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. 

Update 3/20/13

I did some research on the difference between molding and rotting. I was right in what I thought before, that mold grows on something, and rotting is simply the decomposition of the matter into simpler matter. I definitely think that there is a little bit of both going on here now. I'm guessing that the black areas are rotting, and the lighter greenish areas are mold growing on it as well. There seems to be more moisture in the bag than there was before also. 

Update 3/11/13

The rotten spots seem to be getting a lot more dark and large. I'm wondering if it is just rotting, or if mold is growing. Or possibly they are the same thing. I always figured mold to be something that grows on top of something else, but the tomato seems to be actually changing somehow. If teaching a concept like this to the class, it may be helpful to give them some background knowledge of mold, and physical and chemical changes, so they may be able to better understand what is going on. Or to make it even more of an inquiry, not have them have an idea before, but to talk about it after so they can apply those concepts to the project. 

Update 3/5/13

I rotated the bag to the left, so the spot pictured here on the left is the same spot as on the right. The spot does seem to be growing as I predicted, but the center has caught up and surpassed it in mold and rotten growth. I've also noticed a little bit of moisture gathering in the bottom right hand corner of the bag. 

It Begins

For my project, I am observing the change over time of a tomato. This is just your basic average tomato from the grocery store on the vine. In case it gets pretty gross over these 30 days (which I am predicting that it will) I've put it in a plastic bag. I've left it on a table near an east facing window. In all of my updates I'll be taking a picture in the late afternoon between 4 & 5 to keep it consistent. 

I bought the tomato a week ago, and it is beginning to get a little rotten spot. I predict that spot will spread until it covers the entire tomato by the end of this project.