Measuring Sugar, i need information of how to.

[shameyyy]

Hey, for my science project I was thinking of measuring sugars in Gatorade, or Powerade. The reason why I chose this is because ALOT of people my age (13), drink it here. But I've heard that its not really healthy for children, only for athletes. I've heard that its because of the amounts of sugar in Gatorade. So, I dont know how to start, and I especially dont know how to measure sugar. Any one want to help me out? Or, is there any ideas i could go from? Im not too sure about this project idea. Thank you, reply as soon as possible.

[Louise]

Hey, for my science project I was thinking of measuring sugars in Gatorade, or Powerade. The reason why I chose this is because ALOT of people my age (13), drink it here. But I've heard that its not really healthy for children, only for athletes. I've heard that its because of the amounts of sugar in Gatorade. So, I dont know how to start, and I especially dont know how to measure sugar. Any one want to help me out? Or, is there any ideas i could go from? Im not too sure about this project idea. Thank you, reply as soon as possible.

You don't say what grade you are in, but here is a method (intended for older students) to measure the sugar content in liquids:

http://www.sciencebuddies.com/mentoring ... ?from=Home

You could probably also find out the sugar content in these drinks by reading the label!

Anyway, you don't mention what your hypothesis is. Right now, while you have an interesting idea, it is not a science fair project. If you need some help developing a hypothesis, feel free to post back asking for help. You can also look at the science fair guide (see link in top corner). It is really helpful! If you have a hypothesis, then ignore what I said. [But we are glad to look over your hypothesis/experimental plan and give you suggestions too!]

Good luck.
Louise

[shameyyy]

Thanks for replying :]
Anywhoos, thats why my ideas are pretty scattered. Im not too sure about my hypothesis. My mentor told me to have something to measure with, so when we dicussed my ideas, we figured that we'd measure the amount of sugar in Gatorade or Powerade. Right about now, im thinking my hypothesis would be something like... "If I measure the amount of sugar in Gatorade and Powerade, then the energy drink with less sugar will be Powerade" Like I said, my ideas are pretty scattered, so im not too sure about this. Thank you for the link, I viewed it earlier, before your reply, and im pretty confused about that. Well, Im in 8th grade.

[donnahardy2]

Hi,

It sounds like you are still trying to define your topic. I think it is good that you are concerned about the health effects of Gatorade and Powerade. However, measuring the amount of sugar in these drinks won't make a good project because there's no real purpose for doing the experiment. And studying the health effects of high-sugar drinks is a very complex subject, much too involved for a good project. For a science project, you want to ask a question that you can answer with a well-designed and controlled experiment.

Two years ago, I advised a 7th grader on a project that involved Gatorade, and we made some observations that would probably make a good science fair project topic. The original project was on teeth whitening. My friend used chicken bones (which have the same chemistry as teeth, except the enamel) and put them into various drinks to stain them. You don't want to repeat the teeth whitening experiment, but you might investigate one of the following:

1. The red Gatorade samples did not develop mold like the blueberry juice, coke, coffee, and milk samples during the 7 day experiment.

2. Ants seemed to definitely prefer the fruit juice to the Gatorade.

Mold and ants require similar nutrient as humans. So why was there a difference between the fruit juice and the Gatorade?

Or, an even better project would be one based on something that you are interested in, or something that you have observed.

I hope this will help on the process of topic selection. Please write back and let us know if you need more information. There are lots of great projects that need to be done.

Donna Hardy

[shameyyy]

Those ideas seem really interesting, my friends and I have recently been talking about the stains on teeth, and what effects different foods have on it.

Hm, just by thinking of it, I know you don't want me to repeat the experiment, and I have braces, keeping your mouth healthy is really important.

Its also a problem for lots of young kids, because young kids dont really have concern for how healthy their teeth is. Especially, because halloween just passed, and im sure ALOT of kids have had alot of sweets, which causes cavitys most likely.

What if, i could use different kinds of tooth paste? Or mouth wash? Do you think that could be a good topic? It'll also be a heads up for parents out there that struggle to keep their childrens teeth healthy, they'll know what kind of tooth paste to use.

But.. How do i do this? Do i soak it in some type of thing? Am i suppose to use a tooth brush for two minutes? But if i use a tooth brush, it wouldnt really be a controling experiement. It will matter what type of brush I use, which would cause variables because of the different types of tooth brushes there are all over the world, all the different brands, etc. If so, how do I brush it? Clearly, Im pretty sure that an experiment cleaning teeth with toothpaste, mouth wash, doesn't sound like it'll work unless.. i know what im measuring and what im doing step by step. What do you think?

And with the idea of the ants being attracted to fruit juice rather than Gatorade... How do you get the ants? I've always wondered. How do ants come to you..? Do they just SMELL your scent? Your scent of sweetness of food? Also, Have you ever noticed that ants only bite certain people? I think its pretty weird. I guess to find these answers to with a bit of research on ants and their behavior.

