Andulka
No title available
ojovivo
Xuebing Du
pixel skylines
hello vonnie
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
we're not kids anymore.
Origami Around
Keni
★
Kiana Khansmith
Three Goblin Art
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
ellievsbear
🪼
Sweet Seals For You, Always
Claire Keane
Game of Thrones Daily
$LAYYYTER
seen from United Arab Emirates
seen from France
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Lithuania
seen from Canada
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Poland
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from United Arab Emirates
seen from United States
seen from Bahrain
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Trinidad & Tobago
seen from Czechia
seen from Germany
@ascienceresearchproject-blog
Conclusion of investigation
In regard to which environmental factors most significantly affect the growth rate of mould, my hypothesis that the presence of excess water would boost the development of mould more so than other variables, was proven correct. The data collected through the experiment and observations made support this.
The sugar container
The container holding the sugar solution seemed to not grow any mould at all until the very last assessment of the apple quarters. In fact, the sugar solution seemed to preserve the apple, which was unexpected. Someone had left a comment earlier on, suggesting that the solution had left a galvanising layer of sorts on the apple, which, after research and discussion with the commenter, I have concluded is the case. The sugar, despite the presence of water, would have settled in, on and around the cells of the apple flesh and crystalised, creating a film blocking out most moisture and trapping any moisture in, and due to this lack of water activity and aeration, as well as the acidic environment created by the sugar crystals, mould would’ve been unable to grow and develop. This find was a nice little surprise, and I definitely learnt a thing or two in the process of understanding what happened.
Bibliography
Factors that affect the growth of moulds http://www.moldbacteriaconsulting.com/fungi/factors-that-affect-growth-of-moulds.html Mould bread experiment https://explorable.com/mold-bread-experiment
How the investigation is relevant to the world around us
The effects of mould development are too often overlooked during our daily lives, and it’s not until we need to drive back to the shops or replace a wall panel or drive to the hospital because of exposure that we realise how important it is to deal with mould before it can develop in the world around us. By understanding which variables and factors come into play when it comes to mould developing and growing, we can fall into patterns, strategies and habits that will either minimise or eliminate the risks of mould growth and deal with the damage before it even takes place.
Growth of mould- Visuals
Day 6
This is the last assessment of the containers
The neutral container is at 16% coverage. The apple flesh has not notably deteriorated anymore, the only progress is the growth of the mould patches.
The apple quarter in the aerated container has a mould coverage of 19%. There is no water left at all and the dampness of the air has significantly decreased.
The container with 60 ml of water has met a mould coverage of 32%. The rate of growth has been increasing exponentially in all containers, but especially in this one.
The container with the sugar solution has only just started to show a few spots of mould, covering merely 1% of the apple chunk.
Day 5
The apple quarter in neutral conditions has grown to 8 percent coverage. There’re multiple spots and dots of mould growing across the the chunk, and the first few patches that grew are now just under approximately one square centimetre. The flesh of the apple is starting to break down into a soft, fragile, brown sponge.
The aerated container is at 11 percent coverage. There is very little water left, probably four or five drops left sitting in the bottom, and so the mould is now running off moisture in the air and whatever’s left in the apple. As for the apple though, it’s become very hardened compared to the other apple chunks, and has deteriorated to a woody brown texture. The growth rate has slowed considerably, however I still think it will grow steadily.
The apple chunk with the sugar solution is still almost the same as when it started aside from a slight darkening of the apple flesh from white to caramel and a few spongy patches around the edges. I’m beginning to doubt that any mould will grow in this container, however the spongy patches are definitely potential windows for mould to grow.
The container with 60 ml of water has reached 19 percent mould coverage. So far my hypothesis is correct about an excess of water having the biggest impact on the sustenance and promotion of mould growth. The flesh has not broken down much further than it was yesterday, however it will still collapse to slight pressure or handling.
Day 4
The neutral containers apple quarter has reached 5% mould coverage. The growth of the mould patches is the only thing that’s changed about the quarter. The browning of the apple has slowed considerably, essentially remaining the same colour as yesterday.
The aerated container has reached 8% mould coverage. The apple chunk has lost a large amount of moisture and there’s almost no water left in the container, as it’s all evaporated into the esky, which has then emptied of moisture when it gets opened. At the current time I’m thinking that mould growth for the aerated chunk will slow considerably due to the reduction of moisture, however it won’t stop all together as the container and esky are still considerably damp.
