri dishes, using an even, rolling motion while taking the sample and transferring it.

5. The Petri dishes sat for two days.

6. After two days, the Bacteria Colonies were counted and data was collected (Pages 3 and 4).

Methods

RESULTS

0100200300400500600700800900

1000

Bacteria Colonies per

50 cm sqrt

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Petri Dish Number

Bacteria Growth in Two Days After Use of Water

0102030405060708090

100

Bacteria Colonies per

50 cm sqrt

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Petri Dish Number

Bacteria Growth in Two Days After Use of Bleach

RESULTS

0123456789

10

Bacteria Colonies

Average per 50 cm sqrt

Ionator Water Bleach

Substance Used

Final Comparison of Colonies Based on Substance Used

0123456789

10

Bacteria Colonies per

50 cm sqrt

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Petri Dish Number

Bacteria Growth in Two Days After Use of Ionator

Bacteria Growth in Two Days

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Petri Dish Number

Bac

teri

a C

olo

nie

s p

er 5

0 cm

sq

rt

Ionator

Water

Bleach

Bacteria Growth in Two Days

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Petri Dish Number

Bac

teri

a C

olo

nie

s p

er 5

0 cm

sq

rt

Ionator

Water

Bleach

Bacteria Colonies/Water

Bacteria Colonies/Bleach

Bacteria Colonies/Ionator

Water at Bottom, Bleach Middle, Ionator Top

CONCLUSION

The hypothesis that the Ionator EXP would not work as well as the application of a bleach dilution was shown to be wrong by this experiment.  According to the results, the Ionator EXP worked best with an average of 0.1 bacteria colonies per cm2 opposed to 0.6 cm2 of bacteria after use of bleach dilution. However, this experiment could have been done better. The data showed that the eighth sample from the surfaces sprayed with the bleach dilution grew ninety-nine bacteria colonies, being a definite outlier compared to the rest of the surfaces in the section.  The reason this was an outlier should have been investigated because when figured into the average it made a substantial difference which could change the conclusion of the entire experiment. Also, being performed in a school environment, how well the Ionator EXP kills harmful bacteria and viruses could not be tested.  This experiment must be improved in many ways to show the actual effect of the Ionator EXP.