Research Article

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .

The Body Maintains Balance in Fluid Levels

BRYCE BERNALES, JACKSON HILTON, RACHEL LOBL, ROBERT ORTA
STEM Marin, San Marin High School, Novato, California, 94945

Abstract
The human body has the ability to maintain its water balance, utilizing a process called
homeostasis. We tested the rate at which the body expels water with respect to the
amount consumed. After consuming various amount of water (up to 600mL), we
measured the time the subject could wait before urinating. Our experiment showed that
drinking more water causes the subject to have a greater urge to urinate. We also found
that drinking 150mL of water with breakfast will last until lunchtime without the need for
urination.

Introduction
Homeostasis is the process in which the body Methods
maintains a balance in all of its systems.1 For This experiment requires water, a measuring
fluids, this maintenance is done by the cup for cup, and a watch.
kidneys. They extract excess water from the Record time of day, as well as the
blood stream, and eject it from the body via water and food consumed that day for each of
urination.2 When our water levels drop, the test subjects. Each test subject must drink
causing dehydration, it can result in a fatal their assigned amount of water none,
drop in blood pressure. Our main source of 150mL, 300mL, 450mL, or 600mL. Right
water is drinking, followed by the small after drinking, the test subjects will set a timer
amounts in food.3 From 2005 - 2010, the on their phones for themselves. When they get
average youth in the United States consumed the urge to urinate, they will go to use the
450mL of water per day, while the average restroom and stop the timer before they
adult consumed over a liter.4 urinate. They will record the time. The test
We are attempting to show that the subjects will take a photograph of their urine.
human body can maintain homeostasis as it Then, compare and analyze the data.
relates to fluid balance. We predicted that In our experiment, our testers
drinking more water would cause the body to themselves took their own data, and recorded
urinate more quickly. the times and observations with their
smartphones cameras, sharing it with the rest
of the group after they were done testing. We
also measured the water the testers drank with ejecting excess fluid. It also showed that
a measuring cup, and took the differences of drinking 150mL of water with breakfast is
the times the testers drank and peed in order to enough to last until lunch without producing a
find the correlation. need to urinate.
The most successful part of this
Results experiment was our data collection. We were
Through our experiment, we discovered that able to eliminate several variables, and we
drinking water has a direct correlation to the made few errors in following our procedure.
time it takes for the body to signal the need to Some improvements that could have
urinate. The more one drinks, the sooner the bettered our experiment would have been to
bladder sends a signal to the brain to get rid of be able to test more people. This would have
the water through urination. given us much more accurate data. We also
could have used a more precise measuring
Amt system testing how long it would take for test
Time
Test Wate D/U subjects to use the restroom in correlation to
(H:MM Notes
Subject r
)
* what they ate or drank beforehand.
(mL) Errors that were made could have been
1 0 5:05 D little thirst in the amount of water we drank. While
no signs of measuring we used a dry measuring cup which
2 150 4:39 D dehydration until made it difficult to pour into the water bottle
12:40
and some spilled. Another error made was the
3 300 1:31 U lack of accounting for the differences in our
mild/moderate test subjects. Weight, height, physical activity,
urges to pee and overall fitness are variables not accounted
4 450 1:02 U immediately after,
and before
for in the experiment and could influence the
drinking, results. Since an individual requires a certain
urges to
amount of water that differs from another
5 600 0:53 U regurgitate, sore individual the quantity of excess water in each
stomach of our test subjects would differ. The amount
*Drink (D) means that the subject drank water instead of physical activity would also be inconsistent
of urinating due to dehydration. Urinate (U) means that in the test subjects resulting in a difference in
the subject needed to urinate to remove excess water
water loss due to sweat. Although the food
from their system.
eaten before and during the experiment were
Discussion recorded, more detail would be required to use
This data proves homeostasis because it shows it to analyze data.
that the body expels fluid quicker when it has To further investigate this experiment
more of it. This shows that the body attempts we could see the correlation to the time it took
to maintain a consistent water level by to urinate and the weight the subject has.
Another method we could do is to test how
different foods or liquids eaten beforehand can
affect the time taken to urinate.

Implications
The data shows that the more water a person
drinks the more water it expels. This is proof
of homeostasis in the human body since the
more excess water present, the more water the
body has to remove through urination. This
data can be used to explain how water levels
in the body, if increased too much, will see a
decrease very soon after the increase. We can
also use this data to act as a control for other
experiments, or compare it to experiments
whose independent variable is weight to make
sense of them.

References
1. Homeostasis. Dictionary.com,
Dictionary.com,
www.dictionary.com/browse/homeostasis.
2. GCSE Bitesize: Water balance. BBC,
BBC,
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/scien
ce/add_ocr_pre_2011/homeostasis/waterb
alrev1.shtml.
3. Spector, Dina. Here's how many days a
person can survive without water.
Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 May
2014,
www.businessinsider.com/how-many-days
-can-you-survive-without-water-2014-5.
4. Nutrition. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 12 May 2017,
www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/plai
n-water-the-healthier-choice.html.