The Effect of Temperature on the Ripening of Bananas

Pooja Shah
Mrs, Otto
GT Physical Science Grade 8 Period 6
February 2, 2015

Table of Contents

Abstract.... 1
Introduction...... 2
Experimental Design..... 3
Results...... 6
Data Analysis.... 8
Conclusion..... 11
Discussion....12
Works Sited....... 13
Acknowledgements......15
Appendix..... 16

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Abstract
This study was done to observe how a bananas environment effects its ripening process.
The researcher took four bunches of bananas and placed each of them in four different
environments. The four different environments in which the bananas were placed in were, a
refrigerator, on a counter top, in the freezer, and in the oven for 121 degrees Celsius. The
bananas were left in their environment for about 5 hours and their ripeness was recorded after
each round. The bananas were rated on a quantitative scale from 1 to10 based on the
ripeness. The bananas in the oven showed the most ripeness and the bananas in the freezer
had the least amount of ripeness. The bananas in the classroom was rated at level 4 on the
scale of 1 to 10 whereas the bananas in the refrigerator were at about level 3 and the ones in
the freezer were at 2. All bananas showed signs of decay, but only the ones in the freezer
barely turned yellow. They went from being green to turning green and yellow and then to
just being yellow. 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 freezer.

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Introduction
The question that was being investigated in this experiment was the effect of temperature on the
ripening of bananas. The bananas were placed in four different temperature levels. They were a
room temperature which was the control group, one hot temperature, and two cold temperatures.
Temperature is measured by a thermometer, a narrow; glass tube marked with numbered scale
and a bulb on one end containing either liquid mercury or alcohol. This liquid in the bulb rises
when the temperature increases and falls when the temperature decreases. Bananas are fruit that
grow in the tropics and grows on a plant, not a tree. The banana plant grows to a height of 8-30
feet with a crown of large and simple leaves. The banana flowers have three petals, with bright
red colored scale. The plants contain both female and male flowers. The flowers have a strong
scent with large amounts of nectar that will attract birds and bats. These flowers grow into
bananas, ranging from 10 to 20 in a group. Bananas then start to curve when they ripen after 5 to
6 months, and then fall off the tree. When they touch ground they must be eaten right away or
will spoil. When bananas are harvested they are usually green so they do not spoil, but when
ripened they are a yellowish or reddish color. When they start to get dark spots, it is the best time
for them to be eaten. They are used in various snacks, cereal, fruit cocktails, salads, pies, and
cakes. There are different varieties of bananas such as Dwarf Cavendish, Williams, Grand Nain,
Apple, and Red Jamaica. In the experiment, 16 bananas will be used, 4 for each of the 4
different temperatures. During the experiment, the bananas will be carefully examined for the
color of the banana peel. This experiment is being conducted to determine how temperature
could quicken or slow the ripening of bananas. The experiment could help farmers and harvesters
understand when they should ship the bananas in a certain temperature at which the bananas do
not spoil.

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Work Sited

Banana. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth

Lerner. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Science in Context. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
Banana. World Book Online. Ed. Richard E. Litz. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. World Book

Student. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. <http://worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar044440&

Hall, Kevin C. Stimulating the Fruit Ripening Process. California State Science Fair.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. California State Science Fair. Web. 1 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2004/Projects/S1604.pdf>.

Experimental Design

Research Question:
What is the effect of temperature on the ripening of bananas?

Hypothesis:
If the bananas were kept in a hotter temperature, then the bananas would ripen faster and spoil
quicker because the enzymes in the banana peel are activated by warm temperature which causes
the breakdown of starch then changes the peel into a darker color.

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Materials:

16 bananas
oven access
freezer/fridge access
1 thermometer
1 roll of wax paper
a pair of rubber gloves
goggles

The independent variable of this experiment is temperature. The levels of temperature will be
112F, 13C, and -9C and the control temperature, 24C
The dependent variable of this experiment is the ripening of bananas according to its peel
color. Its skin ripeness will be measured using a quantitative scale of 1 to 10.
Constants:

same type of bananas

same amount of bananas for each trial
same exposure to light
same time in specific temperature

Safety Issues:

Do not eat the bananas

Wear gloves when taking out the bananas
Wear goggles when opening the oven

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Be careful when taking out the bananas from the oven