The container with the sugar solution has had essentially no change, and the mould coverage remains at 0%.
The container with excessive water activity has reached 10% mould coverage, and I’m certain that the mould growth for this apple chunk will keep going beyond the other containers at a much higher rate of growth. Due to the excessive moisture that the cells are absorbing the apple chunk is becoming soft and slushy, and will break apart easily if handled; this may be due to the cells rupturing due to the over inflation of the cells with moisture.
Comments
“Looking good mate. Bit of a different topic but I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out.” -Pat
“This is yuck” -Tyler (Thanks Tyler)
“Sugar can act as a fuel for mould, but remember that sugar can often be used as a preservative to prevent microbial growth, so it really depends on how you applied it. Maybe when you poured the solution over the apple it coated the cells when the sugar hardened and is preventing air and spores from reaching the cells, and that’s why it’s so pristine compared to the other quarters. Just food for thought.” -Emma
Day 3
There is a small splotch of mould growing on the apple in neutral conditions, albeit this is a large growth to appear in such a short amount of time (Since yesterday). Aside from the mould, the apple has simply turned brown with a soft patchy texture, most likely due to the presence of water and the sealed environment, making the apple very spongy.
The aerated container has lost quite an amount of the water that was originally present due to evaporation through the lids holes, which is no surprise. Due to the lessened moisture and increased airflow this apple quarter has shriveled and browned, however much harder and crisper than the other pieces, hence the much sharper texture. Alongside this, there are two small patches of mould that have grown over-night from two small dots that were visible yesterday (Note: This image makes the patches appear much more significant than they actually are).
While my hypothesis suggested that sugar would have the smallest impact on mould growth, I’ve been taken quite by surprise at how the sugar solution seems to have inhibited the growth of mould and deterioration of the apple, rather than promote it. At the current time I don’t have a theory as to why this is, I’ll do a bit of googling tonight and post tomorrow.
The apple in excessively wet condition is quite interesting. The quarter is taking on a cloudy texture as it browns, and despite the growth of two medium sized patches and a few slightly visible spots along the left edge, the apple is largely being preserved by the excessive water activity. Perhaps the water isn’t preserving the apple as such, but more so it may be keeping the cells inflated with moisture, hence the lack of shriveling and the extremely soft and compressible state of the quarter.
Overall I’m extremely surprised at how rapidly the mould spots popped up since yesterday. Some of the larger patches were from small dots and spots that were only growing yesterday. I’m interested to see if this growth rate keeps up or if it’ll decline over the next few days. It may be rapidly reaching a plateau of growth where it’ll slow to only slight daily growth.
Day 1 and 2
Day 1 was shown in the previous pictures and GIF’s; there was obviously no mould and a majority of the activity to do with the experiment was really just preparation.
Day 2 I opened the container and checked the apple pieces. There’s no mould growing yet, however there’s a strong fruit smell and the apple quarters are going brown and soft with a patchy texture, especially the container with excess water.
At this rate I’m expecting mould growth by at least tomorrow (Day three), whether it’ll be visible or not at that point I’ll have to wait to find out.
Bye bye mould-capsule
Be careful kids...
Mixing the sugar-water solution...
Getting prepared to start the experiment...
Diagram of the experiment set-up
Method
-Cut the apple into even quarters vertically (Down the core)
-Place one quarter in each of the four containers
-Pour 30 ml of water into one of the containers, put the lid on and, using the pen and note/tape label it “Neutral conditions”. Put this container aside.
-Pour 30 ml of water into another container. Carefully using the knife or any means necessary punch four holes into the lid of this container. Put the lid on and label it “Aerated conditions”. Put this container aside.
-Pour 60 ml of water into another container. Put the lid on and label it “Excessively wet conditions”. Put this container aside.
-For the fourth container, take a heaped teaspoon of sugar and stir it into 30 ml of water. It isn’t necessary to completely dissolve the sugar. Pour the solution into the fourth container and scrape any leftover sugar in. Put the lid on and label it “Added sugar”. Put this container aside with the rest and clean up the preparation area.
-Record the mould coverage for this day (It will be 0% coverage, as this is the first day).
- Neatly and carefully stack the containers in the esky, ensuring the aerated container is on top so as not to restrict airflow.
- Each day open the esky and take out the containers, and record the coverage of mould on the apples. Do this for six days and graph the results.