The two people that will be taking part in the test are Lucy and Amy. Lucy performs regular training for netball and for running and Amy regularly trains for swimming. Lucy will be slightly fitter as she completes more intensive training and she will also perform better on the running tests because the muscles groups that are required for running will be stronger than Amy who uses different muscles groups for swimming.
I predict that Amy’s pulse rate will go higher than Lucy’s during the exercise because her heart will be weaker and I think it will take Amy longer to return to her resting pulse rate as during anaerobic respiration she will have to pay back the oxygen debt which will build up in her muscles, where as Lucy will have a shorter oxygen debt because her muscles will respire aerobically for longer.
Method
50m Sprint – Anaerobic
To make sure the tests are carried our fairly we firstly measured a distance for the sprint; we decided that 50m was a sufficient length for the heart rate to be raised. We then took the resting pulse rate of the two participants and recorded it. Then we timed the run and as soon as the runner had finished we took there pulse rate. To do this we measured it for 15 seconds then multiplied it by 4. We then took their pulse rate 1 minute after completing the exercise and we continued to take their pulse at one minute intervals till it returned to the resting pulse rate which was recorded earlier. Each participant did this three times so an average could be found.
540m Long Distance – Aerobic Anaerobic
For this experiment we measured out a square with 45m sides and then this was to be completed 3 times to have a complete distance of 540m. As soon as each runner had completed the course they immediately took their pulse rate for 15 seconds and then multiplied this by 4. After 1 minute we recorded their pulse rate and continued this at 1 minute intervals till it returned to their resting pulse rate. This test was only performed once as if it was done 3 times the runners would become tired affecting their results and it would not be a fair test.
Results
On graph paper
Conclusion & Evaluation
By looking at my results I am able to comment on specific patterns and explain why these occurred. First I am going to look at Amy and her results on the 50m sprint. Each of her runs was very different, her pulse rates varied, unlike Lucy’s which were all very similar. The first point I am going to comment on is that Amy’s resting pulse rate was very high. A reason for this may be because she was nervous just before her run. I know that her resting pulse rate is not actually this as on the 2nd run her pulse rate went below her resting one. Her 2nd and 3rd runs were much more similar and they are closer to the average which I calculated. Lucy’s pulse rate was a lot lower than Amy’s yet during the exercise her pulse rate increased a lot more, This may be because Lucy was outing in more effort than Amy, and there is no way to measure the amount of effort being put in by each participant. Each of Lucy’s runs were very similar and they all returned to resting pulse rate within one minute. We can relate the times that Lucy ran to her pulse rate, her 1st run was slowest therefore her pulse rate did not go as high, where as her 3rd run was her fastest so her pulse rate was highest. I predicted that Lucy was the fitter of the two and this is shown by the gradient of the graph, the gradient is much steeper which shows that her pulse rate is returning from a higher point to resting in a quicker time than Amy’s. This is because Lucy’s heart is stronger and is able to pump around more blood with one beat. This means that more blood can get to the muscles and therefore more oxygen is supplied enabling the muscles to work more efficiently.
I am now going to look at the 540m distance run which means the runners will be respiring aerobically. Looking at my re4sults I can see a very clear contrast between the two runners. After Amy had run she very gradually returned to her resting pulse rate where as Lucy’s pulse rate dramatically dropped after 1 minute but then it was a gradual decrease back to resting. Once again this is because Lucy’s heart is stronger than Amy’s. On the final lap it is probable than Amy’s muscles began to work anaerobically as it was no longer possible to get the required amount of oxygen to the muscles. Therefore lactic acid will have started to build up and after she had finished she will have had to repay the oxygen debt, meaning that her heart will have continued to beat faster for a while to allow more oxygen to be taken in by the lungs to get rid of the lactic acid. This explains why Amy’s pulse rate remained high for a while where as Lucy’s dropped straight away. Lucy will not have had any oxygen debt because she is fitter and she will have been able to take in the required amount of oxygen because her heart is stronger and more blood is pumped with one beat. This means more oxygen can be taken to the lungs and therefore her muscles can respire aerobically for longer.
My prediction was correct as it took Amy longer to return to her resting pulse rate than Lucy because she had to pay back oxygen debt. I was incorrect when I predicted Amy's pulse rate would go higher than Lucy’s, this may be because Lucy was working at a higher effort than Amy, but there is no way to show this. Another odd result was Amy’s resting pulse rate changing but I believe the reason for this is nervousness which would result in her pulse rate increasing. Overall I think the experiment worked well but I think we would have benefited from testing more people to get a more widely spread range of results so we could compare someone who does regular training to someone who does no training at all because there would be a bigger contrast.