Turn off oven after usage

Steps:
1. Wash hands
2. Gather materials
3. Put bananas into 4 groups of 4
4. Set oven, freezer, & fridge to the correct temperature
5. Find a room set to temperature of 24C
6. Place each group of bananas in their specific temperature
7. After 5 hours, take out the bananas
8. Cover lab table with wax paper and lay out the bananas
9. Check the data collection table to see if each temperature and banana is listed
10. Put on gloves and goggles
11. Examine the color of the banana
12. As a group determine which category each banana falls into on the quantitative scale
of 1 to 10 with 1 being the greenest and 10 being black
13. Average out the data after everything is measured
14. Analyze the data from the chart

Results
Table 1, table 2, table 3, graph 1, and graph 2 all show the results of a study conducted to
measure the ripeness of a banana on a quantitative scale among four different temperatures in
Celsius. If the number was one, the banana was not ripe mostly green, and if the number was
10, then the banana was completely black. Table 1 shows the results of three trials for each
banana.

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10

Table 1. The Effect of the Temperature in Celsius on the Ripeness of the Banana on a
Quantitative Scale (1-10)
Temperature

Ripeness of the Banana on a quantitative scale (1-10)

(C)
-9

Trial 1
2

Trial 2
4

Trial 3
3

13

24

121.11

10

10

10

The best value was calculated for each banana by taking the average of the three trials. The
averages are shown below in Table 2.
Table 2. The Effect of the Temperature in Celsius on the Average Ripeness of the Banana on
a Quantitative Scale (1-10)
Temperature (C)
-9
13
24

Average Ripeness of the Banana on a quantitative scale (1-10)

3
2.67
3.67

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121.11

10

On average, the ripeness of the bananas that were placed in 121.11 C, were measured on a
quantitative scale, the scale read 10 which was the highest. However the bananas that were
placed at 13C had the average ripeness of only about 2.7 on the quantitative scale. Lastly the
bananas that were set in -9C and in about 24C both almost had the same results. When the
temperature was -9C the average ripeness of the bananas on a quantitative scale was 3 and
when the temperature was about 24C the average ripeness of the bananas on a quantitative
scale was 3.7. There was only a difference of 0.7 between the two temperatures. Graph 1
shows the averages for each temperature.

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Graph 1. The Effect of the Temperature in Celsius on the Average Ripeness of the Banana on a
Quantitative Scale (1-10)

Data Analysis
Variations among the trials created some uncertainty. Table 3 shows the averages, true value
ranges, and standard deviation of the amount of ripeness on a banana determined by a
quantitative scale

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Table 3: The Effect of the Temperature in Celsius on the Average Ripeness of the Banana, the
true value ranges and the Standard Deviation all on a quantitative scale
Temperature

Average Ripeness of the

Standard Deviation

True Value

(C)

Banana on a quantitative

on a quantitative

Ranges on a

scale

scale

quantitative
scale

-9
13
24
121

3
2.67
3.67
10

3
0.57
0.57
0

0-6
2.1-3.24
3.1-4.24
10

The standard deviation was added to the average and subtracted from the average to get the true
value range for the Ripeness of the Banana on a quantitative scale. Graph 2 shows the average
amount of Ripeness of the Banana on a quantitative scale with error bars showing the true value
ranges.

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Graph 2. The Effect of the Temperature in Celsius on the Average Ripeness of the Banana with
Error bars on a Quantitative Scale (1-10)

When compared using error bars to note uncertainty, the data suggests that at 121.1 degrees, the
bananas got the ripest with all of the bananas ripeness at 10. The temperature that makes the
bananas the second ripest is a three-way tie between -9 degrees with the ripeness between 0 and
6; 13 degrees Celsius with the ripeness between 2.08935 and 3.24405; and 24 degrees with the

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ripeness between 3.08935 and 4.24405. The true value ranges all overlap between 2.08935 and 4,
which is a small amount but still makes it rather difficult to conclude which had made the
bananas riper. As based on the error bars above the data for this experiment is statistically
significant and valid and can be used to formulate a conclusion about the experiment.

