Diet and Memory: Is There a Connection?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/diet-memory-connection/

Research Question:

• Does diet have any effect on memory?

Some fruits, vegetables, grains and fish are believed to be able to improve the health of your brain. A diet that is rich in these foods may improve your ability to remember and may even protect against diseases like Alzheimer’s. In this experiment, you will evaluate whether or not a diet that is supplemented with these brain-enhancing foods can help improve memory.

Materials:

• "Memory-boosting” food (e.g., cruciferous vegetables, leafy green vegetables, red/purple fruits and vegetables, onions, fish, and food rich in folic acid)
• Approximately 30 test subjects
• Computer
• Printer
• Notebook for analyzing results

Experimental Procedure:

1. Research food that is believed to improve memory.
2. Create several memory tests to give participants. Example tests include the following: Read a list of 25 items. After 10 minutes, ask participants to write down as many of these items as they can remember; Show a picture containing many items. Allow participants to study it for 1 minute. After an hour, ask test subjects to list items that they observed in the picture; Ask test subjects to describe the weather from each day over the past week.
3. Ask test subjects to take your memory tests. Record the results from each test.
4. Ask half of your test subjects to change their diet for approximately 3 weeks to include an increased amount of memory-enhancing food. Ask this group to keep a food diary so that you have an idea of how well each test subject adhered to their “new” diet. The other half of your test subjects should follow their usual diet.
5. After 3 weeks ask all of your test subjects to repeat the memory tests. Change each test slightly so that they are not the same as they were before. Analyze the new tests. How much of an effect (if any) does food/diet appear to have on memory? Do those who altered their diets perform better on your memory tests compared to the group that continued their normal diet?

Are Fungi Plants?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/are-fungi-plants/

Research Question:

• How are fungi different from green plants?
• What is the difference between sugar and starch?
• What is a chemical indicator?
• What happens when Benedict’s solution reacts with sugar?
• What happens when iodine reacts with starch?

Materials:

• Store-bought mushrooms
• Iodine (available from drug store or scientific supply outlet)
• Sugar
• Measuring spoon or graduated cylinder
• Benedict’s solution (available from scientific supply outlet)
• Paring knife
• Kitchen stove
• Small saucepan for heating mushrooms
• Green leaves
• White sugar
• Scissors

Procedure for Experiment #1

1. Slice the mushroom lengthwise.
2. Using an eyedropper place eight to ten drops of iodine on the interior surface of the mushroom.
3. Write down your observation. Do you think there was more starch or sugar in the mushrooms?

Procedure for Experiment #2

1. Put a half cup of water into a saucepan. Add one tbsp. of sugar and one tbsp of Benedict’s solution and stir.
2. Heat to a low simmer.
3. Carefully pour the hot water into a two-cup measuring cup. Did you observe any changes in color? Record your observations.

Procedure for Experiment #3

1. Dice four or five small mushrooms into very small pieces.
2. Put the mushrooms in a small saucepan. Add three-fourths cup water and 20 ml (approximately 1.5 tablespoons) Benedict’s solution to the saucepan
3. Bring the mushrooms to a simmer. Continue simmering for five minutes.
4. Turn off the stove. Decant the water into a clear glass measuring cup. Was there a color change? Write down your observations. What do you deduce from what you observed?

Procedure for Experiment #4

Repeat experiment #4, using eight to ten green leaves instead of mushrooms. The leaves should be collected first thing in the morning, and the experiment should be performed immediately thereafter. Using a scissor, cut the leaves in small pieces about a centimeter wide before covering them with water.

How Does Microwave Radiation Affect Different Organisms?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/microwave-radiation-affect-different-organisms/

Research Questions:

• Does microwave radiation destroy all life?
• Will varying lengths of radiation affect organisms differently?

Microwave ovens blast food with high levels of energy. This results in heating up certain fats and other ingredients in food. The energy simply passes through other substances without damage. Through this experiment, we will see how this energy affects simple organisms of different types.

