Conclusion

Before I get to my conclusion, here is a quick comparison of the tomato at the beginning of the project and the end.

Before

After

Gross! I definitely learned that I need to throw my produce out before it gets to this point! I made a lot of observations in the course of this project. I discovered that there are a lot of chemical changes that come when a tomato decomposes. One thing that surprised me the most about this project was when the bag began to fill with air. I figured it would rot and mold, and even leak out, but it was interesting to see the bag filling up with air as well. I believe this to be gas released from the chemical reactions of the decomposition on the tomato. After this experiment, I think it would be interesting to add in a variable, like mentioned before, a tomato not in the bag, or possibly organic vs. not. These might be great follow up ideas if a similar experiment was carried out in class. 

Update 4/5/13

Not a whole lot of change from the last update. There is slightly more liquid and rot, but seems to be about the same. 

Update 4/3/13

It's only been one day since the last update, and there is more than double the amount of liquid in the bottom here! The air level seems to be about the same as well as the rot, but the liquid has really gone crazy. This makes me think that the bottom is breaking down more and releasing all the rotten juice from the inside. It is really starting to stink as well. It might be best to have the project outside or somewhere with good ventilation if doing in a classroom. In the classroom I work in, they did some mold projects with bread, and that room smelled horrible after a couple of weeks. 

Update 4/2/13

There isn't much difference to note from the last update to this one. Lots of air in the bag and liquid as there was before

Update 4/1/13

Things seem to be pretty much the same since last posting. There is more air and liquid in the bag, and more rotting. The whole interior of the bag is very moist. It could be interesting to see the differences between a tomato in a bag with everything contained like this, and one out in the open as a comparison. I think that students could get some fun ideas for further experimentation in doing a project like this. 

Update 3/28/13

A couple of things have changed since the last update. There is more mold and rot, a lot more leakage, and the bag is beginning to fill with air. I wonder if the tomato is giving off some gasses due to the reactions that are causing the rot and decomposition. 

Update 3/23/13

In addition to the rot and the bits of mold spreading down the tomato, it seems to be leaking some nasty looking rotten juice. I'm assuming that all the rotten juices are now able to leak out since the skin of the tomato is breaking down. I wonder if it is dripping from the rotten spots at the top, or if it is coming out the bottom. It looks to be coming out the bottom, but the skin down there is still intact.