Alcohol And Heart Rate Experiment

Superior Essays
Effects of Chemicals on Heart Rates in Organisms. Jesutofunmi Bankole
El Centro College
Abstract
This experiment studies the effect of caffeine and alcohol on heart rate. This lab experiment detailed how water flea, (Daphnia magna) a transparent aquatic organism whose heart can be easily identified using a compound light microscope, was used to study the effects of caffeine and alcohol on heart rates. According to the research alcohol was observed to have caused a decrease in the heart rate of Daphnia magna while caffeine caused an increase in the heart rate.

Introduction
Daphnia magna is the name of a group of small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas. They belong to the Phyllopoda which are
…show more content…
The overall effect of alcohol and caffeine decreased or increased the heart rate of Daphnia magna. There were two or more anomalous results from the experiment, this might have been due to many faults encountered. The heartbeat of Daphnia magna became irregular at some point (Table 1) this could be due to the fact the Daphnia magna 's small mass and surface area would struggle severely to cope with the change in the environment. I noticed that when the Daphnia magna stayed in the alcohol environment for longer than the 10 seconds I timed there was a decrease in the heartrate of Daphnia magna when subjected to alcohol in comparison to when it was in distilled water. The difference between the two environments was not much. A probability that the pipette I used in transferring alcohol solution was contaminated with either distilled water or alcohol solution which led to an interruption in the Daphnia magna’s environment. Likewise when the Daphnia magna was subjected to caffeine solution, at the beginning (Table 2) there was a slight increase in the heartrate(Dixit et al) than in distilled water. This might have happened because the Daphnia magna was trying to get adjusted to its new …show more content…
These same effects can also be seen in humans.

References
Lesiuk, NM and Drewes, CD. 1999. Blackworms, blood vessel pulsations and drug effects. The American Biology Teacher, 61(1), 48-53 studyzones.com/ActivityZone/ArticlePrint. Dixit, A., Vaney, N., Thawani, R., & Goyal, A. (2012). Effect of caffeine on information processing: Evidence from stroop task. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 34(3), 218-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0253-7176.106013
Larisa, B. (2014, November 01). The CAFFEINE Buzz. Vibrant Life, (6), 36, retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com
Vivanco, L. "This is your body on alcohol; How heavy, binge drinking affects your organs." Chicago Tribune. 2015, January 21:

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Daphnias affected Heart Rate This lab experiment was conducted on Daphnias to test the chemical effects on its heart rate. In this experiment we determined the effects of caffeine and alcohol on the small organism. If the Daphnia is submerged in alcohol the heart rate will slow down, as if it’s submerged in caffeine it will speed up. The experiment measured how the stimulant caffeine or alcohol affected the Daphnia.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Experiment 2-3 Daphnia

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Pages

    This experiments purpose is to study the effects of manmade chemicals on daphnia. By observing 2-3 daphnia in 4 different environments I rated each Daphnia magna on a scale of 0 to 5 on how it affected their health. I averaged each of the daphnia’s heath based on their behavior and apperence. One pure water, then three other environments exposed to antifreeze, pesticides, and cigarette ash. After observing each environment for 30 minutes I discovered that cigarette ash is the most toxic to daphnia I rated their health at a 0 and antifreeze is the only chemical I tested that didn’t result in death I rated the daphnia exposed to antifreeze at a 2 due to the change in appearance and downfall of health .…

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Daphnia Magna Experiment

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cotton wool was used to make counting the heart beats simpler by restricting the movement of Daphnia magna. The heart rate was measured after five minutes of letting Daphnia magna sit on the chambers to acclimate to the new environment as a comparison value for the treatments. The concentrations that were treated on the experimental group were 10 mM, 30 mM and 50 mM of caffeine solutions. Each treatment would be dispensed on one of three different Daphnia magna, and then left for five minutes on the cooling chamber, to acclimate to the treatment and the heart rate would be measured. The Daphnia magna would then be transferred into the recovery tank, so that new Daphnia magna could be used.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    We hypothesized that pill bugs would display a positive hydrotaxis and a negative chemotaxis, but our last experiment supports a reaction to chemotaxis. Since we placed them in a tray with all chemical-filled chambers, we weren’t able to tell if they drift towards diluted solutions because they contained more water. The products of the Chi Square Test told us whether the results of our experiments were significant or not. Our results in Part A and B were significant because the calculations proved the null hypothesis wrong and supported our hypothesis; the bugs displayed a positive hydrotaxis and a negative chemotaxis in these two situations. On the other hand, Part C can be invalidated because the bugs did respond when placed between 4 concentrated-chemical solutions.…

