Every science project has a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a guess, or an estimation on what the outcome of your project will be. After researching on my project I have to make a hypothesis. My hypothesis is that if age affects taste bud sensitivity, then older people will taste less vibrant and have more controlled, collected answers than a child, because as you get older, you lose your taste buds and they also contract. The reason why I think this is because older people’s taste buds are old as well and they can’t taste as well as a 5 year old kid’s newly developed taste buds.

First of all, every project has to start with background research. Background research helps you get information on your topic before doing it. This gives you an understanding on your topic. Without background research it would be hard to know what your project is about. This is why it is one of the most important parts of the scientific method. My project also needs background research as well. Before I start my experiment I need to know more about the 5 basic taste groups. Because if I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for in the surveys when I give them, then my experiment won’t be as scientifically accurate as it could be.

Sweet: 

One of the most common favorite tastes among kids is sweet stuff. Things like chocolate (kitkat, smarties, m&ms), candy (rockets, lollipops, nerds), and syrups (honey, maple syrup) are very attractive to the eyes of most kids. Research shows that in 2004, Canadians 1 year and older would eat 110 grams (26 teaspoons)  of overall sugars on an average daily basis. Which is approximately 20% of their total energy intake. Sugars are a carbohydrate that is mainly found in fruit, milk, and vegetables. When you taste something sweet it activates your sweet receptors, letting you taste it.

Sour:

If your not a huge fan of sweets, then you definitely would like sour stuff! Sourness can either be loved by people, or be hated. Sour candies are very popular, because they bring a tangy twist to your average sweets. When people tried to make sour candies, they originally came up with sour fruits. Ancient Greeks used pomegranate, limes, lemons, and even vinegar to try and make some overly sweet treats just right. Usually puckering cheeks, increased saliva production, and increased heart rate are some physiological signs when you taste something immensely sour.

Bitter:

Was there ever a time when you were a little kid and you saw your mom or dads morning coffee and you thought it looked good? So you decide to give it a taste and find out it tastes horrible, like it doesn't have any sugar in it at all. Well that taste is called bitter. People -usually kids- hate the bitter taste. Things like coffee, mustard, and grapefruits have a very bitter taste. The bitter flavor is like a sharp, pungent, flavor. Some adults actually like that flavor, that’s why you might see people drinking black coffee, meaning without any sugar or cream. Bitter foods are actually good to eat. They “May help stimulate your digestive system and improve the absorption of food.”

Salty:

Have you ever played the sugar, salt spoon game, and you got the salt? And that salty, disgusting flavor got to you and you just want to spit it out. That’s what a very salty flavor is. The salty flavor can be described as bitter or tangy in a savory way. When you taste salt the ion channels on the cells in our body which are sensitive to salt particles that are very small. But they’re big enough to let the small sodium and chloride ions through. But not a lot else including most dissolved salts.

Savory/Umami:

While sour treats and sweet confections are delicious, there’s one taste group that no one can dislike: Savory. Umami or savory foods basically make up the 5 main food groups. Have you ever had cupcakes for dinner, or lemons? No, because real nourishing foods like pasta, chicken, or lasagna all have something in common. They’re all savory. The savory flavor is like a meatish type flavor that everyone likes. Researchers have even found out that if you consume foods that are very umami then it causes small changes in your brain to encourage healthy eating habits and food choices.

Manipulated/Independent Variable: The different ages.

Responding/Dependent Variable: How the different ages react to the 5 divergent taste groups.

Controlled Variable: Type of things they will be tasting, Gender (2 tests for boys and 2 for girls) , all samples will be liquids, same questions will be asked, temperature of the samples (room temperature).

1. Make surveys for the different age groups.
2. Gather samples from each taste group.
3. Take one age at a time to a separate room.
4. Make them go through each group while blindfolded.
5. After every taste ask them how much of the taste was it and how much they liked it.
6. Do it to all ages in the same setting, the same way.
7. Analyse the data from each survey.
8. Create a chart to organise the data.
9. Create a conclusion based on the data you collected.

Results/Average (0-10):

Sweet: 9-10, Enjoyed: 6-7

Sour: 9-10, Enjoyed: 2-3

Bitter: 9-10, Enjoyed: 3-4

Salty: 10, Enjoyed: 1

Umami: 9-10, Enjoyed: 6-7

Results/Average (11-20):

Sweet: 5-6, Enjoyed: 6-7

Sour: 7-8, Enjoyed: 4-5

Bitter: 5-6, Enjoyed: 2-3

Salty: 3-4, Enjoyed: 6-7

Umami: 6-7, Enjoyed: 7-8

Results/Average (21-30):

Sweet: 8-9, Enjoyed: 5-6

Sour: 6-7, Enjoyed: 4-5

Bitter: 8-9, Enjoyed: 2-3

Salty: 5-6, Enjoyed: 6-7

Umami: 7-8, Enjoyed: 3-4

Results/Average (31-40):

Sweet: 7-8, Enjoyed: 8-9

Sour: 7-8, Enjoyed: 3-4

Bitter: 8-9, Enjoyed: 5-6

Salty: 4-5, Enjoyed: 4-5

Umami: 6-7, Enjoyed: 4-5

Based off my observations, I analyzed that older people do taste less strongly than younger people and they also have more controlled, collected answers.The difference was actually astounding. Older people’s answers varied dramatically between themselves though too. Kids basically had the same answers on some of them, but adults had very different answers especially in bitter, and sour.

In conclusion older people do taste less vibrantly and have more controlled and kids have more enthusiastic and animated tastes and answers. The difference was actually astounding. Older people’s answers varied dramatically between themselves though too. Kids basically had the same answers on some of them, but adults had very different answers especially in bitter, and sour. My hypothesis was correct in the end and older people’s taste buds do get duller, and contract as well as they lose some of them. Next time you offer your mom or dad ice cream and they refuse now you know they’re not being rude, they just have different taste buds than you!

For future applications I could’ve done the experiment a little more accurately by doing all the tests in one go and not on separate days, I also should’ve done all the tests in the same place, but I had to go to different places to test different people. Another  application I could apply in the future would be getting all the tests done, unfortunately I couldn’t test 1 more boy from the 20’s and 1 more boy from the teen’s.

One source of error that most likely occurred in this project was everybody has different preferences. Meaning everyone has different likes and dislikes, for example if one person really likes sweet stuff but they don’t like spicy food, and someone their own age really likes spicy stuff but hates sweet stuff then they’ll answer differently on the survey. Another source of error that occurred was I tested people in a lot of different areas at a lot of different times.

• https://www150.statcan.gc.ca
• https://www.heart.org
• https://www.uhhospitals.org
• https://medlineplus.gov
• https://www.mayoclinic.org

There are a few people I would like to acknowledge on my science fair project. The first person being the one who gave me the idea which is my sister. I had no idea what topic I should do my science fair on when my sister came up with the idea to do it about tase bud sensitivity. Another person I would like to acknowledge is my teacher. When I introduced the idea to her about how age affects taste bud sensitivity, she really liked it and was super supportive through the entire making of this project.