Fruit+Decomposition

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Title
Fruit Decomposition

Problem Scenario
The fruit might not decompose in time

Broad Question
How does warmth effect fruit decomposition?

Specific Question
What fruit decomposes more quickly when exposed to warm temperatures: Apple, kiwi, pear, orange, or blueberries?

Hypothesis
I hypothesize that all the blueberries will decompose faster.

Independent Variable:
Type of fruit

Dependent Variable:
Decomposition time

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:
Plastic bags and temperature

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation
Decomposition-The state being reduced into original elements

General Plan
The experiment I am conducting is fruit decomposition. I will place different plastic bag with various types of fruits in them. After I mass each of the fruit I will place them in a 70 degree room. for aproximatly 4 weeks.

Potential Problems And Solution
The fruit may not decompose fast enough for my experiment to be complete. A solution I could have would be to have extra fruit

Safety Or Environmental Concerns
There are no safety or environmental concerns

What is your experimental unit?
One apple, one kiwi, one pear, one orange, and seven blueberries.

Number Of Trials:
I will have five trials.

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:
I will have one subject in each trial

Number of Observations
I will take five measurments.

When data will be collected
my data collecting will start on 2/4 or 2/5

Where will data be collected?:
The massing will be done in the science room. The actual decomposition will be upstairs in the school.

Resources and Budget Tab

 * Item || Number needed || Where I will get this || Cost ||
 * Apple || 1 || Hannaford || $1.50 ||
 * Kiwi || 1 || Hannaford || $1.50 ||
 * Blueberries || 1 || Hannaford || $1.50 ||
 * Pear || 1 || Hannaford || $1.50 ||
 * Oranges || 1 || Hannaford || $1.50 ||
 * Plastic bags || 5 || Home || 0 ||
 * Poster Board || 1 || Mr. Biche || $5.00 ||

Detailed Procedure
1: I will get the apple, kiwi. blueberries, pear, and orange. 2: First I will cut the pear and apple into thirds and peal the orange apart. 3: I will then place each of the fruits into their own individual plastic bags. 4: Next I will mass each of the fruit. 5: After I mass each of the fruits I will record their mass. 6: I will then place them in a room at 70 degrees fahrenheit.

Photo List
1) All of the fruits together. 2) The cut up fruit. 3) The fruit in each individual bags. 4) A picture of the fruit after two weeks. 5) A picture of the fruit at the final decomposition day.

Time Line
(Procedure, timeline, and photo list complete- 2/1) (Begin experiments 2/4) (Experiments done 3/1) ( Analysis 3/7) ( Discussion/ background 3/15) ( wiki complete 3/15) posters complete 3/22) (KMS fair 3/29)

Data Table

 * Fruits || Orange || Kiwi || Pear || Apple || Blueberries ||
 * Before || 89.623 || 88.716 || 84.238 || 92.414 || 22.218 ||
 * After || 82.95 || 77.134 || 61.68 || 85.733 || 18.960 ||

Results
My hypothesis was that the blueberries would decompose faster. It is shown that over a 4 1/2 week period that only one out of the ten blueberries had decomposed. The actual mass of each of the fruits had dropped substantially. The graph also shows that the mass of the pear dropped the most from 84.238 to 61.68.

Conclusion
After my experiment was complete I came to the conclusion that the blueberries decomposed faster than the other fruits. After a 4 1/2 week period only one of the ten blueberries had decomposed. My hypothesis originally stated that all the blueberries would decompose at a faster rate. Therefore I reject my hypothesis.

Discussion
In my experiment I tested fruit decomposition of five fruits. Apple, kiwi, pear, orange, and five fruits. I noticed the larger the fruit the more the mass decreased overtime. When I first massed the fruits I had to cut the apple and pear into thirds and then peal the orange and take is apart. As for the kiwi and blueberries I was able to keep them as they are when I massed them. Before fruits decompose they go through a liquid stage which is what the majority of the fruit were when I ended my experiment. There were only a few issues I faced during my experiment. The lack of time made it so I didn't get the exact results I was looking for. Even though only one out of the ten blueberries decomposed I am able to work with it. The only thing I would have to say for improvments would have to be for it to be more organized. It came out as results that the larger the fruit the longer is took to decompose. That was very obvious when I first started this experiement. But to my surprise the larger fruits began to break down much better than persay the blueberries. When I collected my fruit at the end of a 4 1/2 week period two out of the ten blueberries were still quite in tacked, even though the surrounding ones where very much decaying.

Benefit to Community and/or Science
My experiment benefits the community and/or science because it is showing how fruit decomposes when exposed to a certain temperature. As a result to my experiment the community is able to see how fruit reacts to different things specificly warm temperatures. This is a little look into fruit decomposition and it is also something that can be experimented with in a more advanced way.

Background Research
Decomposition is generally known as substances being broken down into simpler forms of matter. The decomposition of fruits and plants are much different than animal decomposition. When fruits begin their decomposition stage they start to excrete water, breaking down bits and pieces of the fruit. As a part of decomposition fruit tend to grow fungi or mold. A fungi most known for growing on decaying fruits and plants is black-rot-fungi. Warmth of the environment increases the rate of fruit decaying. The warmer the place the more likely the fruit with decompose at a faster rate.

Abstract
My experiment overall went well. I did fruit decomposition to see which fruit decomposed faster. I used one kiwi, pear, orange, apple, and ten blueberries. My hypothesis originally stated that all ten of the blueberries would decompose. But in the end only one out of the ten had decomposed. Even though my hypothesis ended up being incorrect it is something I am still able to work with. I am pleased with my overall experiment. The only thing I would have to change about it is the amount of time I had. The experiment itself was pretty basic and didn't have any complex units, but that's what made it easier to conduct.