The Effect of Exercise Beverages on the Post-Exercise Heart Rates of Athletes

The purpose of our experiment was to determine if exercise beverages will have an affect on the heart rates of athletes after exercise, measured in beats per minute (BPM). The subjects sat for the first 5 minutes of the experiment, before their resting heart rate was measured. They were then administered one of the three beverages; Coca-Cola, Water or Propel. After drinking one cup of the beverage, the subject sat for another 10 minutes for the Propel and Water, and fifteen minutes for the Coca-Cola, to let the beverage get into their blood stream. Their heart rate was recorded once more after the beverage had taken affect. The athletes then ran one lap around a ½ mile track, before taking their heart rate one final time. Using three 2-sample T-tests we analyzed the differences between the three beverages to find that Coca-Cola had the same effect on heart rates when compared to Propel, with the p-value being .05415 respectively. When compared to Water, the p-value was 0.01946, giving enough evidence to see that the effect between Coca-Cola and Water was not equal. When Propel was compared to Water, they were found to be equal. The p-value between Propel and Water was 0.78696 which gave us enough evidence to accept our null hypothesis for this t-test, that both Propel and Water indeed had the same effect on heart rates of athletes. Statistically it was determined that Coca-Cola had the greatest effect on the heart rates of athletes after exercise.

Research Done By:

Megan Pavlak
Fitzgerald High School

Laurie Socia
Lakeview High School

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