Which Fruit Molds the Fastest?

Problem

Which fruit molds the fastest?

Materials

* Pears, Apples, Bananas * Plastic baggies * Fruit knife * Location: Kitchen * Pen and paper

Question

Which fruit, banana, pear or apple, will mold faster? Does fruit type effect mold growth?

Hypothesis

I think that bananas will mold faster than the apple or pear.

Variables

Independent Variable:
Type of fruit

Dependent Variable:
Time to mold

Variables That Need To Be Controlled: place left exposed to air, room temperature

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation
Mold can be explained in the following ways:
1. Any of various fungi that often cause disintegration of organic matter.
2. The growth of such fungi.

Procedures

In my project I will be molding fruit that is exposed to air. To make this happen, I need a container box, one apple, one banana and one pear. I will cut each fruit with a knife and place them in a bag in a room temperature area such as my kitchen. I will need to wait for two weeks and see if any mold has grew. Every other day, I will take notes about the change that had occurred.
Safety or Environmental Concerns
Mold might cause sickness due to fumes. I need to throw away the fruit once it molds.

Experimental Design

Controlled, manipulated experiment

What is your experimental unit?
Molding Fruit

Number of Trials:
One

Number of Subjects in each trial:

Three

Number of Observations:
Fourteen

When data will be collected:
April 2015

Where will data be collected:
At my house in the kitchen

Data Table

Fruit Type Day of Worst Condition
Apple 10
Banana 8
Pear 14
Days of Worst Condition: The apple and banana did not change after the days graphed. The apple did not show any more changes after day 10. Banana did not show any changes after 8 days and the pear on the last day grew mold, which was the last day of the experiment.

Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Results

After leaving the 3 pieces of cut fruit exposed to air for two weeks, they did react to being left out in air after being cut, but only one fruit molded; which was the pear. The apple and banana did not mold but they did change quite a lot. They all became brown and dried out; causing the skin to wrinkle and become very delicate. The apples; did not react the same as the pear, they only became a little bit brown and did wrinkle but did not mold. The banana; grew very brown and dry. It became so dry that it started to shrink and was like a large banana chip. The pear; reacted the fastest in molding and became very wrinkly around the edges. They began to shrivel up and lost their light and also formed a whitish-blue mold.

Conclusion

The pear molded the fastest in the two weeks I left them exposed to air.

Background Research
Studies show that fruit molds faster in room temperature than when in the fridge. Molds are microscopic organisms found virtually everywhere, indoors and outdoors. Mold is alive, but it is neither a plant nor an animal. Mold is a type of fungus. It is part of a group of living organisms that are very common and serve an important role in the environment. Penicillin, an antibiotic that has saved many lives, is a type of mold, as is yeast. Mold is formed by microscopic creatures belonging to the Fungi Kingdom. When tiny airborne spores of mold burst, and then land on a favorable surface, they proliferate into visible colonies, and find new favorable surfaces on which to further develop. Mold seeks Moisture, Warmth, and Food, and all three conditions are necessary for it to grow. Mold is most likely to find a place to grow in a bathroom, basement or kitchen, but it can grow in other rooms if conditions are favorable. The climate where you live and the living habits in your household can affect the ability of mold to grow. Mold spores can thrive and reproduce in wet or damp parts of your home: areas that have had flooding or where leakage has occurred in roofs, pipes, or walls, or areas around house plants, especially ones that sometimes are over-watered. In just 48 hours, a moist environment combined with room-temperature conditions and an organic food source can lead to mold growth.

References

www.foodreference.com/html/mold-on-food.html