How does strenuous exercise affect your pulse rate and breathing?

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                                     GCSE Science Coursework

My aim for the coursework is to do 12 minute running to see my pulse rate and also breathing rate. I will be checking how the exercise affects your pulse rate and breathing. After each exercise I will check how long it takes to recover. For this investigation I would do exercises to get more accurate results. I know my practical is safe because I would not do things that would affect people and also I would not do dangerous activities. Before I do the exercise I must check there is nothing in front of me e.g.: glass and also to be careful by stretching my muscles which would affect the exercise. I would need to use a stopwatch to check my pulse rate and also a pen and paper to write down my pulse rate. I will make my practical a fair test by testing the pulse rate at a certain amount of same time on exercises and also to make sure I would do it in the same place e.g.: park will keep all these things the same by checking my pulse rate at the same time after each exercise. I would also check my pulse rate at a certain time for each exercise and also to try and do it in the same place. I will change this 4 times. The range that I would be using is running, seat ups, walking, and also seating. I would be doing this to see how my pulse rate changes during the exercise and after. I will be making 4 measurements or observations I have chosen the measurements because think that these exercise affect my body the most during the programme. The other reason is that I think it is safe for me. The things that might change during the investigation that I cannot control Is my pulse rate increase or decreasing, breathing rate and also the time it takes me to recover. I think that the pattern in my results will be my pulse rate going increasing during the time of exercise and also my breathing rate will be faster than normal.

    When exercising or competition in sports the body undertakes a number of changes. We breathe in heavier and faster therefore our heartbeats faster and our muscles stretch and therefore we sweat. These are all normal responses towards exercises whether we work out normally or once a while. When we carry out exercises our muscles act like electric motors. Our muscles take in a source of energy and use it to generate force. An electric motor uses electricity to supply its energy. Our muscles are biochemical motors, and they use a chemical called adenosine triposphate for their energy source. During the process of “burning” our muscles need three things, which is oxygen because of chemical reactions required by adenosine triposphate. They need to get rid of metabolic wastes such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid so that the chemical reactions are generated. They also need to get rid of heat. Just like an electric motor, a working muscle generates heat that it needs to get rid of. In order to keep exercising muscles must continuously make adenosine triphosphate. To make this happen the body must supply oxygen to the muscles and get rid of the waste products and heat. If these requirements are not accomplished the person conducting the exercise will stop and the body will become exhausted. Exercise can affect respiration and the heart dramatically too. Muscles need energy to maintain their functions. This energy is provided through a process called respirations.

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   When the heart is at a resting rate oxygenated blood is being pumped around the body for a stable state of aerobic respirations. Resting rates vary between different people. The lower the heart rate of the person the healthier the person is. Anaerobic respiration is the release of energy from glucose in the presence of oxygen. In order our body tissues glucose can be broken down to release energy, which may be used for bodily functions such as muscle contractions. The general equation for the process of anaerobic respiration is:

  Glucose + oxygen = Carbon dioxide + Water ...

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