ELECTROLYTES: IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT MATTERS

By: Alex Dang

Teacher: Mrs. Chan

Period: 5

Group: 10

ABSTRACT

As replenishing lost electrolytes is key to an athlete’s success, finding the most efficient method of restoring these electrolytes becomes extremely important. This experiment is designed to answer the question, are juices more effective in replenishing electrolytes than sports drinks? The scientist hypothesized that if different types of sports drinks and juices are tested for their number of electrolytes, then the juices will have a higher number of electrolytes because juices have naturally occurring electrolytes while sports drinks do not. Within this experiment, the independent variable is the different beverages used, while the dependent variable is the electrolyte count in siemens. The scientist built a conductance measuring circuit to measure the current of each beverage and calculate the overall conductance. With this experiment, the scientist found that orange juice has a conductance of 0.00002222 siemens while Gatorade and Powerade both have a conductance of 0.00001111 siemens. Since orange juice has a higher conductance than Gatorade and Powerade, the scientist can conclude that juices tend to contain more electrloolytes than sports drinks. In other words, juices are more effective in replenishing electrolytes than sports drinks. This means that the scientist’s hypothesis was supported by their experiment. One of the main issues with this experiment is its accuracy, because of the multimeterhaving no microamp setting and only using one decimal place. For the future, further experiments can be conducted to find ways for athletes to become more efficient and effectively restore their lost electrolytes.

BACKGROUND RESEARCH 1

Electrolytes – a substance that separates into electrically charged ions when exposed to a fluid (ex. Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, and Magnesium)

The positive and negative charges of these ions allow cells to carry impulses throughout the body to regulate different functions like muscle contraction and hydration levels

A lack of electrolytes may lead to various symptoms like weakness, muscle spasms, exhaustion, irregular heartbeat, and confusion

Causes of an imbalance of electrolytes are medical conditions (especially with the kidneys), illnesses involving vomiting and diarrhea, sweat (mostly sodium and potassium are lost, but some magnesium and chloride), and urine

BACKGROUND RESEARCH 2

There is no set ratio in the number of electrolytes lost, as everyone sweats differently and the amount of fluid and electrolytes lost varies

Methods to restore lost electrolytes include drinks with the right balance of water, carbohydrates, and electrolytes to maintain fluids, tablets that dissolve in water and give flavor with few carbohydrates, bananas, and coconut water

A similar experiment concluded sports drinks contain more electrolytes than juices, but juices are more beneficial as the difference is small and juices provide other health benefits

PROBLEM

Are juices more effective in replenishing electrolytes than sports drinks?

HYPOTHESIS

If different types of sports drinks and juices are tested for their number of electrolytes, then the juices will have a higher number of electrolytes because juices have naturally occurring electrolytes while sports drinks do not.

VARIABLES/CONTROLS

Independent Variable – The different types of beverages tested, which is changed by switching between distilled water, tap water, Gatorade, Powerade, orange juice, and apple juice

Dependent Variable – The number of electrolytes or conductance of each beverage tested in siemens, which is measured with a digital multimeter

Constant – The amount of the beverages used

Control – The distilled and tap water

PROCEDURE

1. For the conductance sensor, use the scissors to cut a 5 cm piece from the straw and two 12 cm pieces of copper wire. Wrap one piece of wire around one end of the straw piece, leaving about 5 cm of the wire exposed, and do the same to the other side of the straw

2. Connect the snap connector to the 9-volt battery

3. Keep the multimeter off, and plug the multimeter probes into the multimeter (the black probe goes to the port labeled COM while the red probe goes to the VΩMA port)

4. Making sure to connect only the metal parts, connect the red alligator clip to the red multimeter probe and red battery clip wire, the black alligator clip to the black multimeter probe and a copper wire, and the green alligator clip to the black battery clip wire and other copper wire, completing the conductance measuring circuit

5. Wash each container with warm water and use masking tape to label them beverage test, tap water rinse, distilled water rinse 1, and distilled water rinse 2. Pour each beverage to their respective containers, but the beverage test rotates between the different beverages that are tested. Lay out paper towels

6. Set the multimeter to 200 mA, and completely submerge the sensor into the distilled water, quickly record the readings, and remove the sensor. Repeat this step two more times. Do the same for tap water, but also tap the sensor onto the paper towels and dip it into the distilled water rinses. For the other beverages, do the same as tap water but also dip the sensor into the tap water rinse before the distilled water

