FBI
Intro video
Who are the FBI?
We have all been victimized by decomposers: Lettuce rots and bread gets moldy, bacteria and fungi get to our food before we do. But, these mighty-fine agents are doing the dirty work, breaking down all this waste and completing the food chain. Take a look at how these decent decomposers get down to work:
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Food Decay Experiment
I bet it’s not very surprising that the decomposers are not very fast, think about it, a lot of them can fit in the palm of your hand! But there are lots of other factors in ecosystems that can help or hinder the decomposition process. Try this experiment!
What you’ll need:
I bet it’s not very surprising that the decomposers are not very fast, think about it, a lot of them can fit in the palm of your hand! But there are lots of other factors in ecosystems that can help or hinder the decomposition process. Try this experiment!
What you’ll need:
- 2 plastic baggies or 2 paper bags
- A banana peel, vegetable or fruit peels (like from a carrot or apple) a stale piece of bread, or another produce scrap
- A sharpie or pencil
- Get two equal parts of your food product (ex: cut with a butter knife the bread or banana peel in half or get two fruit/vegetable peelings)
- Place the same amount of each into your containers: each of your bags and your water container with a lid
- Take one bag, and label it “Freezer” and put it in the freezer.
- Take the other bag, label it “control” and put it next to your water container
- Make a chart in your field journal like the one shown below:
- Make a prediction (an educated guess): If the FBI are living things, do you think the food scrap will show more signs of decomposition in the cold freezer or the warm room? Write this in your field journal.
- Make notes on day 1, 5, 10, and 14 about your food scraps. Are there any new colors, textures, or smells? Did the scraps change shape or size? And any notes about changes in the environment (like the window it was sitting by got left open or the bag got moved around in the freezer).
- After the two weeks are up, answer the following questions under your prediction:
- Was your prediction right? Why or why not?
- Which environment (the cold freezer or the warm room) showed more signs of decomposition?
- If you noticed signs of decomposition, which member of the FBI do you think was responsible for the changes, why? Use evidence from your observation notes.
- How could you design another experiment to test if moisture (or how wet it is) affects the decomposition process?
Why?
Check out these links after you’ve completed your experiment:
What conditions encourage bacteria to grow?
How Mold Grows and More
Check out these links after you’ve completed your experiment:
What conditions encourage bacteria to grow?
How Mold Grows and More
The Missing Piece of the Food Chain
The Brown Food Web Video
The Brown Food Web Video
Take a dance break and rock out to this song about Producers, Consumers, and decomposers!
What is Compost?
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Outro Video
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Composting Help by Oregon Metro
Bonus: They have a compost demonstration garden at Clackamas Community College. There’s also a worm composting (vermicompost) center at the Portland Community College Rock Creek Learning Garden
Bonus: They have a compost demonstration garden at Clackamas Community College. There’s also a worm composting (vermicompost) center at the Portland Community College Rock Creek Learning Garden
