SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Extended Experimental Investigation (EEI)
Research question
How does changing the drag on a rowing machine effect the heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate.
Introduction – theory review
The body has unique ways of handling and responding to stress and exhaust to muscles and the functions of the body after or during a intense workout. After an exercise the body needs rest, not the type of rest where nothing is done but the stretching, warming down type of rest(Fitday, 2016). If this rest warm down is not done the body will suffer from stiffness and muscle aches and stress or maybe even muscle tears. If the body’s muscles were like a rubber band, and if the band was just sitting on a table doing nothing, the next time it is stretched it will snap. If the band is frequently used the band becomes and maintains flexible(All Fara, 2016).
Increasing the heart rate through an aerobic exercise such as being on a stationary bicycle is a good exercise when the heart rate stays between 50-80% of your maximum heart rate which is 220 minus someone’s current age (William McCoy, 2016). For example a typical year 11 student at the age of 16 has a maximum heart rate of 204 therefore the target heart rate is 147 beats per minute. During physical exercise the requirements for O2 is greater than normal therefore having a greater demand on the respiratory and cardiovascular system effecting the rate at which someone breathes and how many beats per minute someone have on the rowing machine (Deborah Ann Burton, Keith Stokes, George M Hall, 2016). The pulmonary ventilation increases due to a growth in tidal volume and respiratory rate to obtain current oxygen demands. The average tidal volume for a 16 year old is 310 ml of breath, 5580ml of lung capacity and 4460 vital capacity(Lifescitrc, 2016).
Consisting of the diaphragm, lungs and nasal cavity, the respiratory system is responsible for transporting carbon dioxide and oxygen to and from muscles and tissues. During exercise, the respiratory system increases to meet the demands of the working muscles(Jeremy Hoefs, 2015).
In this experiment’ How does changing the drag on a rowing machine effect the heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate’ the information hoped to be learned is to find out what happens to the body’s blood pressure, breathing rate and heart rate. More specifically what does your body do scientifically to counter signs of stress and exhaust from a heavy exercise such as rowing from 30 seconds at the full capability of the volunteers body. This research is important because it will contribute and help to find a deeper understanding about the bodies capabilities in stress and exhaust.
All the energy produced is created by ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate Molecule) , and is often referred to the energy currency(What is ATP, 2016). ATP powers transportation of substrates, muscle retractions and a lot of other abilities that require energy. All cells have a storage for fully charged ATP in their cytoplasm. ATP consists of adenosine and three inorganic phosphate (Pi) groups bonded together in order. All phosphate bonds store the cell’s energy that they can use. The bond between the second and third phosphate groups hold the most available energy. When any enzyme breaks off the third (Pi) group from the second (Pi) group the energy is released so the cell can use it. After this procedure the ATP become an energy deficient adenosine diphosphate (ADP) (What is ATP, 2016). This is only when there is only two phosphate groups in bond and sequenced rather instead of three. In order to reattach the third phosphate group again back onto the second phosphate group a source of fuel containing a high amount of energy is needed. This fuel comes from foods we eat.
An independent variable is a variable that stands alone and isn’t changed by any other variables that are being measured. For example, the amount of pain killers given to a patient is the independent variable. Other factors (such as what effect is has on them) aren’t going to change a person’s age(Graphing tutorial, 2016). When scientists look for some link between variables they are trying to see if the independent variable causes a kind of change in the other variables such as a dependent variable. Similar to an independent variable, a dependent variable is something that depends on other factors. For example, the mark you get on a exam is the dependent variable because it can change depending on lots of factors such as how much you studied and how much sleep you got the night before you took the exam. Usually when you are looking for a link between two things you are trying to find out what makes the dependent variable change the way it does. The independent variables in this experiment were the rowing machine, volunteer, measuring equipment and gender of volunteer. These were all independent variables because none of these can be changed in the experiment and would only change the dependant variable. The dependent variables in this experiment are the blood pressure, heart rate and the breathing rate. These are dependant variables because they are changed depending on the independent variables. These variable change every test and are measured. In the graph below(Anne Marie Helmenstine, 2016) it shows that the independent variable is time (x axis). The dependant variable is speed (y axis). Therefore depending on the amount of time driven determines the speed at which the car is driving at.
Aim
To investigate the effects on heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate whilst riding a gym bicycle for 3 minutes and adjusting the resistance.
Hypothesis
If the drag on the rowing machine is increased the heart rate and breathing rate will be greater because of the intensity and adjustment made.
