Registration
  Dates
  Kickoff
  Proposals
  Interims
  Evaluations
  Final Reports
  Expo
  STI
  School Map
  Sponsors
  Mail
  Discussion Forum
  Technical Guide
  Past Participant
  Survey
Supercomputing Challenge

Hang in there; sports drink to the rescue, or not?

Team: 43

School: LA MARIPOSA MID

Area of Science: Biochemistry


Proposal: Abstract:

Problem:
We see the use of sports drinks and energy drinks on the rise, but how healthy are they? Can we decrease the amount of sugar in these drinks? Athletes are pushing to new levels and demanding more of their bodies. There is a huge market for food and drink products that help athletes re-hydrate or increase energy levels. What is the value of these sweeteners in these drinks? We believe these products are more likely to be drank due to the amount of sugar in them, which is decreasing the healthy effect these products have on the body.

Method:
We will examine the level of sodium and carbohydrates of three drinks. Water will provide us with a base level compared to Orange Juice, and Gatorade. Taking the levels of sodium and carbohydrates that we examine, we will model the rate absorption into the human system to identify what levels are efficient. Many of these drinks have high levels of sugars. Do they help with absorption rate? This will be the third element we will model to see if there is any value to the amount of sugars in these products. We feel these companies may be increasing sugars to make these products addicting, which could have an adverse effect if used in non athletic situations such as playing computer games, or watching television.
Starlogo will be our modeling software that we will use in this project. We will model the effect of absorption creating a membrane, which our three elements will pass through to re-hydrate the body.


Team Members:

  Morika Hensley
  Sierra Thomas
  Matthew Sullivan
  Madeline Reyes
  Kenyon Otero

Sponsoring Teacher: David Bailey

Mail the entire Team