In my school, for science fair, my mentor said that health standards really matter this year, so I dont think we'll be able to be using mold, I remember him saying that before he was dissaproving/approving projects.

If your using fruit juice, what kind of fruit juice? Apple, strawberry, blue berry, watermelon, cherry? (Haha, that rhymes) Maybe I could see which type of fruit juice attracts more ants? Hmm.. but here the question is, How do i get these ants?

Its pretty cool, because you know in cartoons? They have like these red and white picnic table mats, with their baskets, and goodies... all of a sudden these ants come out of now where, and form a line to each take a piece of food. Why do they form such of a line? Are ants blind? How is their vision?

Last year, for science I was thinking of an Ant farm. I was always interested in that. To see the behavior of them, but... I dont know how to get there. Not sure...

Well, thank you very much for your opinions, this have given me lots of help.

[shameyyy]

Those ideas seem really interesting, my friends and I have recently been talking about the stains on teeth, and what effects different foods have on it.

Hm, just by thinking of it, I know you don't want me to repeat the experiment, and I have braces, keeping your mouth healthy is really important.

Its also a problem for lots of young kids, because young kids dont really have concern for how healthy their teeth is. Especially, because halloween just passed, and im sure ALOT of kids have had alot of sweets, which causes cavitys most likely.

What if, i could use different kinds of tooth paste? Or mouth wash? Do you think that could be a good topic? It'll also be a heads up for parents out there that struggle to keep their childrens teeth healthy, they'll know what kind of tooth paste to use.

But.. How do i do this? Do i soak it in some type of thing? Am i suppose to use a tooth brush for two minutes? But if i use a tooth brush, it wouldnt really be a controling experiement. It will matter what type of brush I use, which would cause variables because of the different types of tooth brushes there are all over the world, all the different brands, etc. If so, how do I brush it? Clearly, Im pretty sure that an experiment cleaning teeth with toothpaste, mouth wash, doesn't sound like it'll work unless.. i know what im measuring and what im doing step by step. What do you think?

And with the idea of the ants being attracted to fruit juice rather than Gatorade... How do you get the ants? I've always wondered. How do ants come to you..? Do they just SMELL your scent? Your scent of sweetness of food? Also, Have you ever noticed that ants only bite certain people? I think its pretty weird. I guess to find these answers to with a bit of research on ants and their behavior.

In my school, for science fair, my mentor said that health standards really matter this year, so I dont think we'll be able to be using mold, I remember him saying that before he was dissaproving/approving projects.

If your using fruit juice, what kind of fruit juice? Apple, strawberry, blue berry, watermelon, cherry? (Haha, that rhymes) Maybe I could see which type of fruit juice attracts more ants? Hmm.. but here the question is, How do i get these ants?

Its pretty cool, because you know in cartoons? They have like these red and white picnic table mats, with their baskets, and goodies... all of a sudden these ants come out of now where, and form a line to each take a piece of food. Why do they form such of a line? Are ants blind? How is their vision?

Last year, for science I was thinking of an Ant farm. I was always interested in that. To see the behavior of them, but... I dont know how to get there. Not sure...

Well, thank you very much for your opinions, this have given me lots of help.

Oh btw, with the tooth paste idea. Kids use certain tooth pastes, such as the Childrens Crest, or Colgate. Im aware of that. Younger people have more gentle gums, and they're much more sensitive. What about adults though? Why do they need stronger effect? Seems stronger because it stings ALOT when you use it. Will the stains come off faster? Is Childrens tooth paste less effective then the adult kind? Thats also very interesting.

[donnahardy2]

Hi,

One problem with teeth whitening experiments is that there is no good way to measure the results. There is a color chart that dentists use to determine teeth color, but it's not really a measurement, like weight or centimeters. The other problem is that, as a science fair judge, I've seen a lot of teeth whitening projects, and so it's not a particularly original idea. And, buying all of the teeth whitening products is expensive. However, the science is straightforward; it involves learning about how hydrogen peroxide oxidizes molecules to eliminate color, it's a fun project to do, and you will learn about chemistry. So, if you are really interested, I can give you some more details on how to do the project, so you can avoid some of the problems that my friend encountered.

Comparing different toothpastes or mouth washes would be very difficult. The science of these products is complex, there's no good way to measure results, and there's too many variables to consider. I really can't think of a way to do a good science fair project on this topic.

If you want to win at the science fair, I encourage you to keep thinking. What other topics are you interested in? Do you have any hobbies that might give you an idea for a project? Have you noticed anything unusual that could be explained by doing an experiment? Have you tried the topic selection wizard on this web site? Let us know.

