ACTIVITY 1 A Ethylene Effects on Banana Ripening Day 1 1. Separate the bananas, making sure not to open the fruit and expose the soft interior. Should this happen, remove the banana from the activity since this will ruin the experiment. 2. Place 3 bananas in a bowl on a table, and mark these as Uncovered Control. 3. Place 3 bananas in a bowl. Place a small medicine cup filled with 10 mL of ethanol in the bowl, and mark this as Uncovered Treated. 4. Place 3 bananas in a clear plastic bag. Mark these as Covered Untreated. 5. Place 3 bananas and a small medicine cup filled with 10 mL of ethanol into a clear plastic bag. Mark this group as Covered Treated. 6. Optional: Place 3 bananas in a bowl. Add a small medicine cup filled with 10 mL of ethanol in the bowl. Position a fan so that it blows over these bananas only. Mark this group as Ventilated Treated. Days 2-7 7. Observe the ripening of each group of bananas and record the data in Data Table 1. Write a G for green, R for ripe, and S for spoiled bananas, along with the number of bananas that exhibit each characteristic after every letter. 8. Make sure the temperature stays at 15-25 C. 9. Make sure that ethanol remains in the medicine cups, and add more (up to the 10-mL mark) if needed. Day 8 10. Record the number of green, ripe, and spoiled bananas in each group in Data Table 2. Disposal and Cleanup 1. Discard the ethanol in the sink while flushing with excess tap water. 2. Dispose of the bananas in household or yard waste.