How does exercise affect the pulse rate?

Equipment

• 1 stop clock
• A pair of trainers
• Flat land to begin the investigation
• Pen and paper to record results
• A partner to help you

Fair Test

To make sure that the investigation is fair I am going to try and make sure that;  it’s the same person who does every experiment every time, because different people have different fitness levels. This may vary because of size, age e.t.c. We also have to make sure that we do the experiments on the same time of day, otherwise that could affect our pulse rate. We have to try and make sure that the room temperature is the same if we cant do it on the same day. So what me and my group should try and do is, make sure we get all the results on the same day, so the temperature will not have changed much.

Prediction

I think that I am quite physically fit, so therefore my pulse rate should be relatively low. As I begin to exercise my pulse rate will rise rapidly depending on the exercise I am doing, walking wont raise it much. Running and sit-ups will make my pulse rate rapidly increase but after a while it would level off and stay the same whilst I am doing the event. Sit-ups will make my pulse rate rise the greatest I think. If I do my sit-ups fast or run too fast my muscles will build up the lactic acid, so I may get cramp or I will have to slow down a lot till the lactic acid build up has been repaid with oxygen. As I am fit once I have completed the exercises my heart rate will return to normal fairly quickly, so there must be a good supply of oxygen In my body so my heart rate is returning to normal quickly.

Here is some of our preliminary work, it is not a lot but we used it, so it would give us a general idea of how our results are going to come along.

Observation

Our table of results

Table 1(first set)

Table 2(second set)

Table 3(third set)

The averages (of the 3 tables)

Analysis

1= Before exercising/  2= 1st reading / 3= 2nd reading/  4= 3rd reading/  5= 4th reading/  6= 5th reading

Looking at this graph I can see that, my heart rate seems to drop around the same as I rest, the results were quite to clear so it’s easy for me to put onto a graph. I did each of the exercises 3 times each. I can see that my heart rate goes quite high when I exercise but after a while it returns to a steady beat. My heart rate was quite low before I began my exercises. There looks to be a few anomaly’s on the graph, when I was just resting for 5minutes when I was taking the readings, my heart rate seem to increase, this may could be caused over many of things, like my condition, I could have been talking and laughing when I was taking my heart rate, this is could of made my heart rate higher, or I could of made a mistake taking my pulse rate. I was right in saying that sit-ups would of made my heart rate increase the most, this is because I did them quite fast, so I was not able to do as many at the end of the exercise, as I was at the start. I should of tried to keep a steady pace going, so my muscles wouldn’t of got as tired. When we were taking our results, they were taken on different days, at different times of the day. Table 1 was taken in the afternoon of Monday, table 2 was taken early morning on Wednesday, and table 3 was taken on a Monday evening. On table 2 my pulse rates were slightly higher than the other two tables, this could be because it was still morning and I may have eaten a lot for breakfast, so my body would be digesting food, making my pulse rate higher. Sit-ups was the last exercise I did every time, so that could explain why my pulse rate was higher before doing that exercise than the rest, because I had just been running for 5 minutes so my pulse rate is bound to be higher. The third table was filled out on the golf course, although it seemed a lot colder in the open space it didn’t seem to affect my pulse. When we exercise anyway our muscles become warmer than normal, and after a while of exercising we would have to stop and cool down. My heart rate will also be affected by my breathing rate, if I am struggling to breathe so there is a lack of oxygen, and then my heart will beat a lot faster to get all the available oxygen around my body.

Prediction supported

The prediction I made was quite accurate of me saying that my heart rate would return to normal fairly quickly, the graph shows this happening. My muscles may have built up with acid, when I was doing my sit-ups as it became hard for me, and I couldn’t do many of them for very long

Evaluation

I found that my results give me accurate readings that enabled me to put them onto graphs. I did the events 3 times each, so then I would get accurate results that I could also plot onto a table of averages. There were not many anomalous results, the plots on the graph were the averages of the 3 tables, so some where on those tables I must of made a mistake or just got an inaccurate reading. In the future when I am asked to complete coursework, i must try and make sure that I get accurate results, which will give me better readings on the graphs, E.T.C. I should also try and make sure that I include full scientific knowledge where necessary. I think that this experiment went rather well, I got a good set of results and I am pleased with how it all turned out. There are not many things I can think of improving for my next piece of coursework, this is the piece in which I have made the most effort.

By Lewis Jones