- Level: International Baccalaureate
- Subject: Biology
- Word count: 2553
To investigate how aerobic exercise affects the heart rate
Extracts from this document...
Introduction
Research Question To investigate how aerobic exercise affects the heart rate of a 16 year old male. The aerobic exercise I will be using to conduct this experiment is jumping jacks, commonly known as star jumps. It is a physical jumping exercise performed by jumping to a position where both legs are spaced out from each other while hands are placed over the head like the shape of a star, and then returning to the original position of both feet together with arms by the sides. DESIGN Variables Independent variable: Length of time to perform jumping jacks Dependent variable: Pulse rate - the time between heart beats (after every minute) Controlled variables: a) Physical status * Height * Age * Gender * Weight * Dietary intake before exercise * Fitness level * Body size b) Time taken for each jump (1 second) c) Pulse rate before exercise (90 beats per minute) d) Repetition (5 times for each value) e) Time of exercise (4 pm) f) Conditions in environment * Temperature in environment * Clothing and shoes Prediction Heart rate is the rate at which the heart beats per minute. Heart rate is measured by monitoring the pulse of a person. Every time the heart beats, it pumps a quantity of blood into our circulatory system. ...read more.
Middle
This rhythm influences body functions such as blood pressure, hormone levels, heart rate and body temperature which are all factors that play a role in determining when the most appropriate time for exercising is. My test subject has chosen 4 pm to be the most appropriate time for him to engage in physical activity. This will therefore allow the results to be at the highest quality as possible. Conditions in environment Temperature in environment4 Temperature in the environment can be kept constant by keeping the place where the activity is carried out the same, which is at room temperature (around 24�). This is because the body adapts differently to different temperatures and this could affect the heart rate of the subject. Clothing and shoes There will be no changes in clothing and shoes. They will be kept the same throughout the experiment. The test subject will wear a cotton t-shirt, sport shorts and trainers. This is because the weight and material of the clothes and shoes may affect the body temperature of the test subject. DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING Raw data table Length of time to perform jumping jacks (min) � 0.5s Pulse rate (bpm) � 1 bpm attempt 1 attempt 2 attempt 3 attempt 4 attempt 5 0 90 90 90 90 90 1 144 140 142 146 145 2 146 154 148 150 152 3 149 160 162 155 160 4 154 ...read more.
Conclusion
This may have affected the results, although not that significantly. Quality of data The data obtained from the experiment was sufficient and valid for analysis. Throughout the experiment, I did not encounter any significant anomalies. Hence, the quality of data can be considered to be pretty good. Precision and accuracy of data The data obtained is quite precise. The standard deviation suggests that the data is reasonably accurate as they are a less than 5. However, this does not necessarily mean that the data is exact as the experiment only measures five samples. Improving the investigation The experiment as a whole can be improved if more time is allocated for it. With ample time, the reliability of data can be improved as the experiment can be conducted several more times for each time value to improve its accuracy. Also, with more time, the results can be more precise as each the experiment can be conducted over a longer period of time, thus giving the test subject plenty of chance to rest, so will be more efficient. Also, the gap between the time taken after the experiment and before measuring the pulse rate can be reduced by making the test subject perform the exercise nearer to the table so as to eliminate the walking distance, therefore reducing the gap time. Apart from that, I think that the experiment went pretty smoothly. ...read more.
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