    • 1616 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Pill Bug Lab

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Problem: It is known that isopods have a preference for moisture. This lab will specifically test whether or not an additive will affect a pill bug's preference.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Methods: Used a modified pipette to retrieve Daphnia from cultured jar, then immobilized Daphnia in minimal amount of Vaseline on a depression slide. Obtained new Daphnia for each treatment and recorded baseline heart rate in aged water. In a double-blinded procedure, measured…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Lumbriculus Viegatus

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In our study, we had two controls that we placed the Lumbriculus variegatus into. First, we used spring water to get the normal heart rate of the worms. The other control was a caffeine solution that served as our positive control. Our other solutions that we exposed the worms to consisted of increasing concentrations of two different NSAIDs (ibuprofen and aspirin). For each NSAID, we had a solution equivalent to the recommended dosage for a person based on body weight (the proportional dosage solution), ten times the concentration of this initial solution based on the body weight of the worm, and one-hundred times the concentration of the solution based on the average weight of Lumbriculus variegatus.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia pulex Introduction In this experiment the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia will be tested by use of a microscope and caffeine solution. Daphnia pulex is a crustaceous animal found in the ocean. There internal organs can be visible to observe because their body is translucent. This would be interesting because we could see how the effect of caffeine effects the heart rate of humans as well.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Water Flea Lab Report

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Alcohol slows the heart rate of flea number one to45 beats per 30 seconds, the reaction of the flea was most likely shock. The graph below further shows the fluctuation of the water fleas heart rate and…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    D. Magna Experiment

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After testing the D. magna with alcohol, the results showed a negative effect on the D. magna. After recording the normal heart rate in beats per minute (bpm) before the experiment, alcohol was applied to four different D. magna for each percentage of alcohol. The three concentrations of alcohol used were 5%, 10%, and 20%. Once the differences in heart rate were recorded for each of the D. magna, the averages of the four differences in heart rate for each concentration of alcohol were calculated. The averages calculated were -3 bpm for 5%, -13…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Daphnia Pesticide

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The movement exhibited by the Atrazine group were unnatural when compared to the control group in distilled water. Whitman and Miller (1982) conducted an experiment that involved chemical responses of Daphnia magna to toxic chemicals. They found that the Daphnia produced a negative response by swimming a vertical distance. Daphnia exhibit is diel vertical migration…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction The purpose of this experiment was to test whether or not the heart rate of a daphnia was effected by three different solutions being added: alcohol, lactic acid and, caffeine. We determined that when alcohol was added the heart rate would decrease. When lactic acid was added the heart rate would decrease, as well. When caffeine was added the heart rate would increase.…

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Purpose: My idea for this lab occurred one day when I wondered if a sports drink could actually affect someone’s performance and possibly improve it or could this just be a marketing ploy to get athletes to buy their drink. I personally enjoy running and personal fitness and I do not think that sports drinks affect me before a run or weight training so I decided to test and see the results. If the tests show that it improves performance I may want to start drinking sports drinks to enhance myself during these activities.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Medical researchers have much more to learn about energy drinks, but the known primary cause of serious health problems appears to be the high concentrations of caffeine. An example of findings related to cardiovascular effects are, Heart palpitations. According to one study, 19 percent of college students who have used energy drinks had experienced heart palpitations. “Frequently containing high and unregulated amounts of caffeine, these drinks have been reported in association with serious adverse effects, especially in children, adolescents, and young adults with seizures, diabetes, cardiac abnormalities, or mood and behavioral disorders or those who take certain medications.” (pediatrics 1).…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alcohol Consumption and the Effects The consumption of alcohol began as early as 10 or 12 thousand B.C. Scientists have found evidence of Stone Age beer jugs in West Africa. In the Middle East origin, alcohol dates back to 4000 B.C. The first written record is located in China in 1116 B.C. The imperial Edict claimed that wine was a drink prescribed by heaven.…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics