Caffeine Investigation Folio
Caffeine functions similarly to the hormone adrenaline (State Government of Victoria, 2014), and increases dopamine levels causing you to feel happy. It blocks adenosine receptors, which prevents you from feeling drowsy (Staci, 2012). Caffeine also stimulates the brain, improves comprehension, memory, reflexes, and the clarity of thoughts (Important Facts About Caffeine, 2011).
The focus of the experiment is to test whether caffeine has an effect on psychological and physiological reaction times. This will be a beneficial experiment for regular consumers of caffeine in determining whether the caffeine will have a positive or negative effect on their alertness and reaction time. The hypothesis tested in the experiment will be; if caffeine is consumed, then the psychological and physiological reaction times will decrease.
For the experiment, 30 female Yr. 11 Psychology students will be asked, with informed consent, to record their psychological reaction time from the Stroop test - and physiological reaction times from the Reaction Time test - with a timer, prior to and after consuming caffeine, collecting Objective Quantitative Data. After gathering the data, they will be placed in two bar graphs and interpreted.
For both the Stroop and Reaction Time Tests, it is predicted that the reaction times will decrease with caffeine. It logically follows that caffeine will cause students to become more alert. Therefore, making the conclusion that the consumption of caffeine will cause a decrease in psychological and physiological reaction times.
Figure 1- The effect of caffeine on the Reaction Test times on average
Figure 2- The effect of caffeine on the Stroop Test times on average
Shown in Figu...
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...y, this experiment would be useful for caffeine consumers in determining whether caffeine will have a positive or negative effect on their alertness. After completion of the experiment, it can be concluded that this investigation would be a useful reference for caffeine consumers interested in the effect of caffeine on psychological and physiological reaction times. However, the results will not be specific to them, and must be generalised, risking the reliability of the results. That being said, this experiment will have introduced a method of testing the effect of caffeine on psychological and physiological reaction times, which they may undergo for themselves.
Works Cited
http://blog.neosusa.com/2012/06/10-interesting-facts-about-caffeine/, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Caffeine, http://visual.ly/important-facts-about-caffeine
Planaria are commonly known as flatworms. These flatworms have sensory organs which allow them to detect light using eyespots (Planaria,2017). The eyespots contain receptors that are highly sensitive to light stimuli causing planaria to prefer darkness. Planaria do not have lungs nor gills. Oxygen enters their bodies through membrane diffusion. Although planaria are just worms, their body react very similar to that of humans when injected with certain drugs or stimulants. One overused and highly popular stimulant is caffeine. Caffeine is known to increase individual’s energy and physical activity which makes them more alert of the surroundings. This observation leads to the question of how different concentrations of caffeine would affect planaria’s
The objective of this experiment was to perform extraction. This is a separation and purification technique, based on different solubility of compounds in immiscible solvent mixtures. Extraction is conducted by shaking the solution with the solvent, until two layers are formed. One layer can then be separated from the other. If the separation does not happen in one try, multiple attempts may be needed.
If I were to carry out this experiment I would try to ensure I would have more time and I would try to work quicker, as I would know better what I was doing. This is because I did not have enough time to test all the different caffeine strengths I wanted to, or to carry out enough repeats. Each repeat took so long as many of the fleas we were to test on were already dead, so it was very hard to find a living one to test on.
One topic that is a big part in the experiment, testing how reaction time is affected by the influence of peppermint candy, is reaction time. Reaction time can be defined as the amount of time an organism takes to respond to stimulus, or a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue. For example, the International Encyclopedia of The Social Sciences explained reaction time
Caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant, is the main psychoactive ingredient in energy drinks, which enhances alertness and mood, and counteracts symptoms of sleep. There is no doubt ...
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system. Specifically, caffeine suppresses adenosine, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Adenosine slows neural activity, causing people to become tired. Therefore, when someone drinks caffeine, they do not become tired because caffeine suppresses the adenosine in the brain. Additionally, caffeine causes adrenaline to be released by the pituitary gland, increasing both attention and energy levels. Caffeine also increases the levels of dopamine, glutamate, serotonin, and cortisol in the brain. (McGill University, http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_03/i_03_m/i_03_m_par/i_03_m_par_cafeine.html), (The Bioneer, http://www.thebioneer.com/caffeine-affects-neurotransmitters-profoundly-changes-brain)
Caffeine has many specific benefits for different types of athletes. Though much of the research on caffeine in athletics is inconclusive, there are many athletes that believe the substance can enhance their physical as well as mental performance. It is supposed that caffeine can improve the athlete’s endurance in sports where long-term stamina is needed. These sports include cycling, running, and even soccer. In an experiment to study the effects of caffeine as an ergogenic aid, 6 regular caffeine users were monitored while they exercised until exhaustion. During this double ...
