Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

In the below mentioned experiment, the pill score calculation starts with 700.I am not sure why the score starts with 700? Can you please explain in detail the reason for it?
Thank you.
Regards,
Nishka
6th grade student.

Delayed Release Pill Challenge: Getting Medicine to the Right Place at the Right Time

Abstract
A lot of medication comes in the form of pills that you need to swallow. But not all pills are the same! Some look like little capsules, others are made of pressed powder. Why are there different types of pills? Different types of pills release their active ingredients in different ways. Some release their active ingredient right after initial administration. Others release their active ingredient much later. Such drugs are called delayed-release drugs. These kinds of pills have to be manufactured in a special way—usually with some kind of coating—so that the active ingredient is protected up to the point when it is released. In this project, you will be challenged to design and build such a delayed-release tablet from colored bath tablets and water-soluble plastics. Can you make a pill that releases three different colors at three different times?

(Admin notes / Project url https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... -challenge)

Hi!

Going through the project, there didn't seem to be a particular reason why 700 was specifically chosen as the initial pill score.

However, 700 was such a high baseline as the initial pill score to ensure that, if the red, blue, and yellow pill scores were very high, then the final pill score wouldn't be 0 or negative. That is: if you think of the pill score in seconds, then 700 seconds is around 11 minutes. Therefore, if it did take several minutes for the red, yellow, and blue pills to dissolve respectively, then using a higher, yet reasonable number like 700 would ensure that the score doesn't get unreasonably low when all the subtracting was done.

Here's a (theoretical) example of that happening:
700 = initial pill score
Yellow: target time (30s) actual time (4 mins 30s (270)) -- pill score: 240
Blue: target time (180) actual time (4 mins (300s)) -- pill score: 120
Yellow: target time (90) actual time (4 mins 45 s (285s)) -- pill score: 195

Final score: 700 - 240 - 120 - 195 = 145

In this case, using 700 as the score helped ensure that the final score wasn't 0 or negative, which would be more unreasonable scores that could potentially skew your results. However, nothing suggests that there was a specific reason 700 was used as the pill score.

Let me know if you have any more questions!
Sneha

Thank you so much for the information! You helped me clear my doubts!