My Mold
Experiment
By: Torean Vance
Purpose
 To
observe and officially determine which
fruit grows mold the fastest and most out
of these subjects: banana, pear, lemon,
apple.
 To share and compare my results with my
classmates to solve which fruit molds the
most.
My Hypothesis
If a whole pear is left to mold then it will attract
and grow mold the fastest because the pear
has the most resources for mold and it has the
most mass and has the most H2O.
Equipment
Banana
 Pear
 Apple
 Lemon
 4 ziplock clear plastic bags
 Flat space with constant conditions

Procedure
1. Put a banana, apple, pear and lemon in their
own clear plastic bag of the same type and
brand in the same location.
2. Observe over the following 4 weeks and
twice a week make a report and picture.
Controlling the experiment
 To
control the experiment I kept the bags
sealed and observed without physical
contact to ensure the conditions did not
change between the fruit.
 I kept it in constant conditions and out of
reach from other peoples’ contact.
Lemon
 Yellow no spots
 Textured bumpy peel
 Slightly squishy
 Brown at the poles
 Smelling of citrus
Pear
 Rugged surface
 Somewhat Peanut
shaped
 Slightly ripe
 Slightly squishy
 brown
Initial lemon and
pear observations
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Apple
Hard inside
Smooth surface
Stem is slightly woolly
Yellow and red in color
Banana
Yellow with very few
black spots
some green at the poles
of the banana
Overly soft and squishy
Smooth streamline
texture
Crescent moon shaped
Initial observations
of the apple and
banana
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My
observations
Week 1 pear observation
 signs
of medium
condensation and
moisture in the
bag, the pear
appears to be
slightly affected
with little signs of
decomposition on
the left curve a
slight bruise 2cm
squared.
Week 1 apple observation
 No
clear or visible
signs of
microscopic life
growing with no
changed effects.
Week 1 lemon observation
 Heavy
condensation in
bag, no marks or
visible signs of
microorganisms
living on the lemon
specimen.
Week 1 banana
 30%
of banana has
black blotches no
clear or visible signs
of mold, mass have
not decreased.
Week 2 pear observations
 Clear
and visible
signs of mold and
decomposition,
dense
condensation in
the bag mold on 3
2cm spots
indenture on upper
right pear that is
3cm squared.
Week 2 apple observations
 No
clear or visible
signs of
microscopic life
growing with no
changed effects.
Week 2 lemon observations
 heaviest
condensation of
the fruit a 1cm
puddle on the end
of bag no distinct
or visible marks of
microscopic
organism life.
Week 2 banana observations
 Black
blotches
covering a minority
of the banana with
distinct signs of
existing
condensation on
specimen no
distinct mold
existence.
Week 2 day 4 pear
observations

Juices and
condensation in a
1cm puddle in a
corner of bag green
and white mold on
the base of the stem
green and white
mold also appears
on the curve of the
pear and cracks on
the skin have
appeared.
Week 2 day 4 apple
observations
 Visible
condensation
encasing the
insides of the bag
apple unaffected
by microscopic life
no signs of
existence of
microorganisms.
Week 2 day 4 lemon
observations

dense condensation
1cm puddle has
increased in volume
at the end of the
bag beginning signs
of microorganisms
living on the lemon
specimen at the
poles of subject one
third of the black at
the ends.
Week 2 day 4 banana
observations

Black blotches cover
half of the banana
banana has some
mycelium at at the
bottom of bag, the
majority of the
blotches are 4cm
long 2cm wide and
distinct signs of
condensation.
Week 3 pear observations

Juices cover lower 1/5 of
the container empty sacks
of space under the skin are
where some flesh of the
fruit used to be green and
white mold noticeably
show at the base of the
Pear specimen and on a
triangular cross of about
1cm wide and 4cm long
cracks have enlarged in
length width and depth
slightly and has been filled
with green and white mold.
Week 3 apple observations
 Visible
condensation with
no microscopic
effects on the
apple with no
visible mold on
specimen.
Week 3 lemon observations

signs of Telltale of
mold hyphae and
white mycelium at
the ends almost ½
cm square visible
with heavy
condensation in the
bag 2cm puddle in
the bag has slightly
increased in mass
and water surrounds
the specimen.
Week 3 banana
observations

