The Effect of Sugar on the Heart Rate on Daphnia
Today many Americans have heart problems; some wonder if
this is due to a high sugar diet. This question was
investigated through the study of daphnia. In this
experiment a stereoscope was used to count the heartbeats
because the heart is easily visible. The Daphnia were
exposed to different sucrose concentrations in water and
then their heart rate was recorded for ten seconds in order
to find the bpm (beats per minute). The control group was
the daphnia that were not exposed to sucrose. The variable
of the 3 gram/200 ml solutions showed the greatest increase
on bpm. These results show that sugar does cause a slight
increase in heart rate. The outcome could have been
effected be the condition of the specimen which were
unsettled. If given more time to calm down the control
groups heart rate could have shown a greater difference.