Image © Celestron
Use the resources below to help you learn more about science!
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A Smelly Science Experiment!
Learn to predict and observe what happens to fruit or vegetables if they were left to go moldy and decompose/break down using the following experiment.
Observing the Decomposition of Fruit & Vegetables
Download the experiment information brochure (print in colour A4)
At the start of the experiment, choose any fruit or vegetable (onions are great).
Work by yourself or in groups of three to complete the required roles (on a daily rotational basis) of Digital Documenter, Handler and Analyser:
Job 1 - Digital Documenter:
Job 2 - Handler:
At the start of the experiment, choose any fruit or vegetable (onions are great).
Work by yourself or in groups of three to complete the required roles (on a daily rotational basis) of Digital Documenter, Handler and Analyser:
Job 1 - Digital Documenter:
- Takes photo(s).
- Inserts the photo(s) into the Google Sheet.
- Writes down observations that are relevant, descriptive and scientific, as per the requirements outlined in the Google Sheet.
Job 2 - Handler:
- Is the ONLY person who handles the specimen (wearing rubber gloves).
- Measures the specimen’s temperatures and weight and orally tells the Analyser.
- Puts the gloves under the container.
- Draws a labelled diagrams, including cross-sectional representations, to communicate ideas.
- Returns the container and gloves outside to a secure place.
- Enters the Handler’s data into Google Sheet.
- Computes the mathematical calculations accurately (e.g. Yesterday’s weight – Today’s weight = Weight Loss over night) and inputs them appropriately into the Google Sheet.
- Generates a graph to represent and describe observations, patterns, trends or relationships in data.
- Identifies patterns in data and develop explanations that fit these patterns.
Getting Ready!
Before starting the experiment, create a list of questions you want to find answers to, such as:
Record their information in the form of a collaborative Google Sheet (click here to access our online work) take and upload photos of the fruit/vegetables to the Google Sheet, a website/blog or a presentation/document.
The Case of the Missing Objects
As the fruit and vegatables will smell as they decompose you may want to keep the fruit/vegetable inside on a window sill but to cater for the shocking smells, you may want to place the fruit/vegetable outside under cover.
However, if you do keep them outside, possums or 'ghosts' may start stealing the fruit and vegetables!
You could shield the fruit/vegetable in a plastic container (which may also affect the ambient temperature as the onion decomposed - see the image of an onion in the container).
Before starting the experiment, create a list of questions you want to find answers to, such as:
- Which fruit or vegetable will decompose the most?
- How much mould will grow?
- Will the weather temperature correlate to the external temperature of the fruit or vegetable?
Record their information in the form of a collaborative Google Sheet (click here to access our online work) take and upload photos of the fruit/vegetables to the Google Sheet, a website/blog or a presentation/document.
The Case of the Missing Objects
As the fruit and vegatables will smell as they decompose you may want to keep the fruit/vegetable inside on a window sill but to cater for the shocking smells, you may want to place the fruit/vegetable outside under cover.
However, if you do keep them outside, possums or 'ghosts' may start stealing the fruit and vegetables!
You could shield the fruit/vegetable in a plastic container (which may also affect the ambient temperature as the onion decomposed - see the image of an onion in the container).
Measurements & Calculations
You must measure the:
You will need to know how to:
The Results
After the two week experiment has ended, reflect back on the process and analyse the data from your Google Sheet.
You can:
You must measure the:
- internal temperatures of the fruit/vegetables using a digital meat thermometer
- external temperatures using a digital infrared thermometer
- object's mass/weight using digital and analogue kitchen scales.
You will need to know how to:
- add and subtract numbers involving decimals, so that the Analyser could perform the necessary calculations
- add, subtract, multiply and divide to be able to read the increments on the kitchen scales.
The Results
After the two week experiment has ended, reflect back on the process and analyse the data from your Google Sheet.
You can:
- use the Bureau of Meteorology website to find the daily weather temperatures (minimum and maximum)
- looked for links / correlations between the rise and fall of the internal and external temperatures of the fruit or vegetable and the daily weather temperatures
- enter the temperature data into an Excel spreadsheet and generate a variety of graphs
- conduct an analysis of the graphs to see if you can identify any trends or correlations in the data, particularly looking for any links between:
- The rise and falls in the internal and external temperatures of the fruit or vegetable and that of the (i) temperature of the weather, or (ii) the stage of the decomposition process.
- The weight/mass gains and losses and the stage of the decomposition process.
Here is the work of one group of student work (click here or on the image below to download it):
A group's mathematical and scientific presentation of their data. Click here to download a copy.
Download the work of other groups:
The Inspiration
A similar experiment, 'Rotten Tomatoes Decomposition Lab', was conducted by fourth grade students in a school in Canada (Connect Charter School - formally Calgary Science School):
A similar experiment, 'Rotten Tomatoes Decomposition Lab', was conducted by fourth grade students in a school in Canada (Connect Charter School - formally Calgary Science School):
- visit their student blogs (site 1 | site 2) to see their work
- their teachers also created a website dedicated to the experiment to upload the details of the experiment, the class created rubric for the experiment, and the student videos of their final lab reports
- after the experiment had finished, students continued to write posts in their student blog about their scientific observations.
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