A budding biologist is performing a gram stain on E. coli. However, when they view their slide under a microscope, their bacterial sample appears purple. Which of the following errors have they most likely committed?
W) They forgot to use a mordant after counterstaining the slide with safranin and washed out the pink color
X) They smeared a large amount of bacterial cells on the slide, so multiple layers of cells were present
Y) They used excessive force when rinsing their slide with acetone, causing endospore formation
Z) They counterstained using carbol fuchsin (read: fewk-sin) instead of crystal violet, so the bacteria could not be decolorized
✔️Answer:X) They smeared a large amount of bacterial cells on the slide, so multiple layers of cells were present
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