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''Whats best for the lettuce?''
PURPOSE: Will lettuce last longer in a plastic bag or a paper bag when placed in the sunlight for 7 days? HYPOTHESIS: The lettuce is going to stay more fresh longer in a paper bag than in a plastic bag because the chemicals that the plastic bag releases have a negative effect on the ethylene levels in the lettuce, plastic bags also are made with vinyl chloride which is not healthy for the lettuce.
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this experiment was to see if lettuce stays better in a paper bag or a plastic bag. The hypothesis was that the lettuce would stay fresher, longer, in a paper bag rather than a plastic bag because all of the harmful chemicals that the plastic bags release. One half of the lettuce was placed in a plastic bag and another in a paper bag. They were placed side by side next to the window where they should receive equal amounts of sunlight or no sunlight at all. In the experiment the plastic bag kept the lettuce from going bad faster opposed to the paper bag. When the lettuce was in the paper bag the lettuce started browning the second day into the experiment, where the lettuce in the plastic bag didn’t start browning till the end of the third day. The test failed to support the hypothesis because they did not stay better longer in a paper bag than in a plastic bag. The hypothesis was predicting that the lettuce would stay better in a paper bag because it has less harmful chemicals than the plastic bag does. The test may have not supported the hypothesis because the temperature could’ve affected how many chemicals leached off the plastic bag. The test has shown that because the plastic bags trap in the moisture they allow the lettuce to stay better longer, where the paper bag absorbs the moisture the lettuce releases and makes it dry out.
Shelby Graves
MATERIALS: -regular lettuce -knife -paper bag -plastic bag PROCEDURES: Step 1: get one head of lettuce that weighs close to 2 pounds. Step 2: unwrap the head of lettuce. Step 3: split the lettuce head in half by turning it over with the core side up, place the knife directly in the middle of the core, and split, this will make 2 perfect half’s. Step 4: place one of the half’s in a 6 1/2 inches X 5 7/8 inches plastic bag then seal the bag. Step 5: place the other half in a 9 inches X 5 inches paper bag. Step 6: place both bags in front of a window where they will receive the same amount of sunlight. Make sure the bags approximately 1 foot away from each other. Step 7: every other day check the lettuce, take a picture, and record visual effects that have changed. Step 8: do this for 7 days.
5th day of experiment
RESULTS: Lettuce stayed better in the plastic bag than in the paper bag. CONCLUSION: The test failed to support the hypothesis because they did not stay better longer in a paper bag than in a plastic bag. The hypothesis was predicting that the lettuce would stay better in a paper bag because it has less harmful chemicals than the plastic bag does. Plastic bags also change the ethylene levels in the lettuce, which cause the lettuce to go bad faster by trapping in chemicals that the lettuce releases. The test may have not supported the hypothesis because they could’ve gotten a different amount of sunlight although placed next to each other. The test also may have not supported the hypothesis because the temperature could’ve affected how many chemicals leached off the plastic or paper bag. The test results could have been altered by the surface that the bags were placed on and how much the bags were handled. Lettuce is a major food source in America. There is lettuce in almost every restaurant in America. Most fast-food restaurants use lettuce in all there food such as McDonalds, Wendy’s, Checkers, Taco Bell, Steak n’ Shake, Hardees, Crystals, Sonic, Water Burger, 5 guys burgers and fries, Arbys, Panera Bread, Subway, and Blimpie. Lettuce is used on sandwiches and also used in salads! McDonalds sells salads for $4, which translates to roughly $600 million a year, or 10 percent of McDonald's domestic revenue last year. Every food market also carries lettuce. Lettuce also brings in a lot of money for America because it is used so much. This experiment would be helpful for everyone, food industry owners, and every day people in their homes.
