Bio EE do I need a mentor for experiments

[Wuluhulu]

Hello everyone!

So I have decided to write my EE on Microbiology, on the effect on the effects of metals on the growth of bacteria, namely E.coli and Salmonella (Or other bacteria that is safe to be grown). The school is not letting me grow any cultures at the school facility due to health and safety concerns, but I would still like to do the experiment for my EE. 

So my question is: 

1. Is it required for the experiment to be carried out under the supervision of a teacher?

(I've read the IB guideline and they say that "Ideally, students should carry out the research for the essay solely under the direction of a school supervisor.")

Can I still do the research outside of the school without my mentor's supervision?

2. What does IB mean by "are likely to have a harmful effect on health" in inappropriate topics, because it says  "culturing micro-organisms at or near body temperature (37°C)".

If I wear protective equipments such as gloves and masks would that still be inappropriate? 

 

Thank you in advance! All the best. 

 

[kw0573]

It's not required to have supervision but I strongly recommend against proceeding with the topic. Let me use two analogies. Suppose I want to do a construction for a physics EE using jigsaws and circular saws to build a model. Now I have never used them before, nor do I have supervision. But it would be pretty ridiculous for me to say, alright, I have gloves, goggles, masks, I am sure I will be fine. Suppose I want to do a lab for my chemistry EE using a superacid, HSO₃F (about a thousand times more acidic than sulfuric acid). I am wearing lab coats, masks, gloves, and doing things under a hood, I think it should be pretty safe even without supervision. When you don't know what the dangers are or procedures in response to every error or accident that can take place, you should not do the lab, let alone independently. Now if you do have supervision but that's not your mentor, you should request permission from your school and make sure that your supervisor has years of experience in similar experiments.