Abstract

I have conducted an experiment to find the most effective way to preserve a banana. The reason why is because in the real-world when food is harvested, some spoil with physical interactions with mold or bacteria and others spoil through chemical means when exposed to oxygen (oxidation). Therefore, preservation is important because one can save their food for the future rather than throwing it out in result of failure in preservation. After doing this experiment one can use these preservation technics to have success in preserving their food. Within the introduction, there is further discussion about the background and hypothesis. The methods section explains the procedure and materials used in the experiment. Lastly, the results showcase my findings after the experiment was executed.

Preservation of a Banana

A rational to why the conducting of this experiment is important has to do with the prevention of bacterial growth, so that we can minimize food spoilage. Therefore, this experiment includes two bananas, and both will be kept in different environments. One in the refrigerator and the other will be held in a room at room temperature. Before beginning the experiment, I came up with a hypothesis stating that if the banana was placed in the refrigerator, then it would take longer for it to spoil than the banana held in room temperature. The reasoning behind my hypothesis has to do with my personal experience with foods. Typically, when one buys a product from the grocery store, they would immediately place their groceries in the refrigerator. Also, generally food last longer with kept refrigerated, rather than leaving the food elsewhere.  Particularly, when food is kept in a cool environment, it is prone to spoil much slower than if kept in a moderate-to-warm environment because of chemical agents present in microorganisms and other biological agents called enzymes (Youngken, H, 1922). Enzymes are produced in all living organisms and continue to exist in that organism after death, which in this case means that enzymes still exist even after the banana was harvested and transported to local stores. These enzymes present in living organisms can attack carbohydrates, breaking them down into smaller-scale units. Given that an average sized banana is composed mostly by carbohydrates, the enzymes present in the banana attack and break down the food. There are specific conditions for the enzymes to be able to break down the food, or as Youngken states in his article Dehydration and the Preservation of Foods, “All enzymes require a certain amount of warmth and the presence of water to get in their activity”. This is to say that in a warm and moist environment, foods spoilage occurs which supports my hypothesis that the banana in room temperature will spoil faster than the banana in the refrigerator.

Method

Subject:

The subject of this experiment was the bananas. There were no animals or participants involved.

Apparatus:

Within this experiment I used three bananas. A refrigerator just to contain one of the bananas because when the refrigerator is constantly getting opened, there will be change in temperature causing a change in the outcome. Also, I used a freezer to contain the second banana. The last environment was a room that does not have any windows. This helps maintain the room temperature, because there would not be any sun light and or cold air entering the room. Lastly, I used a thermometer, making sure that the temperature in the refrigerator, freezer and the room maintained consistent.

Procedure:

The way I approached this experiment was by observation two bananas. One was in the refrigerator, freezer and the last one was left in a room, with no manipulation of temperature. I kept each banana in their respected spots for roughly around 3 days. Every day I would momentarily check up on them; however, once it was the last day I did a full inspection. I checked both the inner and outer part of the bananas.

Results

After this experiment ended, I compared the bananas. I noticed that the banana that was left in the room under room temperature, both the peel and the inside looked deteriorated and the color was changed drastically. It mostly turned dark brown. It was also soft in texture. Meanwhile, the banana held in the refrigerator maintained its original physical properties minus its peel, its color changed to black. While, the color from the inner part remained yellow and its structure was still solid. Lastly, the banana located in the freezer remained the exact same from its original form.

Discussion

As stated above in the results, the banana left in the room did not last as long as the one left in the refrigerator. Therefore, my original hypothesis was correct. This experiment can relate to previous studies because as proven when foods are placed in an environment that’s warm and have higher concentration of water particles, than it will be easier for the enzymes to break down the food which causes the food to spoil. In this case, the banana that was placed in the room, was exposed to much warmer temperature, which explains why the other banana was not as affected by warmth and moisture present in room temperature. The refrigerated banana was not exposed to warm temperature, meaning there would not be as many water molecules in the air. This slowed down the spoiling process facilitated by the enzymes. Some error possibilities can include manipulation of the environment, such as placing a fan in the room. That could have changed the temperature by a slight margin; however, it can make a difference. Also, for the refrigerator. Possibly having other foods along with the banana and frequently opening its door can make a change. Overall, the results were a success because it correlated with Youngken’s studies and my hypothesis.

References

Youngken, H. (1922). Dehydration and the Preservation of Foods. The Scientific Monthly, 14(4), 332-344. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/6691

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Reflection

The lab report was beneficial. Which, required us to conduct our own experiment. The experiment was about the preservation of a banana. We took three bananas and placed them in different locations such as, a room, the refrigerator and the freezer. All in all, after doing the experiment, I had to write a lab report based on my experiment. It was not easy because there were many steps to follow, especially since it was APA style, there’s many small things that must be placed. For example, the words “the running” had to be placed on the top of every page, along with the shortened version of the title. These little details with frustrating, but the report did give me some experience with writing formal lab reports, which will be assigned to my future work place. Further, it was difficult to try not to repeat many of the same things throughout the sections. For instance, the discussion and the conclusion were somewhat identical. They consisted of a brief summary of the final product and things that I have learned through doing the experiment. I somehow had to find a way to make them distinctive. Altogether, the lab report gave me a heads up of what is to come in the near future, through learning how to conduct an experiment and interpreted the results through the lab report.