Conclusion:
The experiment was testing the effect of temperature on the ripeness of a banana based on a
quantitative scale. Three bananas from three different bunches were put in a variety of
temperatures. The bananas were tested for approximately five hours in its variety of
temperatures. After five hours, the bananas were taken out of their specific temperatures and
were judged on their ripeness based on the color of their peel. This experiment was designed in
this particular way because there was a time limit for how much time there was to conduct it and
record data. Since there were restrictions, the experiment had to be designed so that data could be
collected within the time frame provided. Temperature was decided as an independent variable
because bananas are common in many places and the temperatures of places that they are in vary,
and this experiment helps find out whether someone may want to move their bananas to a cooler
place to store so they do not ripen as quickly as hotter places. The hypothesis was, if the bananas
were kept in a hotter temperature, then the bananas would ripen faster and spoil quicker because
the enzymes in the banana peel are activated by warm temperature which causes the breakdown
of starch then changes the peel into a darker color. This hypothesis can be accepted. It can be

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accepted because at 121.1 degrees Celsius the bananas ripeness was at 10 and at -9 degrees
Celsius it was at 3. The data collected was statistically significant. That is because the data
collected did not all overlap. Also, the higher the temperature was, the riper the bananas were,
and the colder the temperature was, the less ripe the bananas were. In addition to this claim, the
bananas that were in the environment that was at 24 degrees Celsius were still intact and good to
eat on the inside whereas the bananas that were in the environment at 121.1 degrees Celsius were
no longer edible on the inside, and instead were somewhat liquidized.

Discussion:
An error that had been made in the experiment was that not all the bananas were in their
temperatures for the same amount of time. Some of the bananas were taken out before the
others, and the bananas in 121.11 degrees Celsius were taken out a few hours earlier than the
other bananas. Another error that was made in the experiment is that, not all the bananas were
taken out the same way. Some of the bananas were taken out using gloves, whereas others
were taken without gloves. Also all the bananas were not in the same bunch which could
mean that each bunch was different and the substances on the bananas could have been
different. Lastly in the experiment the bananas were taken out with different people and not
all the members of the group washed their hands before they took the bananas out.
If the experiment was done again, the changes that could be made are to take out all the
bananas at the same time, and to take them all out the same way and by the same people. An
extension to the project could be, how does temperature effect different types of bananas?
The result of the research applies to the greater world because people can use the results of
the experiment, to figure out the best place to keep their bananas at home. The results of the

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experiment effects people because they can place their bananas in their households according
to how fast they want their bananas to ripen.

Work Sited

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-ofbananas/

Murphy, B. (2003, April 2). Ripening Bananas with Ethylene Gas. Retrieved October 22,
2009, from www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2003

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Wade, N., & Bishop, D. (2002, December 17). ScienceDirect - Biochimica et Biophysica
Acta (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

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

Temperature. World Book Online. Ed. Kieran Mullen. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. World
Book Student. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. <http://worldbookonline.com/student/article?
id=ar550260&st=temperature>.

Temperature and temperature scales. World of Earth Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and
Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Science in Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Wenig, Brooke D. The Effect of Temperature on the Sucrose Content of Grapes.

Califonia State Science Fair. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. California State Science Fair. Web.
23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2010/Projects/S2022.pdf>.

Banana. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth
Lerner. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Science in Context. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

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Banana. World Book Online. Ed. Richard E. Litz. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. World
BookStudent. Web. 28 Jan.2014<http://worldbookonline.com/student/article?
id=ar044440&st=banana>.

Hall, Kevin C. Stimulating the Fruit Ripening Process. California State Science Fair.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. California State Science Fair. Web. 1 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2004/Projects/S1604.pdf>.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the following people, her parents who helped to
review the final paper, her group members which were, Varsha Pudi, Colin Kelly, Yabing
Yang, Emma Boarman which whom she worked with to carry out the experiment and
help with the background research and lastly, Mrs. Otto who edited her Results and Data
Analysis and answered any questions regarding the final paper.

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Appendix

Table 1.The effect of the temperature in Celsius on the Ripeness of the Banana
Temperature (Celsius)

Ripeness of the Banana

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

121.11

Oven

10

10

10

10

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-9

Freezer

13

Fridge

2.66

about 24

Room Temp.

3.66

Figure 1. This was the raw data table chart when the group first started the project.

Figure 2. The group used this scale to measure the ripeness of a banana.

10

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