A lot of people often wonder what caffeine is. When isolated in pure form, caffeine is a white crystalline powder that tastes very bitter. The chief source of pure caffeine is the process of decaffeinating coffee or tea. Caffeine is used to provide“boost energy” or a feeling of heightened alertness. It is often used to stay awake longer and late into the night. Many people feel as though they “cannot function” in the morning without a cup of coffee to provide caffeine and the boost it gives them. Caffeine is an addictive drug. It operates using the same mechanisms that amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin use to stimulate the brain. Caffeine effects are more mild than amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin, but it is manipulating the same channels, and that is one of the things that gives caffeine its addictive qualities. If you feel like you have to have caffeine everyday and cannot live without it, then you are considered addicted to caffeine.
Does one drink caffeine? Caffeine is everywhere, it's in everything, it's apart of our daily lives. That’s what people doesn’t realizes; every soda drink, every cup of coffee, and every energy drink he or she gulps down before a thrilling game, all of that is caffeine. Caffeine is only completed when he or she get addicted. Caffeine can be an exceptional threat to the human body; energy drinks for example, it has enough caffeine to kill someone if he or she drinks enough. Energy drinks has been the number one drink high school students drink to stay awake in school; they even bring the drink in classrooms, and more than one energy drink. Soda has enough caffeine to destroy ones inner body. Soda is a everyday drink for some individuals, they
Caffeine is the most popular and most widely used stimulant in the world. In Canada, the average person drinks 2.6 cups of coffee a day; that is equivalent to 949 cups of coffee a year. (Van Houtte) Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that improves ones attention, focus, and fatigue. When caffeine is ingested it causes your neurons to move at a faster rate, increasing alertness. (Fit Day) Caffeine also binds to the neural receptors, which blocks the adenosine, which prolongs tiredness. Caffeine is a white odorless powder that is most commonly found in coffee, tea, energy drinks, and pops. Caffeine can also be considered and ergogenic aid. Ergogenic aids are external influences that enhance/ improves ones strength, endurance, reaction time and speed of recovery. (Healthline) The three theories that make caffeine an ergogenic aid during exercise is the effect it has on the central nervous system, skeletal muscles, and metabolic changes. (Sheila G. Dean) Caffeine also has a positive effect on an individual’s health, some positive effects include: reduces risk of developing liver cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s. (Chawala) Caffeine has been proven to have positive effects on an athlete’s performance, and ones overall health.
or the other root I could take is to investigate what other things effect someone’s reaction time, such as drugs and caffeine. Another interesting study which I would like to investigate further is to do an investigation similar to this but give each participant the same amount of alcohol but then change it so one participant hasn’t eaten anything and then that each of my other participants have eaten the same thing but at different times throughout the day, and see if this has any effect on how the body absorbs the alcohol after food consumption. Then this could be modified by giving participants different types of food.
Scrutiny of caffeine and its effects has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, due in part to an increase in consumption of caffeine. In fact, coffee consumption among young adults rose to 3.2 cups per day in 2008 from 2.4 cups per day in 2005 (Rokerya 1). For instance, in a one hour period, on Richland College’s on-campus Starbucks, the author took note of how many customers arrived and purchased a cup of coffee. Between 8:00 and 9:00 AM, there were 51 customers, implying that – especially at college - many people are dependent on coffee in the mornings. However, the results from these studies are inconclusive and often somewhat contradictory – many studies (such as that by Tetsuya Ohara et al.) show that caffeine is a great boon to
As the vast majority of Americans are addicted to caffeine, studies show that the effects during post-consumption, can be positive or negative depending on the amount and frequency of caffeine intake. As the demand for caffeine has increased, the caffeine industry has increased its amount of marketing and establishments to help aid this demand. Caffeine addiction can lead to serious health and physiological detriments. It is evident that the primary reason for consumption of caffeinated beverages is due to positive effects, such as alertness. The media has an abundance of marketing to continue to illustrate this main effect.
Preview: The potential effects are related to the main ingredient in coffee – caffeine. Caffeine is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system that increases alertness and energy, but it is also very addictive.
When a person drinks coffee, the caffeine is absorbed into the bloodstream and then travels to the brain where it blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. When this happens, the amount of other neurotransmitters actually increases.