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Human Body and Water - Project ideas

Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 1:56 pm
by fajita
Hello there,

My kids would like to do a project on the effects of water and the human body. They were more interested in what happens if you drink too much water, kind of like hyper-hydration. I personally can’t think of any legit experiments they could do to figure out what would happen. Does anyone have any ideas of what we could do or what we could do to a plant that would prove or at least give an idea of what would happen to a human?

Maybe I could over water a plant and kill it? That seems harsh to kill a plant just for a kid’s science experiment though.

Re: Human Body and Water - Project ideas

Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2017 2:17 pm
by tegchem
Hi fajita,

This sounds like a great project! When we drink too much water, the amount of salt in our bloodstream lowers (the concentration of salt in our blood becomes more dilute -- or "watered out" -- as the amount of water increases). This can cause a condition known as "hyponatremia," or water intoxication, because our kidneys can't process all of the water. It causes our cells to swell up, which is especially scary in the brain! Salt is an important electrolyte that helps our cells maintain water balance, so diluting our body's salt concentration makes it hard for our cells to stay healthy through a process called "osmosis," which lets water in and out of cells. Here is more information on osmosis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaZ8MtF3C6M

These effects can be seen using potatoes in a very simple experiment! Using potatoes, salt, and water, you can demonstrate the effects of osmosis and see what conditions cause cells to swell or shrink, similar to the way human cells would react. See the following links for ideas:
http://herbarium.desu.edu/pfk/page17/pa ... age19.html
https://blog.udemy.com/osmosis-experiment/

You could also try using gummy bears!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8atErlFKd2A

You could try these experiments with different fruits/vegetables, or try varying the amounts of water/salt used and see what happens! I hope this helps, and best of luck!

Megan

Re: Human Body and Water - Project ideas

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:44 pm
by Husky101
I like the idea of over watering a plant it proves what can happen to a human. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Re: Human Body and Water - Project ideas

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:53 pm
by Husky101
I like the idea of over watering a plant it proves what can happen to a human. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) <img src="http://ruhow.org/uploads/posts/2013-10/ ... d4fa47.jpg" alt="Image result for how plants die from too much water"/>