Think before you drink!

The end of the school year means projects. Math projects, reading projects, science projects, history projects, etc.  I enjoy the kid's projects and the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned over the past year... OK, who am I kidding.  Projects are a pain in the butt!!  

Jake needed to come up with a science project idea.  We talked through a lot of ideas, and settled on one that would help him understand nutrition better for wrestling, track, school, or whatever activity he is doing. Here's his project...

SCIENTIFIC QUESTION
Can sugar affect your concentration and reaction time?

HYPOTHESIS

I think that sugar does affect your concentration and reaction time because sugar gets you up and awake.

PROCEDURE (short version)

First thing in the morning (before eating or drinking)

Day 1 Base test results

Repeat Reaction and Concentration test every 15 min. for 45 min. and record results

Day 2  Drink 10 ounces Orange Juice

Repeat Reaction and Concentration test every 15 min. for 45 min. and record results

Day 3 Drink 10 ounces of Strawberry Milk

Repeat Reaction and Concentration test every 15 min. for 45 min. and record results

Day 4 Drink 10 ounces Powerade

Repeat Reaction and Concentration test every 15 min. for 45 min. and record results

Day 5 Drink 10 ounces Root Beer soda

Repeat Reaction and Concentration test every 15 min. for 45 min. and record results

Day 6 Drink 10 ounces Raspberry Lemonade

Repeat Reaction and Concentration test every 15 min. for 45 min. and record results

CONCLUSION

Yes, sugar does affect our concentration and reaction time. My hypothesis is I think sugar can affect concentration and reaction time because sugar gets you up and awake, which happened a tiny bit to me.  

My average base time for the reaction test was 0.361 seconds. Strawberry milk had 38 grams of sugar in the 10 ounces I drank. My average reaction time after the strawberry was 0.449 seconds.  My reaction time increased by 0.088 seconds.
This project showed me that sugar does impact reaction and concentration times.  This applies in real life because your school tests and grades can be impacted.  We should not drink sugary drinks before school and classes where we need to concentrate.  This science project could be improved by repeating the tests multiple days and adding additional people to do the tests.

My average base time for the concentration test was 1 minute and 27 seconds. Strawberry milk had 38 grams of sugar in the 10 ounces I drank. My average concentration test time after the strawberry was 2 minute and 3 seconds.  My reaction time increased by 0.36 seconds.

Explaining the project to his teacher.

Did you know that Strawberry milk has more sugar than Root Beer or Lemonade?

I'm really proud pf Jake and all the work he put into his project.  He did an excellent job and got 99/100.  (His conclusion was a little out of order)