Materials:

• Packet of radish seeds
• Paper towels
• Four small containers filled with sterilized potting soil
• Four packets of bakers’ yeast
• Four small bowls
• Four prepared Petri dishes with agar (available from biological supply companies)
• Sterilized swabs
• Gloves
• Microwave
• Notepad and pen
• Camera

Experimental Procedure:

1. Plant several radish seeds in a small container. Put them in a sunny, warm location. This is the control sample.
2. Place several more radish seeds on a paper towel. Microwave the seeds for five seconds.
3. Plant these seeds in another pot and place in the same location as the control group.
4. Repeat Step 2 and 3 for two more samples, except microwave one group of seeds for fifteen seconds and the other for thirty seconds.
5. Tend the samples by watering the pots once a day and ensuring they get enough sunlight.
6. Take pictures everyday and note if and how quickly the samples grow.
7. Dump a packet of bakers’ yeast into a small bowl of warm water. Stir. This is the control sample.
8. Take note of how long it takes for the yeast to bubble up and how vigorous the reaction is. Take photos.
9. Dump another packet of bakers’ yeast onto a plate. Microwave for five seconds.
10. Mix this yeast into another bowl of warm water. Repeat Step 8.
11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 for the other packets of yeast, except microwave one sample for fifteen seconds and the other for thirty seconds.
12. Wearing gloves, use the sterilized swab to collect a sample of bacteria and swab it on a prepared Petri dish. Good places to find bacteria are areas where lots of people touch something, like doorknobs or faucets. Seal the dish and label it “control.” Put it in a warm, dark place. This is your control sample.
13. Swab another sample from the exact location as the control sample. Smear it on another Petri dish. Seal and label the dish. Place it in a warm, dark place.
14. Repeat Step 13 for the other two samples.
15. Let the samples alone overnight.
16. Take one sample out (not the control) and microwave it for five seconds. Place it back in the warm, dark place.
17. Repeat Step 16 for the other two samples, except microwave one for fifteen seconds and the other for thirty seconds.
18. After another day, take out all the samples. Note how many colonies of bacteria are growing and their size.
19. Analyze all this data. Does microwave radiation affect all life equally? Does time matter? How does each type of organism respond to the radiation?

How Does Diet Affect Your Body Temperature?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/does-diet-affect-body-temperature/

Research Questions:

• Can diet change basal body temperature?
• Which foods can change the temperature of my body?

Certain elements in a diet are believed to be able to increase a person’s basal body temperature and, as a result, improve metabolism. This experiment will evaluate whether simple diet modifications are truly able to increase body temperature.

Materials:

• Basal thermometer
• Coconut oil and other temperature-elevating food you identify in your research
• Notebook for recording and analyzing results

Experimental Procedure:

1. Record your basal body temperature each morning when you wake up. Be sure to take your temperature before getting out of bed. Record temperatures for approximately 2 months to get an accurate view of your average basal body temperature.
2. Research diets believed to increase basal body temperature. For example, you should be sure to drink plenty of fluids, cook with coconut oil, increase protein intake, and eat complex, high-fiber carbohydrates.
3. Follow your new diet for approximately 2 months.
4. Record your basal body temperature each morning for the duration of the experiment.
5. Analyze your results. Do you notice changes in your body temperature after beginning your new diet? How quickly do changes take place? Does your temperature return to its starting level when you stop the diet?

Does Caffeine Enhance Athletic Performance?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/caffeine-enhance-athletic-performance/

Research Questions:

• Does caffeine help people run faster?
• Does caffeine help improve hand-eye coordination?
• Does caffeine improve strength?

This experiment will evaluate whether caffeine helps test subjects improve athletic performance. You will evaluate if test subjects that have had caffeine are able to run faster, throw a ball farther, or make more putts.

Materials:

• Approximately 20 test subjects
• 10 cups of caffeinated coffee
• 10 cups of decaffeinated coffee
• Track
• Baseball
• Measuring tape
• Distance markers
• Golf club
• Golf ball
• Cup
• Stopwatch
• Notebook for recording and analyzing results

Experimental Procedure:

1. Recruit similar test subjects for your study. For example, select teenage males in approximately the same weight range. Ask all test subjects to complete the athletic tests in the morning on an empty stomach.
2. Use your measuring tape to mark off increments of distance in a field so that you can easily determine how far a ball is thrown.
3. Ask a test subject to run a 50 yard dash.
4. Record the time it takes for the run to be completed.
5. Ask a test subject to throw a baseball three times.
6. Record how far the ball is thrown each time.
7. Ask a test subject to putt a ball into a cup that is ten feet away. Repeat ten times.
8. Record how many putts were made.
9. Ask the test subject to drink 100 mg of caffeine (one cup of coffee).
10. Wait 30 minutes and repeat steps 3-8.
11. Repeat steps 3-10 with nine other test subjects.
12. Now repeat the entire experiment with your other ten test subjects. This group will be given an equal volume of decaffeinated coffee. Do not tell either group whether they received the caffeinated drink or the non-caffeinated drink.
13. Analyze your results. Did the group that received caffeine perform better on the second round of athletic tests when compared to the control group that did not receive caffeine? Does caffeine appear to help test subjects improve performance on a certain type of athletic challenge (eg, running, throwing or putting)? What does this say about caffeine’s influence on speed, strength or hand-eye coordination?

