To investigate the number of red blood cells

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Name:                                Kern Pemberton

Date:                                21st October, 2008

Lab#:                                4

Activity:                        Planning & Designing

Task:        To plan and design an experiment based on the following observation.

Observation:        A student was given three samples of “mock blood”. However he mislabeled the samples. Sample A represented blood taken from a normal healthy male who lives at sea level. Sample B represented blood from the same male but after he had undergone six months of aerobic exercise at sea level. Sample C represented blood taken from the same male after he had undergone six months of aerobic exercise in the mountains.        

Stated Hypothesis:        The body produces more red blood cells with aerobic exercise and when the concentration of 02 decreases.

Testable Hypothesis:        The number of red blood cells present in a blood sample will vary with exercise/altitude.

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Theory:        The red blood cell is shaped like a biconcave disc. This cell has a large surface area to volume ratio as a means of increasing diffusion. The typical cell has a size of 7 µm which makes it only able to move in single file in the capillaries as the diameter of the capillary is about 7m as well. As a result, this maximizes area for diffusion to take place. The membrane of the red blood cell is thin so that rapid diffusion can take place and pliable so that one will be able to squeeze through the capillaries since ...

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