Donna Hardy

[donnahardy2]

Hi Shamey,

Here are some more answers:

1. Ant project: I don't know where you live, but here in California, if it is over 65 degrees F, and if you leave your Gatorade and other science fair samples in open containers on the kitchen window sill, the ants just show up like Goldilocks. If it will be warm enough where you are, you could probably do your experiment outdoors near an ant hill. If you are in a cold climate, then you will have a find a source of ants, and plan to keep them warm enough to do the experiment.

Here are suggestions for finding ants.

http://www.ant-farms.com/Where-to-Get-A ... -Farm.html

Here’s a supplier of live ants, however, I would hate for you to have to pay $4.95 for 25 ants.

http://www.antsalive.com/antssupplies.htm

If you like the idea of this project, and if you live in a cold climate, then make plans to do the project next summer, for next year’s science fair project.

2. Mold project: To work with mold, you do need to have special permission, and you will have to learn the safety rules for working with microorganisms. And whatever your project is, you need approval from your mentor. In our school district, there are lots of mold projects every year. But if your mentor said that there was no possibility of working with microorganisms, then you will have to do something else. You might want to double check with your mentor, just to clarify the rules. Filling out the extra forms will take extra time, but you will learn a lot by doing this.

3. Toothpaste/mouth wash project. I did think of a project for this topic. You could develop a standardized method for using mouth wash or toothpaste and then measure the difference in the number of bacteria in your test subject’s mouth. This project would involve growing live microorganisms, so would have the same safety concerns as the mold project, but would be doable if you had permission from your mentor and your parents.


For any of these projects, you will still need to think of a specific question to answer, develop a hypothesis, and then follow the scientific method to find an answer, but I hope these suggestions will help a little. Let us know if you are getting any closer to selecting a topic.

Donna Hardy

[shameyyy]

I like music. But i havent really found a experiment i could think of. One of my hobbies are singing. The only experiment i found, was from the science buddies sight. There are alot of little things im interested in, mostly nature and how natural it is for things to happen. Like bugs, or insects. When i was younger, I used to play crab spider fighting with two spiders. I was always interested in bugs.

Hm.. I live in Hawaii soo, the tempature is pretty warm.

I've wanted to work with microscopes and see the different micro organisms. But.. I dont know what topic, what my question is, or how to get a microscope. I could ask my mentor, with permission. Also, I'd have to study on what im doing and do some research.

Yeah, thats a good idea about the tooth paste project. But I'd ask him. I never knew there were bacteria in tooth paste? Cool.

[Louise]

I like music. But i havent really found a experiment i could think of. One of my hobbies are singing. The only experiment i found, was from the science buddies sight. There are alot of little things im interested in, mostly nature and how natural it is for things to happen. Like bugs, or insects. When i was younger, I used to play crab spider fighting with two spiders. I was always interested in bugs.

Hm.. I live in Hawaii soo, the tempature is pretty warm.

I've wanted to work with microscopes and see the different micro organisms. But.. I dont know what topic, what my question is, or how to get a microscope. I could ask my mentor, with permission. Also, I'd have to study on what im doing and do some research.

Yeah, thats a good idea about the tooth paste project. But I'd ask him. I never knew there were bacteria in tooth paste? Cool.

It sounds like you have a bunch of really cool ideas. I just want to clarify one thing- toothpaste doesn't have bacteria. Your mouth has bacteria! This is how you get cavities. Toothpaste helps remove the bacteria. If it doesn't do a good job (or you do a bad job brushing), then there would be more bacteria left in your mouth. Do check with your teacher though; culturing bacteria can be dangerous, and you need to have proper procedures to destroy the cultures.

Louise

[donnahardy2]

Hi Shamey,

Louise is right about the toothpaste project. If you can get permission to do this project, you will need to check out the safety rules at the science buddies web site.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... ques.shtml

If you can get permission to do this project, what question would you want to ask about toothpaste and bacteria?

Since you live in Hawaii, and since you are interested in insects, the ant project should be a good project for you. It should be warm enough to do the ant project and you can find out if Hawaiian ants prefer Gatorade or fruit juice. You would need to collect a number of hungry ants (100-200, or so) and then you would need to design a controlled experiment to find out what source of sugar they prefer. You could do your background research on ants, find out what kinds of ants live in Hawaii (how would you identify an ant?), and find out about the composition of fruit juice and Gatorade. There are 45 species of ants that live in Hawaii, so maybe you could do your experiment on more than one species. You would become an ant expert if you did this project.

