Soraya's Soup 1) Soraya left some soup in the refrigerator. She looked at the soup every day, but she always decided not to eat it. After five days, she started to see mold growing on the surface of the soup. She looked up mold online and found that mold is made of fungal cells.
Why didn’t Soraya see the mold growing on the soup before the fifth day? Why can she see it now?

Mold Growth

Explanation:

Mold is the fungal growth on decayed materials. Mold requires favorable conditions in terms of moisture, food, air quality, and temperature.

Normally under such favorable conditions, germination of mold takes place in 24-48 hours and will become visible anywhere from around 3 days when spores raise above the substrate’s surface.

Although the mold grows much earlier, since it is microscopic it will not be visible initially. The mold survives on the food available from the substrate; more spores from the mold reproduce, grow and form large colonies which are then visible to the naked eye.