Pulse of Blackworm in Caffeine Solutions Effects of Caffeine on L. Variegatus Jamelis Mateo and Kiara Smith GCC Bio 100 Albion Central School Data for .4 solution Data for .8 solution Introduction Caffeine works by stimulating the central nervous system, heart, muscles, and the centers that control blood pressure. It can also alter blood sugar levels. Caffeine can be unsafe when taken for a long time or in fairly high doses. High doses of caffeine can result in an irregular heartbeat, and even death. Caffeine is a methylxanthine alkaloid that can be found in seeds, nuts, or leaves of a number of plants native to South America and East Asia. Caffeine’s intended use is to restore mental alertness/wakefulness during fatigue or drowsiness. Procedure Take a spoon full of worms from a bowl of spring water and place them into a dish with a small amount of spring water. Then, get another dish and put your .4 or .8 solution (choose which one to start with first). Using a dropper, carefully place around 5-10 worms from your spring water bowl into the solution for a specific amount of time in order for them to start reacting to the solution. Next, place each worm one at a time underneath the microscope and count their pulse rate per minute using your timer. Repeat this step until you have counted five worms’ pulse rates, and then record them in your data chart. Do this procedure for your remaining solution and again, record the pulse rates in your data chart. 1 23 2 33 3 32 4 12 5 34 1 20 2 14 3 16 4 24 5 Hypothesis If we expose our blackworms to a safe dosage of caffeine, then we should see an increase in the blackworms’ pulse rates. Independent Variable - spring water to caffeinated water Dependant Variable - the pulse rate Constants - type of microscope, well slide, coverslip, dropper(s), dosage given to worms Conclusion In conclusion, our hypothesis turned out to be incorrect. As we thought the pulse rate would of increase because caffeine is a stimulant According to the data we’ve collected, the blackworms’ overall pulse rates appeared to be slower than intended when given caffeine. The more of the solution that the worms had been given, the slower the pulse rate had been. We do not know what caused this to happen. The average pulse rate for our .4 solution was 26.8 and the average for our .8 solution was 18.8. Hopefully in further testing we can figure out why caffeine slowed down pulse rates for blackworms. .4 solution .8 solution Materials Microscope Cover slip Well slide Three droppers Four dishes (.4 solution, .8 solution, two spring waters) Timer Blackworms References Caffeine (Oct. 2016), Drugs.com, retrieved from https://www.drugs.com/caffeine.html Caffeine, (n.d.), WebMD, retrieved from www.emedicinehealth.com/caffeine-page2/vitamins-supplements.htm