Mold has appeared on
the banana white
specks appear in the
lower-mid quarter the
banana white and
stringy 86% of the
banana has turned
brown and still blotches
on the banana with
2cm wide 5cm long in
different shapes.
Week 3 day 4 pear
observations

Juices and condensation
cover quarter of the clear
plastic container with
white mold growing in
specks and strands in the
fluids and condensation
and white mold
completely in the cracks
with cross of majority
green minority white mold
triangular cross 2cm wide
and 5cm in length and
mold at the base of the
stem has enlarged its
diameter.
Week 3 day 4 apple
observations
 No
mold or visible
microorganisms grow
on the subject there is
also distinct
condensation and
juices in a corner of
bag.
Week 3 day 4 lemon
observations
 Mold
clearly on
subject specimen
white and stringy
mycelium is at the
ends of the subject
with water around the
lemon specimen and
2cm puddle at the
end of container has
not changed in mass.
Week 3 day 4 banana
observations

Banana has turned
89% brown/black
with yellow at the
poles of subject with
upper third turned
80% black gash has
faded into black and
white mold
appearing in the
lower third of
banana in mycelium
strands.
Week 4 pear observations

H20 and juices surrounds
½ of the subject fruit with
a green mold Y at the
top with the lower point
trailing off in 1/2cm wide
6cm long trail Y is 2cm
thick 5cm long cracks on
pear filled with white
mold with blobs of white
mold in the juices and
strands into the juices
about 3cm long from the
bottom of the pear.
Week 4 apple observations
 mold
beginning to
grow on stem 1cm
squared H2O around
specimen no mold on
lower fruit or other
signs of
microorganisms.
Week 4 lemon observations
 White
mycelium strands at
the poles covering the ends
of subject about 1cm
square the mold is stringy
and furry and H2O with
minor portion of lemon juice
surrounds subject no other
existing visible or clear
microorganisms.
Week 4 banana observations
 Peel
where visible is
90% black white mold
similar that to on the
lemon covers up on
down the visible peel
in little spots and other
and goes up in strips
with 3 stripes visible on
subject.
Results
Pear: This specimen subject grew mold the
fastest and the most of it and the most
varieties with 2 different varieties.
Apple: This subject was most resistant to
mold over the 4 weeks out of all the
subjects.
Lemon: This subject was very resistant to
the mold over the experiments time and
only molded at the ends.
Banana: This subject was decomposing
fastest but did not mold first but second
and grew the 2nd most mold.
Conclusion part 1
I have observed many things from this experiment this is
what I concluded. that like what I predicted in my
hypothesis fruit with the most mass and H2O is most likely
to mold first.
 I have also learned from this experiment that once an
fruit skin has been punctured and its core exposed the
mold will grow easier because of the layer of protection
against bacterial and viral bugs is gone.
 One other thing I have learned is that bananas for most
of the time is that there peels mold first not the insides
even after a lengthy time the inside will be quite fine
 I have and hypothesis about this: If a banana is left in a
temperate climate then it will mold because it is from a
different climate and not used to the bacteria here so its
peel will not have immunity to them.

Conclusion
part
2
I have also observed like I thought that lemon molded 2
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nd
last because as I think of acetic acid which is an antioxidant and is mildly anti-bacterial although other citrus
fruits which are high in acetic acid lemon is the one of the
highest we know of so it will repel mold easily even though it
is from a different climate.
I also observed the lemon molded at the poles and I think
that is only because the ends are a weak point in the antibacterial armor.
I even made a Hypothesis for this too: If you leave a lemon
out to mold then it will be very resistant to mold because it is
high in acetic acid which is mildly anti-bacterial.
My theory why the apple molded last because the fruit
had just been bought therefore therefore having the least
exposure to the mold. This is what I conclude from my
information.
Further Inquiry Points
I
would like to continue research about
bananas and lemon to follow my hypothesis
and their properties and maybe another
experiment on citrus foods and lemons and
banana and its close fruit relatives.
 To define if the climate of area and origin of
fruit affects mold
 To compare with other peoples results.
Thank
you