7. Convert the mA to A (divide by 1000), and divide by the voltage (9 V) to find the conductance and electrolyte count of each beverage

8. Average the conductance of each beverage, and create a graph to display all three trials and averages for each beverage

9. Compare the results o see which beverage contains the most electrolytes

PICTURES

MATERIALS

Digital Multimeter (1)

Alligator Clip Leads (3)

Copper Wire, bare, 24-gauge (1.5 meters)

9-Volt Battery (1)

9-Volt Battery Clip (1)

Disposable Plastic Straw (1)

Scissors (1)

Small Plastic or Ceramic Containers (4)

Masking Tape (1)

Permanent Pen (1)

Distilled Water (3)

Tap Water (3)

Gatorade (3)

Powerade (3)

Orange Juice (3)

Apple Juice (3)

Paper Towels (1)

Lab Notebook (1)

DATA TABLE

Distilled

Water

Tap Water Gatorade Powerade Orange

Juice

Apple

Juice

Trial 1 0 0 0.00001111 0.00001111 0.00002222 0.00001111

Trial 2 0 0 0.00001111 0.00001111 0.00002222 0.00001111

Trial 3 0 0 0.00001111 0.00001111 0.00002222 0.00001111

Average 0 0 0.00001111 0.00001111 0.00002222 0.00001111

Conductance of Different Beverages (Siemens)

GRAPH

0

0.000005

0.00001

0.000015

0.00002

0.000025

Distilled Water Tap Water Gatorade Powerade Orange Juice Apple Juice

Conduct

ance

(S

iem

ens)

Beverages

Conductance of Different Beverages (Siemens)

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION 1

The hypothesis is supported because the conductance of a beverage is equal to its electrolyte count. These results show that water tends to have the lowest electrolyte count, sports drinks have the second highest, and juices have the highest

The results are because juices have naturally occurring electrolytes and serve other benefits for the human body, unlike sports drinks. Orange juice had the highest electrolyte count due to its acidity compared to the other beverages. Distilled water contained no electrolyes due to how clean and purified it is. Tap water’s results were unexpected, as it being not as clean as distilled water led the scientist to believe it would have at least some electrolytes

It is more beneficial for atheletes to use juices rather than sports drinks since juices containing more electrolytes, thus restoring more than sports drinks do

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION 2

Sources of error include the accuracy of this experiment, as the multimeteronly measured in mA rather than μA, used only one decimal place, and the amount of beverages used may not have been consistent.

Possible improvements to this experiment include testing more beverages, using a multimeter with μA and multiple decimal places, and measuring each beverage sample before testing, all of which increase accuracy

This experiment could be expanded by exploring similar experiments like finding the effectiveness of juices in restoring lost electrolytes after different lengths of workouts, and how juices affect the human body’s functions. The knowledge that juices are more efficient in replenishing electrolytes than sports drinks could influence the choices athletes make, and thus influence what sports factories produce

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Whyte, D. (2016, September 30). Electrolyte Challenge: Orange Juice Vs. Sports Drink. Retrieved September 15, 2016, from http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Chem_p053.shtml#background

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3. Brown, E. (2009, November). Don't sweat it: What runners need to know about electrolytes. Don't Sweat It: What Runners Need to Know about Electrolytes, 1-1. doi:GALE|A209234078

4. Shea, S. B. (2008, July). Have a drink? Have a Drink?, 1-1. doi:GALE|A184144974

5. Scott, S. (2008, May). Sporting healthier options: Sports drinks perform for consumers' needs. Sporting Healthier Options: Sports Drinks Perform for Consumers' Needs, 1-1. doi:GALE|A193959615

6. Zmuda, N. (2009, March 23). GATOR BAITER: POWERADE JABS AT POWERHOUSE; Coke brand goads Gatorade in push pegging sports-drink category leader as less "complete' GATOR BAITER: POWERADE JABS AT POWERHOUSE; Coke Brand Goads Gatorade in Push Pegging Sports-drink Category Leader as Less "complete', 1-1. doi:GALE|A196395081

7. Electrolytes vs. Orange Juice. (2010, October 2). Retrieved September 28, 2016, from https://stewartsciencereports.wikispaces.com/Electrolytes vs. Orange Juice