The Effect of Environment on Bananas

1. The Effect of Environment on Bananas By: Molly Warshaw

2. Abstract This study was done to observe how a banana’s environment effects it’s ripening process. The researcher took four bunches of Dole bananas and placed each of them in four different environments. The four different environments in which the bananas were placed are in a refrigerator, on a counter top, in a brown paper bag, and hung on a banana hanger. The bananas were left in their environment for ten days and their weights were recorded every day. After the ten days the bananas had lost weight. The bananas in the brown paper bag lost the most percentage of their original weight and the bananas in the refrigerator lost the least amount. The bananas on the counter and on the banana hanger lost 2.7 and 2.9oz, whereas the bananas in the paper bag lost 2.5oz and the bananas in the refrigerator lost 1.4oz. All bananas showed signs of decay, but only the ones in the refrigerator never turned yellow. They went from being green to being green and brown and then to just being brown. Whereas the rest of the bananas went from being green to being yellow and then they turned brown. This research shows that the best way to keep a banana fresh longer is to store them in a refrigerator.

3. Review of Literature • Banana- tropical fruit that is turns yellow when ripe. • Banana hanger- a metal hanger which replicates the way a banana would hang on a banana tree in the wild • Before bananas turn ripe they are green, when they are ripe they turn yellow, and when they begin to rot they turn brown and lose weight. • You need all of this information to be able to fully understand how bananas ripen and what can effect their ripening process.

4. Question and Hypothesis • Question- What affect does the environment have on the ripening process of bananas? • Hypothesis- If bananas are set on a counter top, in a refrigerator, on a banana hanger, and in a brown paper bag, then the bananas in the brown paper bag will loose the most weight in ten days.

5. Experimental Design

6. Materials • Four bunches of Dole bananas with three bananas in each bunch • A brown paper lunch bag • A refrigerator • A metal banana hanger • A scale

7. Setup

8. Variables • Control group- the bananas sitting on the counter • Experimental group- the bananas in the refrigerator, on the hanger, and in the bag • Independent variables- what environment the bunch of bananas is in • Dependent variable- the weight of the bunch of bananas • Constant variables- the brand of bananas, where the bananas are from, how ripe the bananas are before the experiment is started, and the same scale.

9. Procedures • Buy twelve bananas that are relatively the same color and weight. • Separate the twelve bananas into four separate groups. • Set the four bunches of bananas, one on a counter top, one on a banana hanger, one in a refrigerator, and one in a brown paper lunch bag. • Leave the bananas in their environment for a day and then record the changes in color and weight. • Repeat step 4 for ten days.

10. Pictures Before: After:

11. Results The bananas in the paper bag, hanging, and counter lost an average of 0.3oz everyday. The bananas in the fridge lost an average of 0.2oz everyday. The group on the counter lost the most weight, but the ones in paper bag lost the most percentage of weight. Whereas the bananas in the fridge lost the least amount of weight.

12. Discussion • If I were to do this experiment again I would start my experiment when the bananas are riper so you could see more of a difference in their weight loss. • I would buy the bananas when they are further into the ripening process before I started my experiment. • I would also try and record the bananas’ weight and my observations closer to the same time everyday.

13. Graphs Weight (oz) Time

14. Graphs Weight (oz) Environment

15. Graphs Percentages Environment

16. Conclusion • The bananas that were kept in the refrigerator lost the least amount of weight and therefore the refrigerator is the best way to preserve bananas. • The bananas in the paper bag lost the most percentage of their weight and therefore paper bags ripen bananas the quickest. • The data does support my hypothesis although I did not expect the bananas in the refrigerator to loose such a small amount of weight. • Although the bananas in the brown paper bag lost the most percentage of their original weight, the bananas on the counter and on the banana hanger lost very close to the same amount. • All of the groups’ weight loss was very close to the same except for the bananas in the refrigerator, because they lost by far the least amount of weight.

17. Future Studies • I plan to extend this experiment further by testing if bananas ripen faster when soaked in water or other liquids. • I also would like to test to see if the results found in this experiment still holds true with other types fruits.

18. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my parents for helping me with my experiment, research, and for providing me the materials needed to complete this project.

19. Bibliography • BANANA Fruit Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2009, from http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/banana • Biology Experiment- Ethylene Gas Vs. Ripeness of Bananas | Scienceray. (2008, February 24). Retrieved October 24, 2009, from http://scienceray.com/chemistry/biology-experiment-ethylene-gas-vs-ripeness-of-bananas/ • Murphy, B. (2003, April 2). Ripening Bananas with Ethylene Gas. Retrieved October 22, 2009, from www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2003 • Wade, N., & Bishop, D. (2002, December 17). ScienceDirect - Biochimica et BiophysicaActa (BBA) - Lipids and Lipid Metabolism : Changes in the lipid composition of ripening banana fruits and evidence for an ssociated increase in cell membrane permeability. Retrieved October 24, 2009, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T1X- 47G41NT-8Y&_user=10&_coverDate=06%2F23%2F1978&_alid=106 2166685&_rdoc • Wade, N., Kavanagh, E., Hockley, D., & Brady, C. (2006, September 19). Relationship between softening and the polyuronides in ripening banana fruit. Retrieved October 22, 2009, from www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal