So what really is Lactic Acid, and how is it formed??

I wanted to explore a question that interested my peers, so I asked some of our classmates what interested them about lactic acid. A major interest I was given was: what really is lactic acid? Rumors say that it causes us to be in pain after a hard workout, but we never were really told what lactic acid is. As I thought about it more, I really didn’t know myself what lactic acid was, or how it was formed. Therefore, I am using this post to explain.
The production of lactic acid and one of its "friends," lactate, is actually a pretty confusing process. Lactic acid, to our surprise, is an energy producing system in our bodies. This system, in the end produces, lactate, a source of our bodies energy. The process to form lactate begins with glycolysis. During this process, our carbohydrates get broken down (happens in the liver). This process forms pyruvic acid and hydrogen atoms. The lactate ion is formed from the pyruic acid. The lactate and hydrogen atoms enter the blood stream. Because hydrogen atoms go into our blood stream, the PH level in our muscles goes to 6.5 from 7.1. We then enter the “Lactic Threshold” stage. This is the hurting stage. Because hydrogen atoms are now in our blood stream, and have been pulled out of our muscles, there is more acid in our muscles. This causes our muscles to contract, and the higher acidic level annoys our nerve endings, causing pain, cramping and nausea. So we know that the hydrogen atoms that are formed are evil, but the lactate is reabsorbed into the muscles and liver, and is then broken down into glycogen and glucose, which then gets broken down into energy. This energy is then either used or stored in our muscles.
So, with this research, we learned that lactic acid is good. It produces lactate which is used for energy. The only bad things are the hydrogen atoms. These however, do not cause soreness the next day. They may cause soreness for a small bout of time after a work out, but don’t blame them for the soreness the next day. What causes soreness the next day??? Well, you have to wait for my next post. I already read some material on the causes on next day soreness. So stay tuned for my next post, because it gets even more interesting…and there is a lot more chemistry involved!
So how does Chemistry tie into this posting? Well, obviously, the whole process explained above is chemical reactions happening in our body. Pyruvic acid reacts to form lactate and hydrogen atoms. The whole process of carbohydrate breakdown is a chemical process happening within our own body. Also, lactic acid is one of the best examples of optical isomerism, where a carbon atom is bonded by four different groups. Also, Lactic acid is an acid. From previous knowledge, we know that acids form hydrogen atoms, thus explaining why lactic acid forms hydrogen atoms in our system. As you probably see, there is some biology involved with this process too. Energy, ATP, and carbohydrates are all terminology we learned back in freshmen biology. So, we can say that all this information is a bio-chem study. And, the topic of term two…….bio-chemistry!!!


MLA CITATIONS!!!

Holly, Cory. “Lactic Acid.” Alive Publishing group. 2006. 28 January 2008
<http://www.alive.com/218a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=402>.

“Lactic Acid.” Sports Coach. 2008. 28 January 2008 <http://www.brianmac.co.uk/lactic.htm>

"Acids." Gondar Design. 1997. 28 January 2008
<http://www.purchon.com/chemistry/acids.htm#other>

Final Topic !

So I did some more research on my ideas on the udel sites, and some sites I thought to be reliable, and found some interesting things. I will definitly keep my lactic acid and sports drink topics, however, I think I will change my steroid usage topic up. I think I will zero in on Growth Hormone pills. Many athletes think that this steriod is fine to use becuase they are "legal." Little do they know that this steroid can have a bad efffect on your body. I am having the most trouble finidng valid information on sports drinks, but I did find some good ones (in list of sites below) that give me some good information. So finally I have my final topic...so mark it down. It is: Chemisrty in sports: how to become a better athlete.

I posted comments on Sarah's, Laura's, and Alison's blog about valid sites. I also posted more links!

Valid or Not?

Well, when I read this homework post by Mrs. V, I thought to myself that I really didn't know how to check to see if a site was valid. I really have a lack of knowledge for this topic. I do however know that the majority of students choose sites because they are easy to read and short. We never check to see where the information is from; when we find information that we are looking for we tend to just believe it. I know that sites tend to be more valid if they have a .gov or .edu. There are some "phony" .gov or .edu sites, so remember that these kind of sites are not always valid. I remember something from back in the day too. I don't know if this is true, but I remember hearing that you never want a web address that is very long. The shorter the web address is, the better. I also know that you should look and see the qualifications, job, and degrees earned of the person who wrote posted information. So really you don't want a middle school student's work, but rather a college professor's. This is all I know, and I don't even know if it is all true. Let me know what you all think!

My topic

So I decided that my topic would be "how to become a better athlete through chemistry". I am going to focus on three things, lactic acid build up and prevention, steriod usage, and the effects of different sports drinks. I will give an overview of each one of these three mini topics, and then as the project progresses, I will go into more detail on things that I think are important and useful to know. I will also make sure to include the effects all three of these things have on your performance on the field, court, or course. I am starting with latic acid. I found 10 sites of interesting pictures and information. This is all general information, and very interesting may I add. I will probly focus on four or so differnt topics about lactic acid. This first post of websites, as said, is lots of information coming from all differnt directions. I am just skimming the surface, and soon I will get into more detail. Hope You enjoy everything!

Lactic Acid...good or bad?

It is the second day of preseason and your alarm clock goes off. You try to get out of bed but you can't. You are so sore the only thing you want to do is lay there. Once you start moving your muscles, they do however loosen up and you begin to feel better. I bet as you are reading this post, you are thinking "yep, I have been in that situdation." Some say the soreness is because of Lactic Acid (C3H6O3), found by a Sweedish chemist named Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Many blame a bad athletic performance on the soreness caused by lactic acid, but some researchers argue that this is not the case. I always thougt lactic acid was what caused me to be sore, but to my surprise it may not be that. The first thing I will touch base on is if lactic acid is a friend or not. The sites that are posted are very interesting and they relate to this topic which I will continue to research on. Also, if lactic acid is not what causes the soreness, then what does, and how do we prevent being sore? What do you think? Is lactic acid a friend or a foe?

What I'm going to research!!

I plan on researching chemistry in sports. Since I am a devoted athlete, I am interested in learning all about this topic. I plan on doing research about lactic acid and seeing how different levels of it affect you, steroid and growth hormone usage, and seeing how differnt kinds of energy drinks affect you. I may find other things to talk about, but for now these are my ideas!