Another possibility would be to find out why kids your age drink Gatorade. You could have human test subjects taste Gatorade or red Kool-Aid (or Hawaiian punch) and tell you which drink they prefer. The main difference between Gatorade and Hawaiian punch is the electrolytes (sodium and potassium) that are present in the Gatorade. The best set up for this type of experiment is called a blind experiment (where the test subjects don’t know which drink they are tasting), or double blind (where a parent sets up the drink cups, and neither the researcher (you) or the test subjects know which drink is being tested). You would probably need to dilute one of the drinks to make sure the concentration of sugar is identical in each drink, so that the only difference is the non-sugar components of the drinks. You could make a questionnaire and ask your test subjects about Gatorade, and find out if the test taste results match the questionnaire results. Depending on your hypothesis, you might want to compare results of two difference groups of test subjects, e.g. middle school athletes and non-athletes, or perhaps middle school students and adults.

I usually don’t recommend doing science fair projects that involve human subjects because this adds lots of variables to your results. However, if you design your experiment meticulously, and if you have enough test subjects, I think this project would work. Here’s information from the science buddies website that explains how many test subjects you would need to obtain statistically significant results.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... ants.shtml

I think that the bacteria, ant, or Gatorade projects could make a good project for you. At this point, I recommend that you go back to the science buddies website, and go through the getting started, background research, and constructing hypothesis sections:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... ndex.shtml

This will help you define exactly what you want to do. Be sure you gather all of the background information and develop the question you want to answer before proceeding with your experiment.

Let us know if you have questions.


Donna Hardy

[donnahardy2]

Hi Shamey,

There are several music-related projects listed on the physics section of the science buddies website.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... ?from=Home

Don't You Fret! Standing Waves on a Guitar Difficulty = 7
In this project, you'll investigate the physics of standing waves on guitar strings. You'll learn about the different modes (i.e., patterns) of vibration that can be produced on a string, and you'll figure out how to produce the various modes by lightly touching the string at just the right place while you pick the string. This technique is called playing harmonics on the string. By the way, we chose a guitar for this project, but you can do the experiments using any stringed instrument, with or without frets. More

Guitar Fundamentals: Wavelength, Frequency, & Speed Difficulty = 7
This is a rockin' project for guitarists with an interest in the physics behind the music. Have you ever wondered why the pitch of the note changes when you fret the string? You can find out for yourself with this project on the fundamental physics of stringed instruments. More

How to Make a Guitar Sing Difficulty = 7
This is a great project for a musician who is interested in the physics of stringed instruments. If you've every played an acoustic guitar, you may have noticed that picking a single string can make one or more of the other (unpicked) strings vibrate. When this happens, it's called sympathetic vibration. What intervals lead to the strongest sympathetic vibrations? Find out for yourself with this project. More

How to Make a Piano Sing Difficulty = 7
The renowned pianist Vladimir Horowitz once said, "The most important thing is to transform the piano from a percussive instrument into a singing instrument." Check out this project to learn about sympathetic vibrations, one way to make piano strings sing. More

Frequency-Dependent Sound Absorption Difficulty = 7
Want to start a garage band, but Mom or Dad won't let you because it will make too much noise? This is a good project for someone who is interested in acoustics and likes to build things. Who knows, it might help you figure out how to make everyone happy.

You would not want to copy one of these projects; just use the techniques as an idea to develop your own unique project.

If you decide to switch to a music project, you should post your questions on the physical science forum, so you can get advice from a physicist.

Good luck!


Donna Hardy

[shameyyy]

Thank you very much.
But I'd like to know how much time span this is going to take, because science fair is almost over. Procrastinating is a very bad habit of mines, I'd like to get this done but I want enough time. These ideas are very great. Science fair is due in December 10th i think?

[donnahardy2]

Hi Shamey,

You are short of time, but you still have time to get a project done. I would recommend doing the project to find out why kids your age like Gatorade because this will be the quickest project. You will do a blind taste test with red Gatorade and Hawaiian punch, for example. You need to decide what your question will be and plan on testing as many participants as possible. You need to get supplies (cups and Gatorade), plan your experiment, and do your experiment by next Friday at the latest, so you can spend the week-end putting your board together. Please read the rules for the science project and make sure you follow all of the requirements for your science fair. Write your hypothesis, design your experiment, and write down the list of supplies you will need. Get a bound notebook to record your results in. Then you'll be ready to go. You've got a lot of work to do, but you can get this project done on time.

Let us know if you have any questions on the details.

Donna Hardy

[shameyyy]

Oh kay. Well, I talked to my mentor and he said that presenting is due on December 10th but I can still continue my science project during the three week break. How long will the other projects take?

[donnahardy2]

Hi Shamey,

With 3 more weeks, you could do do the mold, toothpaste, the ant or any of the music projects. Why don't you decide which project sounds most interesting to you. That's really the most important thing since you are the one who has to do the project. Then, make sure you can get the materials you need to do the project, and then get started. Be sure to start with the science buddies guide for doing a project and don't skip any steps. You want to follow the scientific method for a really great project.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... ndex.shtml

I promise you will learn a lot, no matter what you do.


Donna Hardy