Case Study 1 Caffeine Conundrums

Case Study #1: Caffeine Conundrums

Part I Questions 1-5

Question 1: List common foods/drinks that are sources of caffeine. How much caffeine is found in each?

Answer: Some common foods and or drinks that are sources of caffeine are Lipton Green Tea, Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Bar, coffee, Diet Coke, and Starbucks Hot Chocolate.

Answer: The amount of caffeine found in each is based upon per serving size:

Lipton Green Tea: 15 mg

Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Bar: 20 mg

Coffee: 100-160 mg

Diet Coke: 47mg

Starbucks Hot Chocolate: 25 mg

Question 2: What is the chemical structure of caffeine? What class of chemical molecules does caffeine belong to?

Answer: Caffeine is an alkaloid. The chemical structure looks like this:

Answer: The chemical molecules class caffeine belongs to is the heterocyclic compounds known as purines.

Question 3: What are common physiological effects of caffeine consumption?

Answer: The common physiological effects of caffeine consumption are stimulation of the central nervous system, cardiac muscles, and respiratory system. Some other effects from caffeine are fatigue delay and it poses as a diuretic.

Question 4: Where in the body does caffeine act?

Answer: The places in the body that caffeine acts are the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and other major organs.

Question 5: Propose reasons why Alex and Jenna feel the need to consume caffeine while Sally does not. Why does Jenna feel that she needs more caffeine than Alex?

Answer: The reason Jenna and Alex feel the need to consume caffeine is because they have had caffeine before and they think it helps with how they function, while Sally isn’t a consumer of caffeine and is not dependent on it.

Answer: Jenna feels she needs more caffeine than Alex because Jenna’s body has built up a tolerance to caffeine from consuming it daily, so it takes more for it to affect her.

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Part II Questions 1-5

Question 1: What are g-protein coupled receptors? Where are these...