Heart Rate/Breathing Rate Experiment

Heart Rate Experiment

The purpose of this activity is to examine how different conditions affect your heart rate. What are the effects of ______on my heart rate?

In the procedure, you have several choices:

 Repeat the activity you performed for your breathing rate experiment, but this time, collect heart rate data. Use the same times as before, and remember to take your heart rate two times during the “recovery” period after your longest period of exercise, just as you did with your breathing rate experiment. Add your heart rate data to your earlier graph.

 Perform at least four new, different activities that you think will vary your heart rate. Each activity should last for at least one minute; the times should be consistent from activity to activity. These can include things like: o Various forms of exercise (running, walking, jumping, etc.) o Various forms of relaxation (lying flat, sitting, meditating, etc.) o Various forms of altered breathing (holding breath, slow-breathing, fast- breathing, etc.) o Include some activities that are certain to raise your heart rate to a high level, but don’t do anything more demanding than running for a few minutes. Everything should be SAFE. No one should pass out or even come close.

 Compare your heart rate after performing several aerobic activities and several anaerobic activities.

After each test, measure your heart rate by taking your pulse for fifteen seconds immediately after each activity and then multiplying by four.

Here are several things to consider:

1. Design an experiment that you can probably complete in a fifty-minute class period. 2. After each activity you undertake, allow your heart rate to return to your resting rate before proceeding further. 3. You need to provide any special materials you will need.

Keep in the back of your mind this conclusion question:

“Why does my heart rate respond the way it does in each of the situations I examined?” Set up your experiment so you will be able to answer that question and will see some interesting differences in your heart rate. 2

Heart Rate Experiment (draft)

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to

Hypothesis:

Predicted Heart Rate in Activity beats per Why? minute (bpm)

Materials:

Procedure: 3

Results: (you can use this space to record your results)

Activity Actual Heart Notes Rate in beats per minute (bpm)

Create a Google Chart from your data.

Copy and paste the completed chart on to your Google Document Lab report.

The chart must:

 Be the correct type of chart (a line chart if data is linked over time, a bar or column chart if data are separate events)  Have a title that reflects some SPECIFICS about your experiment (“Heart Rate Experiment” is an awful chart title!)  Have an accurate X-axis with data labels  Have an accurate Y-axis with data labels  Show units clearly on both axes  Have a legend that indicates what lines or bars refer to  Include text labels, if necessary, to explain data 4

Conclusion: Your conclusion should have three sections:

1. EXPLAINING: For each of the activities you undertook, provide a one or two sentence answer to this question: “Why did my heart rate respond the way it did in each of the situations I examined?” For example, if your heart rate went up after running, you can explain that since your energy output was higher, your muscles needed more ______and so your heart responded to that need by pumping blood more vigorously to those muscles. And how does your breathing respond in that situation?

If you have data that seem unusual, consider explaining any threats to validity that you encountered in your experiment.

2. EXPANDING: The point of doing vigorous exercise is, among other things, to strengthen your heart so that it’s in great shape. Exercise physiologists have determined a target heart rate that should be your goal while exercising. Exercising at your target heart rate at least three times a week for thirty minutes strengthens your heart and is a great prescription for heart health. To determine your target heart rate: a. Start with the number 220. b. Subtract your age. c. Now calculate 50% of that number - this is the low end of your target heart rate. d. Take 220, subtract your age and then calculate 75% of that number – this is the high end of your target heart rate. e. Your target heart rate is the range between the low end and high end numbers.

If you exercise at a heart rate below your t.h.r., there’s nothing wrong with that, but you’re not getting the best workout possible. If you exercise at a heart rate above your t.h.r, there’s nothing wrong with that either, but chances are you’ll get tired very quickly and stop the exercise (it’ll become anaerobic), thus not gaining the positive effects of a good thirty minute workout. So what is your target heart rate and what are some activities that you can do for thirty minutes at your target heart rate?

3. CONNECTING: Lance Armstrong (despite everything) and Michael Phelps are two of the world’s greatest endurance athletes. They have spent thousands of hours exercising at their target heart rates. Armstrong and Phelps are reported to have had resting heart rates in the 30’s or 40’s while at the height of their careers. Why were their resting heart rates so low? If you start or continue a strong exercise program from now until you are, say, 40, what will happen to your resting heart rate? Why does that happen and why is that a good thing?