Student eats a chocolate chip cookie and tests heart rate.
Activity

Can a Taste Make Your Heart Race?

This project was completed by Alexandra, a student at Texas School for the Blind. She wanted to test the effect of taste on heart rate.

This science project was done by Alexandra, who is a student at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI).

Question

What is the effect of different tastes on heartrate?

Hypothesis

Sour taste will raise heart rate most

Materials

Procedure

  1. Prepare samples for each participant (3g of each)
    • pickles for sour taste
    • chocolate chip cookies for sweet taste
    • dark chocolate for bitter taste
    • jalapeno Cheetos for spicy taste
  2. Pass out the pickle sample to all participants but ask them not to eat yet.
  3. Starting with the first participant, take a resting heart rate using the heart rate monitor.
  4. Record the resting heart rate.
  5. Leave the monitor on his/her finger.
  6. Have the student begin eating the pickle
  7. Time 15 seconds and take the heart rate again.
  8. Record the heart rate.
  9. Repeat steps 2 -8 for each sample and record data
  10. Analyze the data and make a conclusion.
Student having heart rate tested
Student having heart rate tested

Conclusion

My hypothesis was correct because the pickles raised heart rate the most.

Variations

NGSS Standards:

By Laura Hospitál

collage of can a taste change your heart rate

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