Book 9, Question 76
Why Are Fruits Often Sweet When Ripe?
Fruits are often sweet when ripe because plants are making a tasty advertisement! Inside a fruit are seeds, and the plant wants animals to carry them far away. Sweet sugar is the payment that makes a hungry animal say yes.
More fun facts
- Most fruits from cooler places are about 10 to 15 percent sugar by weight.
- A juicy apple or orange has about 23 grams of sugar, a banana 17 grams and a peach 15 grams.
- Ripening changes make fruit tempting to animals, which eat it and spread its seeds in their droppings.
- Scientists found the first plant genes that control ripening in 1993. They keep ripening switched off until the fruit makes a gas called ethylene.
- In 2001, the European Union called carrots, sweet potatoes and tomatoes fruits, at least for making jam.
Sources: National Geographic, Scientific American
Questions kids ask
Why does fruit get sweeter as it ripens?
Ripening makes fruit tasty and tempting, so animals eat it and spread its seeds.