Effect of Exercise on Breathing Rate

METHOD:
- Measure the breathing rate and heart rate (pulse) of student 1 for 1 minute while they are at rest.
- Student 1 then exercises for 5 minutes either doing jumping jacks or running up and down a staircase or
running around the school field.
- Immediately after their breathing rate and pulse is taken for 1 minute
- After every 2 minutes, the breathing rate and pulse are taken for 1 minute until they return to the values
at rest or closest to.
- Results were tabulated and graphs drawn to show the impact of exercise on breathing rate and pulse.
RESULTS:
- A table showing raw data
- A graph showing how long it takes to recover from 5 minutes of exercise
- Observation
o Breathing rate and pulse increased as a result of exercising
o Different students had different recovery rates from exercise
DISCUSSION:
- Background information
o A definition of respiration.
o State that there are 2 types and when they occur in humans.
o State the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration
o An equation
o Describe the relationship between cellular respiration and breathing rate.
 All cells respire to produce the energy they need to carry out their functions.
 Cells get the oxygen they need for respiration as air in inhaled during breathing. It gets
transported in the blood via red blood cells to tissues. The faster our breathing rate, the more
oxygen gets absorbed into our blood to be transported to cells. Breathing rate increases when
there is an increased demand for oxygen by our cells to perform respiration to get energy.
o Explain what an oxygen debt is and how it is recovered
 Oxygen debt occurs when muscle cells are not getting enough oxygen to respire aerobically and
begin to respire anaerobically.
 Breathing rate increases to get more oxygen into blood to get to tissues and the heart rate also
increases to pump the blood with the oxygen faster to the tissues for recovery before damage
occurs as a result of the lactic acid build up
o Significance to fitness and recovery time
 The faster someone is able to recover from an oxygen debt the better because it means there is
less chance of damage to muscles as a result of a build up of lactic acid which is a product of
anaerobic respiration.
- Explanation for observation and graph
o Breathing rate and pulse decreased as oxygen debt is paid in muscles used in exercising
o The level of fitness by each student is what determines the recovery time (time taken to overcome
the oxygen debt in muscle cells)
LIMITATION:
- Levels of personal fitness
- Anything that is suitable for this experiment.
CONCLUSION:
- Breathing rate and heart rate increases with exercise as a result of a demand of oxygen to muscle cells.