Lactic Acid Equilibrium
Overview
This project was designed to teach us more about chemical equilibrium through our own research. We could then show our community what we learned with a social media component, as well as an annotated bibliography for our teacher. The annotated bibliography included citations for sources we used as well as summaries of the information. The social media aspect included visuals and written descriptions for the concepts being explained. This multi-faceted report provided an excellent platform to spread information on our topics.
This project was designed to teach us more about chemical equilibrium through our own research. We could then show our community what we learned with a social media component, as well as an annotated bibliography for our teacher. The annotated bibliography included citations for sources we used as well as summaries of the information. The social media aspect included visuals and written descriptions for the concepts being explained. This multi-faceted report provided an excellent platform to spread information on our topics.
Reflection
I think I learned more from this project than any other project this year. My topic was the equilibrium of lactic acid buildup in the muscles, and there are many misconceptions about this topic. For example, did you know that lactic acid does not cause the soreness you might experience after a workout? Instead, it helps relieve the acidity and therefore soreness in your muscles. Many people are confused about this process, including myself before conducting this research. I chose to research this topic because I am involved in athletics year round and this affects athletes in a big way, and I found it intriguing. Overall, although it was time consuming, I enjoyed this project a lot.
What I Learned
I think I learned more from this project than any other project this year. My topic was the equilibrium of lactic acid buildup in the muscles, and there are many misconceptions about this topic. For example, did you know that lactic acid does not cause the soreness you might experience after a workout? Instead, it helps relieve the acidity and therefore soreness in your muscles. Many people are confused about this process, including myself before conducting this research. I chose to research this topic because I am involved in athletics year round and this affects athletes in a big way, and I found it intriguing. Overall, although it was time consuming, I enjoyed this project a lot.
What I Learned
- Muscles become acidic during exercise due to a buildup of hydrogen ions
- These hydrogen ions cause soreness and nerve irritation, causing discomfort
- The chemical equation for glycolysis and production of lactate
- Where the balance is during this process
- How to help minimize soreness after workouts
- One peak of this project was learning a lot of interesting information and sharing it with the community.
- Another peak was being able to use a modern way of sharing this info - via Instagram - with my friends and acquaintances.
- One pit of this project was definitely the workload: I spent hours researching and putting together a quality report.
- Another pit of this project was finding credible sources: many websites have false information about lactic acid buildup.