This is a follow up to my other article: http://healthmad.com/fitness/sports-drinks-do-they-really-do-that/, which is an article on what sports drinks need to contain to be beneficial to athletes.

Sugar Test (Benedict’s Test)

For this test, you will need a test tube, test tube tongs, a graduated cylinder, a hot water bath, a dropper, and some Benedict’s Solution. Start by filling up your graduated cylinder with the substance you are testing. Use your dropper to take out 2 ml of the Substance, then drain it into your test tube. Wash out your Cylinder, then fill it up to 2 ml with Benedict’s Solution. Suck this out with the dropper (Clean it first!) Then squirt it into your test tube with the substance you will be testing. Then, use the test tube tongs to grab the test tube, then place it in the Hot Water Bath for 5 minutes. Depending on How much sugar is in the Substance, the color will change from blue (No sugar) to red (lots and lots of sugar!)

Salt Test (Electrical Conductivity Test)

For this test, all you need is an Electrical Conductivity Meter, a Beaker, and your Substance! Start by filling your beaker up with your substance, then place the two alligator clips into the solution (Be careful to make sure that they do not touch!) Then record how high the needle on the meter goes. (Or number, if it is a digital meter). Its as simple as that!

Solids Test (Evaporation Test)

All that you need for this test is a tin cup, a hot plate, and a scale (MG works best). Measure the mass of your tin cup (With no liquid in it), record that. Then place your liquid in the cup. Mass it again. Record the difference, which is how much mass is in the liquid. Now, place your tin cup (With Liquid) on your hot plate and wait for all the water to boil off. Now, record the mass of the solids by massing it again, subtracting the mass of the tin cup, then dividing that by the mass of the liquid. Now, you should have a decimal number. Multiply it be 100 to get the percentage of solids in the Drink. If it is between 6 and 8%, then it is beneficial to athletes.

As with all experiments, you should repeat the experiments and average the results. Good luck Testing those Drinks!