After eating half of a banana as a snack, you decide to save the rest for later. There are two types of plastic wrap in your house, and you use one to cover the banana. In an hour, you return and find that your banana half has browned significantly despite being saved in plastic wrap. You discover that one of the plastic wraps is made of polyvinyl, and the other is made of polyethylene.

Question

Which plastic wrap could have caused this browning effect, and why?

(1 point)
Responses

The polyethylene wrap probably caused the browning since it contains ethylene which would speed up the ripening process.
The polyethylene wrap probably caused the browning since it contains ethylene which would speed up the ripening process.

The polyethylene wrap probably caused the browning since it contains ethylene which would delay the ripening process.
The polyethylene wrap probably caused the browning since it contains ethylene which would delay the ripening process.

The polyvinyl wrap probably caused the browning since it traps ethylene gas which would delay the ripening process.
The polyvinyl wrap probably caused the browning since it traps ethylene gas which would delay the ripening process.

The polyvinyl wrap probably caused the browning since it traps ethylene gas which would speed up the ripening process.
The polyvinyl wrap probably caused the browning since it traps ethylene gas which would speed up the ripening process.

Answer 1

The correct response is:

The polyvinyl wrap probably caused the browning since it traps ethylene gas which would speed up the ripening process.

Explanation: When fruits like bananas are cut, they release ethylene gas, which promotes ripening. If the wrap traps this ethylene gas, it can accelerate the ripening process and cause browning. Polyvinyl wrap is known to trap gases more effectively than polyethylene, which can allow some gas exchange.