Katelynn McKeel (Katie)

Ms. Keene-Krops
9/22/13
Research Plan

Problem Question or Topic:
Which snack digests the quickest in your stomach?

Purpose and Rationale:
The purpose of this experiment is to see what types of snack foods are the best eat before
strenuous physical activity. In 6
th
grade, I had dance practice immediately following the end of the
school day. I did not have time to eat a snack that would quickly digest in my stomach before
practice began. In this experiment, I can identify the type of snack that digests the quickest in a
persons stomach. With these quickly-digested foods people would not get sick while food is being
absorbed. This can help anyone who has a physical activity or sport at a certain time; from young
children to adults. This research is important scientifically because it can demonstrate the
digestion process and how long it takes for different types of food.

Goals and Expected Outcomes:
In this experiment, I hope to find a solution to the problem best snack choice for fast digestion
before a sport or physical activity. I expect to see the snacks, the cracker, the corn chip, and the
pretzel, taking a little bit of time, about 15 minutes to digest and dissolve, but be quicker than
other foods like maybe ice cream which might take an hour. I expect to prove my hypothesis
correct because I have done much research on this topic and I am confident with my hypothesis.
These goals are based on my purpose because I am hoping to find a snack that digests quickly, and
that everyone can use this information.

Hypothesis (es):
If 3 snacks: a pretzel, a corn chip, and a cracker, are tested by them being dropped in vinegar and
timed to find which dissolves the quickest, than the cracker will dissolve and digest the quickest
because it contains basic ingredients such as flour, grain, and dough, which will be able to digest
the quickest.

Research Methods and Questions:
During this research, some of my guiding questions include: What are some common ingredients
in the snacks used in the experiment? How much will my materials cost? What best compares to
stomach acid that is safe to use (vinegar)? I will use appropriate online resources and my local and
school library for background information.

Experimental Design:
Independent Variable The type of snack: the cracker, the corn chip, and the pretzel
Dependent Variable The time it takes for the snack to dissolve
Control (Group) None because I am testing which snack digests quickest, which doesnt
contain a control.
Constants the vinegar, type of cup, the temperature of the room, of the vinegar, etc.,
experiment location

Materials:
White Distilled Vinegar
Great Value Plastic Party Cups 9 oz. (It wont be filled all the way)
Fat Free Great Value Pretzel Sticks
Frito Corn Chip Scoops
Ritz Crackers
Taylor Timers or Stopwatch apps on Samsung Phones

Procedures:
1. Get out the materials: 6 oz. vinegar (2 oz. for each cup), 1 and a half pretzel sticks, 3
corn chip, 3 crackers, timers, and 3 cups. Lay them out.
2. Put your gloves and goggles on since vinegar is a chemical.
3. Poor 2 oz. of vinegar into each cup. You can measure 2 oz. of vinegar using a measuring
cup.
4. Get your timers ready by setting them to 0.
5. Drop half a pretzel stick in one. Start that timer by clicking start.
6. Drop a corn chip into the next. Start that timer by clicking start.
7. Drop a Ritz cracker into the last. Start that timer by clicking start.
8. Observe them. When you see a break, which is as soon as one has a crack, stop the timer
assigned to that cup and record your data in a data table. Wait until the other 2 do the have
breaks and then stop there timers and record their data.
9. Repeat steps 1 - 3 three times.
Expected Trials and/or Sample Size: I will run three trials. One small Frito, one Ritz cracker,
half a pretzel stick, and 6 oz of vinegar for each trial.

Risk Assessment and Safety Precautions:
Vinegar is a chemical that could cause irritation if it gets into the eyes. I will wear gloves during my
experiment and goggles when pouring the vinegar.

Data Analysis and Units:
When doing this experiment, I will use the scientific method. I will use seconds to measure the
amount of time it takes for the snacks, the corn chip the cracker, and the pretzel stick, to dissolve
in the vinegar. I will graph my results using a line graph.

Bibliography:
I chose these websites when doing my research because they either explain why vinegar is great to
simulate stomach acid, or because they showed foods that are fast and slow to digest. I wanted to
do my experiment using and testing these things.

"TeachEngineering Digestion Simulation." TeachEngineering. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_bio
med/cub_biomed_lesson05.xmlord...>.

"Indigestion." Indigestion. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/bio99/bio99520.htm>.

"New Health Guide." Easy to Digest Foods. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.newhealthguide.org/Easy-To-Digest-Foods.html>.

"The George Mateljan Foundation In your opinion, what food takes the longest to digest
and/or break down in our system?."The George Mateljan Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 5
Oct. 2014. <http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=156>.

"The best and worst foods for digestion."Fox News. FOX News Network, 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
5 Oct. 2014. <http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/06/best-and-worst-foods-for-
digestion/>.

Chan, Christopher . "Which Antacid Raises pH the Most?." Which Antacid Raises pH the
Most?. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
<http://biosurvey.ou.edu/oas/07/paper/Chan,%20Christopher.pdf>.

Society for Science & the Public-Intel ISEF. (2015). International rules for pre-college
science Research: Guidelines for science and engineering fairs 2014-2015. Washington,
DC. Retrieved from https://member.societyforscience.org/document.doc?id=398


Special Projects Information (Optional):
Dont do yet/None