Crystal Fudge

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/crystal-fudge/

Research Question:

• Why do some rocks that are made out of the same minerals have different-sized crystals in them?
• What effect will faster vs. slower cooling have on the formation of crystals?

Fudge is one of very few desserts people make at home that is actually crystalline, or made out of crystals. This gives us a fun, tasty way to explore the process of crytalization.

Materials:

• Two bread pans (disposable 8” pie tins will also work)
• Butter to coat pans, or waxed paper
• Large saucepan (3-4 quart)
• Wooden spoon
• Candy thermometer
• Pastry brush
• Stove
• Refrigerator
• 3oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 3c sugar
• 1c warm half-and-half or evaporated whole milk
• 1T corn syrup ¼t salt
• 3T butter
• 2t vanilla extract
• 1c mix-ins of your choice: nuts, mini marshmallows, dried fruit… (optional)
• Magnifying glass

Experimental Procedure:

• Butter the pans or line them with the waxed paper.
• Mix the chocolate, sugar, salt, half-and-half, and corn syrup over medium-low heat. Keep stirring until the chocolate is melted and the fudge begins to boil. Note: the fudge is extremely hot at this point, handle with care!
• As soon as the fudge begins to boil, stop stirring and put the candy thermometer in. Clip it to the edge of the pot, making sure the tip isn’t touching the bottom.
• Let the fudge cook without any stirring until it reaches the soft-ball stage, around 237 degrees.
• While the fudge cooks, dip the pastry brush in a little warm water and use it to carefully wash any sugar/chocolate/whatever off the sides of the pot.
• Take the fudge off of the burner and let it cool, undisturbed, until it’s 150 degress.
• Add the vanilla and butter and keep stirring until the surface of the fudge starts to get dull. This can take a long time, but you need to keep stirring! Maybe you can get a partner to help.
• Once the fudge has begun to dull, stir in your add-ins, a quarter-cup at a time, if you’re using any. Make sure they’re at room temperature or a little warmer if possible.
• Spoon half of the fudge into each pan. Put one pan in the refrigerator and leave the other one out at room temperature. Allow both of them to cool completely.
• Cut each panful of fudge into one-inch cubes. Pick up a cube from each pan and examine them closely. Use your eyes and the magnifying glass: do you see any differences in texture? Use your tongue: does one seem more smooth and waxy while the other is more grainy? Is there a difference in flavor? The fudge that cooled more slowly, at room temperature, should be grainier and have noticeable sugar crystals in it. This is like a plutonic igneous rock that has cooled and solidified slowly, under the surface, like granite. The one that cooled more quickly, in the refrigerator, should be smoother and have much smaller crystals, probably too small for you to see even with the magnifying glass. This is like a volcanic igneous rock that cooled quickly above the earth’s surface, like obsidian.
• Now offer samples of each to your family and friends so they can decide which they like best!

Does Chewing Gum Help You Concentrate?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/chewing-gum-help-concentration/

Research Question:

• Does chewing gum increase people’s speed and accuracy on simple cognitive tasks?

Educators have found that chewing gum can help children struggling with problems related to ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Is it possible that chewing gum can help all of us with focus and concentration?

Materials:

• Computer, printer, and paper
• Pencils for test-taking
• Chewing gum
• Timer
• Test subjects
• Paper and pencil for recording and analyzing data

Experimental Procedure:

1. Write and print copies (one copy per test subject) of two simple subtraction worksheets.
2. Have subjects do each of the two worksheets. Subjects should chew gum while doing ONE of the worksheets.
3. Record how long it took each subject to complete each worksheet.
4. Score the worksheets for number of problems correct.
5. Analyze your results. Did chewing gum increase people’s speed and accuracy on subtraction tests?
6. Try the experiment in different environments, with different test subjects, and under different circumstances, keeping in mind these questions and any others that come up in the course of your research:
   • Does chewing gum make more of a difference in certain environments (e.g. noisy, crowded, or otherwise distracting environments)?
   • Does chewing gum make more of a difference to people of certain ages or genders?
   • Does chewing gum make more of a difference at certain times of day (e.g. early morning or late afternoon)?
   • Does chewing gum make more of a difference before or after certain activities (e.g. just before lunchtime or after physical exercise)?