Tucker+Rhodes

= The Effects of Red Bull On Reaction Speed = This experiment measured the change in reaction speed after drinking a Red Bull.

Goals
The goals of my experiment were to actually see the changes caused by Red Bull but also to understand how the drink actually works once it is consumed. Red Bull and energy drinks in general have always been controversial giving a goal to further understand what might make it dangerous and if it in fact helps performance like it is supposed to do. It was another goal to test around 20 different students to see how Red Bull affected their reaction time and have clear data to provide an answer. Through this experiment you are able to achieve all of these goals in a fun way.

Discoveries
Much of the discoveries came out of my research. For example, I was able to finally learn what Red Bull does in the body to produce the noticeable differences in things like strength and reaction time. I learned about how it mainly affects the brain using its caffeine content to send commands throughout the rest of the body. I also learned of the many dangers that can come with consuming Red Bull like various cardiovascular diseases that are potentially life-threatening, and that is not a drink you should be consuming on a regular basis. As for the experimenting, great discoveries were made as I saw the results from the testing. Using a test on the computer, a student would do 15 repetitions on the test, consume a Red Bull, wait 15 minutes, and then do another 15 repetitions to see the change. My data revealed that every student improved their reaction time after consuming a Red Bull. Also i was able to learn of averages for reaction times with and without Red Bull and see a clear difference. This was great, for i was finally able to see the actual of effects of Red Bull in action as my peers improved their score. This experiment was quite rewarding in that it allowed you to discover so much.

Challenges
There were a few challenges for this experiment. One was getting the Red Bull, for it obviously required buying several cases of it in order to test enough students. Another challenge were the time restrictions. Because kids usually didn't have more than 20 minutes of time to spare, I could only have them wait 15 minutes after drinking the Red Bull to take the test again, and I feel the Red Bull would have had a greater effect if I had waited longer. Some kids do not like Red Bull and would therefore not want to take the experiment. The data could also become a bit flawed because quite often someone would blink or mis-click the mousepad causing a large outlier that would corrupt the data. A certain issue was finding a controlled environment to conduct the experiment in for better results because the school is so active, making it near impossible to find complete silence.

Looking Back
Looking back this was a really enjoyable experiment especially since I myself consume Red Bull, and it was simple and informative. Next time around, I would not have procrastinated nearly as much as I did on this experiment, and you can trust me that staying up until five in the morning the day its due, staying awake solely off of Red Bull, is not where you want to be. This experiment is not nearly as hard as people make it out to be as long as you don't procrastinate and save the work for two days before the due date. If given another chance, I would make a time table that I had to follow in order to keep up with the work. In the end though, if you have an experiment that is enjoyable and you are efficient with your time then it should not be too hard.

Project Resources
Reaction Test