Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water (+Energy)
The other type of respiration is anaerobic respiration. This is simply respiration without any oxygen available. There is not nearly as much energy produced as there is in aerobic respiration and it has the ability to produce great force quickly with a combination of speed and strength. Highly anaerobic activities use up energy so fast that they can be sustained for only 30 seconds or less. This is how sprinters, long jumpers and weight lifters use their energy, but if used by a marathon runner for instance, there would soon be an oxygen debt. Because of this oxygen debt, lactic acid builds up. Lactic acid is a mild poison, which makes muscles feel tired and causes muscle cramp. So, anaerobic respiration is best used for short, strenuous activities. The equation looks like this:
Glucose → Energy + Lactic Acid
Pulse rate is the number of times the heart beats per minute. It is caused by a stretching of the arteries that takes place after each heartbeat. Pulse rate is caused by the actual impact of blood on the arteries.
Method
In this experiment I am hoping to prove that when using anaerobic respiration it takes longer to return to your resting heart rate than it does when using aerobic respiration.
Apparatus I will need:
Appropriate clothing
Enough space to perform the activity
A stopwatch
What I am going to do:
Firstly, I will record my resting heart rate. In the practical activity I will jog around the playground using aerobic respiration for three minutes. Straight after doing this activity I will take my pulse every 30 seconds until it returns back to its resting pulse rate and record the results in a table.
Then I will do the exact same activity, except I will sprint for three minutes using anaerobic respiration.
“I have decided to perform these experiments because they will provide me with a sufficient range and number of results to establish whether my prediction is true, and to identify relevant trends and patterns.”
Safety:
I will warm up and cool down before and after the activity. I will make sure I am fit for the activities and wear correct clothing so that I don’t injure myself. If I am unfortunate enough to injure myself, I will have someone close by to help me.
Prediction:
“When using aerobic respiration, my pulse rate will return to its resting pulse rate quicker than when using anaerobic respiration.”
Results:
I have noticed that when I was using aerobic respiration it took 110 seconds to return to my resting pulse rate, whereas, when using anaerobic respiration it took 240 seconds. This is a 130 second difference.
Graph to show my results:
Conclusion:
I have proved my prediction, “When using aerobic respiration, my pulse rate will return to its resting pulse rate quicker than when using anaerobic respiration.”
The reason for this is that when I used anaerobic respiration, I had a greater oxygen debt than when using aerobic respiration. My heart had to pump harder for longer to get the correct amount of oxygen back to the muscles. When I was sprinting I felt more tired, and my legs began to ache. This aching was the lactic acid building up, but as soon as I had repaid my oxygen debt it felt better. I was breathing more heavily, this was so I could get oxygen into my blood more quickly.