About This Lesson
Why are some apples crispy and others mealy? In "The Tragic Mystery of the Mushy Apple" by Science Friday, students use the structure of the plant cell to evaluate the quality of different apples. In this investigation, they will catalog the crispness and juiciness of apples by tasting different apple varieties. Yum! Then they explore the relationship between crispness and tensile strength in apples. An extension lets you add a discussion of osmosis to this activity. If your class is as crazy about apples as we are, you can listen to Science Friday’s segment “Apple Science, From American Beauty to Zestar” to talk about selective breeding and variation in apples.
