G.O.O.P: Growth-Optizing Organic Polymer

Inspiration-

We live by the coast and can clearly see our waterways being polluted. We want to be able to help researchers to collect data on how plastic pollution is affecting our environment. This inspired us to create a tool that will help researchers analyze the plastisphere and its makeup.

What it does-

G.O.O.P is a mix of water, vinegar, and corn starch that can increase microorganism growth so that scientists may study the plastisphere and its effects at high populations. We created a program with it that estimates how much G.O.O.P. will affect microorganism populations over time and a website that explains the parts of our project.

How we built it-

We mixed 1 cup water, 2.5 tablespoons cornstarch and 1.5 tablespoons vinegar into a bowl and heated over a stove until it was just below boiling. the mixture has a high viscosity to ensure it sticks to the plastic. The cornstarch will be broken down by the microorganisms into sugar that will enable population growth. The website was created in wixite.com to inform other interested people about our creation and a possible application of it to enable pioneer species to grow on large plastic conglomerations. The program was built in vs.code to show theoretical growth rates of microorganisms when G.O.O.P. is applied.

Challenges we ran into-

We struggled with deciding upon a project that was feasible within the given time constraints. We decided upon G.O.O.P. as it is a simple yet practical tool to help understand the plastisphere.

What we learned-

We learned how microorganisms break down substances into sugar. We also learned more about how to use python and how to make websites using website development tools. Most importantly, we learned how to delegate work in groups.