Justification
If the drag on the gym bike is set to a higher resistance the heart rate and breathing rate will be higher because of the greater amount of oxygen the lungs must transport to blood vessels. When amount of stress put on the lungs to pump oxygen faster the heart pumps faster too therefore increasing the heart rate(Jeremy Hoefs, 2015).
Experimental design
Variables
Independent Variables
Dependant Variables
- Blood pressure
- Breathing rate
- Heart rate
Control Variables
- Volunteer
- Rowing machine
- Measuring equipment
- Gender
Uncontrolled Variables
- Time of day
- What each volunteer drank/ate before
- What time they woke up
- Room temperature
Reliability
There were 3 tests of 80, 120, 160 drag with 6 tests on each setting. The breathing rate was measured by how many times the volunteer breathed in 15 seconds then multiplied by 4, however this was not very reliable because over the 60 second period the breathing rate could of gone down to average. Your body has a natural cooling system that delivers more blood to circulate when exercise and increased air temperature take their toll. However, this leaves less blood circulation for your muscles, causing your heart to work harder and beat faster. Humidity also plays a roll, as it prevents sweat from evaporating from the skin, causing body temperature to rise even more(Angela Melero, 2014). The amount of time after the exercise could impact on the rest rate therefore changing the heart rate and breathing rate. The rules on testing could have been stricter to tell the volunteers to not eat breakfast and only water to improve data reliability. The amount of time given was not sufficient to complete all tests with high quality, meaning that the rest period was not very long and averaging around 2-3 minutes and depending on the person rest periods vary.
Materials
- 1 Rowing machine (Concept 2)
- 1 Blood pressure/heart rate device(Wellcare)
- 3 Volunteers
- 1 Results book/laptop
Method
- Get a volunteer to sit on the rowing machine
- Start the timer for 3 minutes on rowing machine
- Start rowing (if volunteer shows signs of extreme/abnormal fatigue or pain, stop immediately)
- Use blood pressure/heart rate device straight after exercise
- Record results of Breaths per 15 sec then x4 and blood pressure and heart rate
- Repeat but with another volunteer to give them a break and full recovery
- Repeat this 6 times for each person then move it up 40 drag and restart
If a volunteer is having trouble breathing, report this to the supervisor immediately. If any muscle pain or dangerous effects take place stop straight away to avoid any further damage.
Results
Data
Summary
On observation the results indicated that Nick had the lowest breathing rate and Frank had the highest breathing rate on average. An interesting find is that the lowest drag did not have the lowest breathing rate. All the graphs a similar with a small difference of 5 or less on breathing rate. The diastolic blood pressure box and whisker plots show that the mean of blood pressure over all drags stays fairly close together.
Discussion
The hypothesis was not supported by the results because the breathing rate was not greater when the drag was greater as shown on the average on 80 and 120 drag. The independent and dependent variables had a pattern of the higher the drag the higher the breathing rate and heart rate was. However this was disturbed in one set of data, the average of 80 drag tables breathing rate is higher than the average of 120 drag table. The ideal heart rate whilst exercising for a 16 year old is 147 beats a minute as stated in the introduction. However all averages of 80, 120 and 140 drag show that they are all under 147 therefore not reaching the target heart rate. The data collected was clear and concise that the results did not match my hypothesis. There was a disturbance in the pattern of ‘the greater the drag, the greater the breathing rate and heart rate’. This data is important because it shows clear patterns of different volunteers having different types of trends with their berthing rate depending on their fitness level. Overall the experiment was a success because the data gathered was accurate and helpful to study the behaviour of the circulatory system and respiratory system after exercise. The source of an error came from the breathing rate, which was not measured by a machine but by a person therefore not being accurate. The data may not be reliable because in the 15 seconds of resting and counting the amount of breathes, the volunteer has a chance to rest whilst counting therefore allowing room for errors to occur. The breathing rate gets slower ever second therefore making it not reliable. The room temperature, time of day, amount of sleep and what each volunteer had for breakfast and dinner. Another fault could have occurred with the fitness level of each volunteer not being similar therefore impacting on heart rate and breathing rate etc. The heart rate devices were not top of the range because of the budget the school is on, but this will not have affected the data in a significant way. To improve these errors and faults in the experiment, there will have to be strict rules and eating regulations taken to ensure the best possible data will be produced and be reliable to use and analyse. The room temperature and time of day would have to be the same as well as choosing volunteers with a more similar fitness level.
Conclusion
The data collected was not quite as interpreted because my hypothesis did not match. However the rest of the data had no outliers or any abnormal results. The significance of these findings are that this data can be used to analyse the different trends of the body’s reaction to intense exercise.
References
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Melero, Angela. “How Does The Temperature Affect Cardio Workouts?”. LIVESTRONG.COM. N.p., 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
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