The equipment needed for this experiment:
- Stopwatches
- Three Volunteers (to compare the affect on heart rate use an average person, a very fit person and a not very fit person.)
- Writing and graphical equipment(pen, pencil, ruler)
-A reasonably large space will be required to do the shuttle runs.
A Fair Test
We need to make this test fair because the results will not be compatible and inaccurate.
To make this a fair test timing needs to be as accurate as possible, the timing must be kept as near as possible to that in the method. Also the same distance in-between the lines running to and from, should stay the same and the actual experiment should happen on the same day so the conditions are the same and the persons health/fitness remains the same.
Unfortunately there are something’s that we cannot control to make the test fair. There are some listed below:
- The persons health or fitness on that particular day
- The amount of effort they put in on each test
- The amount of energy they have ( the amount of food they have eaten- and the energy levels in the food)
- If they consume something to give them an energy boost(coffee, red bull e.t.c)
- There will also be some human error, in the accuracy of timing-(reactions) and the amount that is run, whether it is turning corners, not quite running to the lines or over running
- If they run out of Glucose
- There heart cannot beat any faster so they get cramp and have to stop.
Diagram
Prediction
I predict that the peoples heart rate will increase significantly from resting point (Doubled.)If you compile the results from each of the five experiments (leaving out resting time) and put them on the graph it should look like:
The Gradient gradually increases for each extra minute, the amount this gradient t increases shows the persons fitness level.
I predict this because I know that your heart beats faster when you are doing exercise because your muscles need the oxygen in your blood to create energy (aerobic respiration). If your heart can’t beat fast enough you get energy from anaerobic exercise which creates lactic acid which gives you cramp.
If I was to continue this experiment for longer time periods, I would expect the line of best fit to flatten off (the gradient not as great as before) and not to continue rising at the same gradient.
Preliminary results
Observation
We used a running space of 7.12m.
Anaylisis
We can tell from the 2nd graph where the results have been compiled and averaged that with exercise my heart rate increases. This happens because my muscles need energy to run, so need more oxygen quickly to use in aerobic respiration.
Oxygen + Glucose ENERGY + carbon dioxide + water
(pumped (the sugars in (required to (waste products)
from your food) do running)
Heart to
Muscles)
If we do enough exercise or we are not fit enough, we might start producing energy from anaerobic respiration, which gives us cramp (lactic acid.)This can happen if the heart is beating its fasted and can not get enough oxygen quick enough to the muscles. We would also have to stop if we had no more glucose to burn to create energy.
Nearer the end of the graph the heart rate from the previous time to 30 seconds after is not as great as before.The curve would come to a flat line when the heart cannot beat any faster.
Evaluation
I think my results are quite reliable they seem to average out as pedicted, and on each test they were very simillar numbers.
I think we could improve this experiment by using computerised stop watches so there is no human reaction delay. We could use a pulse monitor so if the pulse went really high (to fast for us to count) then the pulse monitor still would. It would also help if electronic strips for lines to run too so we can make certain the person has crossed each line. Instead of that we could use a tread mill where we could control distance, pace and the amount of effort put in.
I think the test should have taken place on the same day not over a period of 3 days. This makes the second readings not compatible with the first, as the person could have been fitter or not felt as energetic, or tired in the morning but very awake and having just had dinner giving them more glucose.
We could extend this experiment by doing longer periods of running (5, 10 minutes). Or concentrating on smaller times , under 30 seconds so we can see where the highest increase of heart rate is, this may not be possible though as it would be inacurate with only very small times.
