Variations
• You can make this experiment unique by changing the fruit you use. Try using your favorite fruits for this experiment. If you live on a farm or have a family garden, try using your own fruit for the experiment. You can also try comparing different fruits to see if they have the same packaging needs.
•Did you find that holes made a difference? How much ventilation is best? Try to improve the ventilation of packaging by adding ventilation holes in bags and boxes. Compare the packaging with and without holes. Also compare different numbers of holes. How can increasing the number of ventilation holes improve the package design?
• An interesting thing about plastic bags, is that they are not all the same. Try comparing different kinds of plastic bags to see how well they keep fruit fresh. Do all plastic bags give the same results?
• How does light affect fruit ripening? The brown paper bags block light, but clear plastic bags let light in. Could this have something to do with the results? Design an experiment to test the difference between dark and light packaging.
• What about the plant biology of fruit ripening? Try the Science Buddies experiment One Bad Apple Spoils the Whole Bunch: An Experiment on the Plant Hormone Ethylene to find out.