PLEASE ANSWER!!!! VERY SIMPLE!!!

[Patty_laser]

would yeast grow in a pile of rotting food?
Would baking soda and vineger (foamy) kill this yeast?
how could i get my decaying pile of food to decay faster and with more bacteria

[dgeake]

Yeast could grow in a pile of rotting food, the amount of yeast depends on the type of foods and the amount of oxygen available. Yeast are obligate aerobes ie. they need oxygen. They seem to thrive in places where there is an abundance of carbohydrates. An abundance of bacterial action tends to make the whole mess go anaerobic (low oxygen levels), which would slow down yeast growth.

Baking soda and vinegar would probably not kill the yeast, but too much vinegar would lower the pH (make the environment too acidic) to a point that yeast may cease to proliferate. Too much baking soda might raise the osmotic pressure (make water hard for the yeast to get) to the point that the yeast would stop growing also. Too much of both might also raise the osmotic pressure (from sodium acetate produced) and inhibit yeast growth.

This whole mess would probably decay more rapidly at a temperature closer to body temperature (37 degrees C.) or perhaps slightly higher than it would at room temperature (25 degrees C.) Such an environment might favor the growth of bacteria rather than yeast, especially if the pile was rich in proteins rather than carbohydrates. Agitation will also speed up the decay process.

If the decay is produced by yeast and fungi, aeration would speed up the process also. Yeast and fungi might also prefer slightly lower temperatures.

Just because yeast and bacteria are microscopic doesn't mean they are closely related. Yeasts (and humans) are eucaryotes (they have a nucleus and mitochondria), bacteria lack both of these structures (and are procaryotes). Yeasts are also much larger than bacteria. Interestingly, we are more closely related to yeast than are bacteria. Many organisms we call fungi can also look like yeasts if the conditions are right.