Acid and Base Yeast Lab

When going into this experiment, I believed that out of the three types of pH levels, acid, base, and neutral, that a neutral pH would allow yeast to thrive the most, considering the phrase "everything in moderation" and how nature likes a balance. My hypothesis never received a truly proper testing, due to two false starts. First, I made a mistake in accidentally pouring in 3 mL of the yeast solution, instead of 2 drops. This caused the air pressure to boil to a point of popping off the gas cap (in black) explosively!

After this popping, we attempted to forcibly keep it on, which caused the air pressure to rise to 157 kPa! If it reached northwards of 200 kPa, I believe the Pyrex would have shattered, causing facial lacerations and other maladies. Next, we restarted the whole experiment, realizing that the potential for shattering probably wasn't wanted when doing this lab. However, this time, we were confronted by the fact the the Vernier interface automatically ends the testing, and we had been waiting about 20 seconds to set a baseline, interfering with our true results. We figured this out right after finishing our acid test. We went through the test for the other two, and the neutral achieved 105.2 kPa at two minutes, while the base achieved 101.5 kPa.

The test tubes during the second test

Finally, we retested the acid one final time. It ended up at 101.1 kPa.

The diagram of the test tubes and their heights

In hindsight, seeing how other groups' results supported that acids where the beast, I failed to take in the chemical processes associated, and how acids are more likely to support the advent of more singular oxygen and hydrogen atoms, which causes air pressure. Currently, I have no idea which one was the "right" one, and which was more helpful to yeast. Personally, I believe that the acid caused more pressure.

I believe this lab has actual industrial uses, in the sphere of testing the amount of CO2 that can be injected into to soda. The scientists would continually inject CO2, and when the container popped, they could set a baseline for the amount of pressure it could withstand. If the soda makers needed more CO2, then they could create a stronger bottle.