Electrolytes in Orange Juice vs. Gatorade Sara Sheridan 9th Grade

Problem What drink has more electrolytes and is consequently better for the human body-orange juice or Gatorade? Rationale

Research Electrolyte-any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive Main electrolytes in body Ingredients in Gatorade and Orange Juice Why are they important?

Hypothesis If orange juice and Gatorade are tested for electrolyte content, then Gatorade will exhibit a higher amount of electrolytes and is therefore more beneficial to the human body.

Materials Orange Juice (100 mL) Gatorade (100 mL) Distilled Water (100 mL) Tap Water (100 mL) Multimeter (1) Copper wires (2, 15.25 cm each) 9 Volt battery (1) Graduated cylinder, ruler Containers (4)

Procedure Measure materials Set up simple conductor Test liquids Repeat 5 times for each liquid Record data

Variables Independent Variable-Liquids Dependent Variable-DCV measurement Control Groups-Distilled and Tap Water

Data

Data, ctd. Liquid Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Avg. SDev. Distilled Water Tap Water Gatorade Orange Juice 4 20 9 2 14 7 1 18 6 21 3 16 8 17.8 7.8 1.581139 2.863564 1.30384

Conclusion The original hypothesis stated that Gatorade would contain the most electrolytes, as opposed to orange juice. The hypothesis was supported-Gatorade had the highest DCV measurement and therefore the most electrolytes.

Further Experimentation Problems with the experiment More in depth research before hand Brands of orange juice Different flavors/varieties of Gatorade Calculating the actual electrolyte count

Thank You Questions?

Works Cited (2009).  Fluid and Electrolyte Balance.  MedlinePlus.  Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/fluidandelectrolytebalance.htmled (2009).  Electrolytes.  MedlinePlus.  Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002350.htm Smith, Kelly.  (23 June 2009).  Sports Drinks for Hydration and Electrolyte Replacement. Examiner.com.  Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/x-7913-Houston-Running-Fitness-Examiner~y2009m6d23-Sports-drinks-for-hydration-and-electrolyte-replacement (2009).  Homeostatic Mechanisms.  BookRags.  Retrieved from http://www.bookrags.com/research/homeostatic-mechanisms-wap/ (2009).  Ions.  Answers.com.  Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/ion "WikiAnswers - What are the ingredients in gatorade." WikiAnswers - The Q&A wiki. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_ingredients_in_gatorade>.