Orange Juice vs Gatorade Science Fair Projects

Produce Claims

Many products are produced to give you something that you need, whether that is vitamins or energy. The controversy is that natural products, like juice, often provide more of both without needing to be chemically engineered.

EDU-36820 C2D Discovery Planet Digital Microscope	Young Scientists Club Set 2	Discovery Planet EDU-41021 Maxscope Videoscope	Student, HomeSchool & Adult Microscopes
Ages 8 and up	Ages 5 - 8	Ages 10 and up	Age 10 thru College

Objectives/Goals

Does naturally occurring orange juice have more electrolytes than Vitamin Water or Gatorade? My hypothesis is that naturally occurring orange juice will have more electrolytes than commercial sports drinks. An electrolyte is a particle that splits into either a negative or a positively charged ion. Electrolytes perform several important functions in your body. They are also used in all batteries.

Methods/Materials

I built an electrolyte battery using galvanized screws and carbon rods as electrodes. I wired these to form a circuit and positioned them over a plastic ice tray containing my electrolyte test solutions. I tested two different commercial sports drinks and orange juice to determine which produces the most electricity. I used distilled water and salt water as my controls. I measured my results in volts with a voltmeter and a homemade ammeter. I performed three controlled tests on each solution.

Results

On average salt water produced 0.48 volts, orange juice produced 0.43 volts,
Gatorade 2 produced 0.33 volts, and Vitamin Water Charge produced 0.26 volts and distilled water produced 0.00 volts.

Conclusions/Discussion

My hypothesis was correct, orange juice registered the most electrolytes using voltage as the measure; however, it may not be a great sports drink and it does not taste as good as my other selections. I recommend adding water and a pinch of salt to orange juice to make the ultimate sports drink. 3rd party contributor