Applied Math 40S – Sequences Project
Caffeine and Your Body
Many foods and medications that we consume contain caffeine. Instead of being
digested to provide nourishment, caffeine is absorbed directly into the
bloodstream, where it acts as a stimulant. Once in the bloodstream, caffeine is gradually removed
from your blood and eliminated. A similar process occurs when you take medicine: as soon as it is
absorbed, the process of elimination begins. This is why a prescription comes with specific
directions as to how much medicine to take, and when to take it. If you do not follow the
directions carefully, you may not obtain the full benefit of the medication.
You may be surprised which substances contain caffeine. Research the sources and the effects of
caffeine on the Internet or at the library. A biology teacher or a pharmacist may be able to suggest
additional sources of information. Start with these questions.
1.
What substances, besides coffee, contain caffeine? List their amounts of caffeine present
in each item.
2. How much of each of these foods do you consume daily?
3. Caffeine is a stimulant. Explain how does a stimulant affect your body?
4. What are some of the side effects of caffeine?
5.
What is caffeine's half-life in a non – smoking adult? What does this mean?
6. List your resources that you used (Website, reference book, etc.)
Part B
How Long Does Caffeine Remain in Your Body?
At the start of this project, you researched different foods that contain caffeine. Most people think
of coffee when they hear "caffeine." However, you should have discovered that caffeine is found in
many other foods such as tea, soft drinks, and chocolate, and in many pain relievers. Most people
consume some caffeine on a daily basis.
A regular-size (8 oz) cup of drip coffee contains approximately 165 mg of caffeine. According to
pharmacological data, each hour the human body eliminates approximately 13% of any caffeine
present in the bloodstream.
Now take a more detailed look at caffeine breakdown and elimination.
1. At 8 A.M. you start the day by drinking 2 regular-size cups of coffee.
a) Create a spreadsheet to illustrate the amount of caffeine that remains in your body at
the end of every hour, for 12 hours. Label your spreadsheet #1a
b) Graph the data.
c) Use your graph.
i)
How much caffeine remains in your body after 1.5 h? ____________
ii)
According to your graph, what is the half-life of caffeine? ___________
d) Caffeine is a stimulant, so it could affect your ability to sleep. Determine how much
caffeine remains in your bloodstream when you go to bed at 10 P.M. ___________
e) Do you think that this amount could affect your sleep?
e) At what time is the caffeine level less than 10 mg?
2. Most people do not just drink coffee early in the morning. They often have additional cups during
the day. Assume that in addition to 2 cups of coffee at 8 A.M., you consume 1 cup at 10 A.M., 1 cup
at 1 P.M., and 1 cup at 7 P.M.
a) Create a spreadsheet to show the amount of caffeine in your bloodstream, at the end of
each hour for 12 h. Label your spreadsheet #2a
b) How much caffeine remains in your system at a bedtime of 10 P.M.? ___________
Part C - Nicotine
American cigarettes contain about 9 mg of nicotine, but because much of the
nicotine is burned off, a smoker gets about 1 mg of nicotine in every cigarette.
Nicotine reaches the central nervous system in about 3-5 minutes when tobacco is
chewed. Its half-life is about 2 hours. The acute fatal dose of nicotine in an adult is
estimated at just 60mg (i.e. 0.06 of a gram)!
1.
Assume that a person ingests 1 mg of nicotine per cigarette. Also assume that a person
smokes a cigarette every 2 hours. Also assume that 50% of the nicotine is used up every 2
hours. Create a spreadsheet showing the level of nicotine in your body if you start
smoking cigarettes at 8:00 am until 10:00 pm. Label your spreadsheet "Nicotine #1"
2. If the nicotine continues to be eliminated overnight, how much is in your blood stream at
8:00 am the next day, just before your first cigarette?
_____________________
3. Suppose you start smoking again at 8:00 am. How much is in your bloodstream at 10:00
that night?
_____________________
Did your nighttime level increase by much? ______________
4. Modify you spreadsheet to show 2 cigarettes smoked at 8:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 6:00
p.m. What happens to your bedtime level of nicotine? Label this spreadsheet "Nicotine
#2".
5.
Suppose you were to smoke every 2 hours even over night. How many cigarettes would
you have to smoke every 2 hours for the nicotine level to reach the fatal level of 60 mg?
How many hours would you have to smoke to reach this level? Is this possible?
6. Smokeless tobacco delivers a high dose of nicotine. An average dose for snuff is 3.6 mg,
for chewing tobacco, 4.6 mg. Modify your spreadsheet to show nicotine levels assuming
that you use chewing tobacco at 8:00 am, noon, 4:00 pm, and 8:00 pm. during the day.
Label it Nicotine #4.
7.
What is you 10:00 pm level?_________