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Group 4 Project: 21Grace NgauMichelle ShaoAndrew NguyenEugene Tseng

How do different concentrations of Gatorade and distilled water affect the final absorption of potato cores by means of massing the potato cores?Independent VariableConcentration of Gatorade Dependent VariablesFinal mass of potato disksFinal absorptionControl Group0% Gatorade Experimental Group100% Gatorade

Background information of GatoradeGatorade has the capability to reduce hydration and maintain body balance. The inventor of Gatorade used the knowledge of osmosis so that people wouldnt dehydrate during exercise. Gatorade contains a 6% concentration of sugars that can provide additional energy to our muscles. It also contains a balanced concentration of sugars and electrolytes that can prevent irregular electrolyte concentrations while we are exercising. It also contains sodium and potassium and they are formulated to quickly replace the lost in minerals in our body when we sweat. Normal water works fine during exercise, but it doesnt get absorbed as quickly as Gatorade. The water in Gatorade get into our blood stream faster since it follows electrolytes. Our body absorbs these electrolytes quickly and the water gets absorbed at the same time. 1

Description of Experiment

Cut up potatoes with potato core cutters Cut up the small cylinder pieces of potato with a knife by using a cutting board Fill up the six beakers with different concentrations of Gatorade and distilled water Drop 29 of the cut up pieces of potato into each beaker of the six beakers After thirty minutes take 3 pieces out of each beaker and place them onto weighing boats Afterwards record the mass of the weighing boats by using an electronic balance Throw out the 3 pieces of potato in each weighing boat Repeat steps 5-7 for the next 4 hours

2Data Collection & Data AnalysisConcentration (mL)Average Mass of Potato Disk ( 0.005 g)01.29201.21401.22601.22801.211001.14

We started the data collection with the gathering of the initial mass of each invidual weighing boat. Then we collected the initial value of the potato discs by weighing all the substances on a triple beam balance and then averaging the number by dividing by 175. After we added the potato pieces into the concentrations of Gatorade and distilled water we took out three pieces every 30 minutes. Therefore for each interval we took the number given by the electronic balance, which included the mass of the weighing boat as well as the discs, and subtracted them from the initial mass of weighing boat. Thus we divided that number by three in order to get the average mass of each potato disc. We continued this process for an additional 8 trials for each concentration. Therefore to get the total average for each concentration we added up the averages of each trial and divided the number by 9.3Final Absorption of Potato Cores in Different Concentrations of Gatorade Solutions

Conclusion and EvaluationInconclusiveLimitationsHuman errorSurface areaAveragesDifferent potatoesDifferent conditionsImprovementsMachinerySame potato

Our experiment is inconclusive as there was no directly correlation between the results and the concentration of Gatorade to distilled water.

There are many limitations to the experiment. For one, we purchased 3 different potatoes, not necessarily from the same batch. As each potato has a different solubility, the control of potato is limited. Secondly, while we were cutting up the cores into 0.5 cm widths against a ruler, there was much human error present as we could have cut it completely straight, nor exactly 0.5 cm wide. Furthermore, when we placed the disks into the beakers of Gatorade and distilled water, each potato core was not subjected to the same contact to the solution. Some potatoes were touching, therefore the surface area is different. This played an immense role in our error. Lastly, in order to minimize the error, we averaged out the mass values of 3 potato disks. However, we used these values to calculate our final absorption, so our results are not precise.

Some possible improvements include utilizing machinery in the future, as well as controlling the sample. By using machine cut potato disks would eliminate human error, and further improve the control of the surface area and size of the potato disks. This would prevent the inconsistent sizes of the potato cores and would make our results more precise and accurate. In addition to this, if we were able to collect cores from one potato, the solubility of the potato would remain the same, thus improving our control.5