Does the amount of exercise have an effect on the pulse rate?

Essay by john28High School, 10th gradeA-, November 2006

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Planning

The aim of this experiment is to see if the amount of exercise has an effect on the pulse rate. I predict that the more exercise that is carried out will increase the pulse rate. I think this because the increased amount of exercise you do and as the more and more the muscle cells become engaged in doing work, the demand for ATP (The energy used by the body is always in the form of ATP) increases. Which means the demand for oxygen and glucose increases, because you need oxygen and glucose for the body to successfully carry out the process of respiration. Respiration is the biochemical process that takes place in every cell to produce energy.

This is the respiration equation:

Oxygen + glucose Energy as ATP + carbon dioxide + water

The oxygen is transported from the lungs to the tissues through the circulation of the blood.

As a consequence, the oxygen transfer by diffusion is speeded up, which means that your heart is having to pump blood more quickly to these muscles increasing your pulse rate. These vital adjustments to the muscles' needs occur up to a limit that is twice as high in the athlete, as in the untrained individual.

For this experiment we will use various pieces of equipment, including:

* A stopwatch

* Suitable trainers

* A suitable set of steps

We will use a stopwatch to time how long we do the exercise for; we will use suitable trainers to ensure the experiment is safe, as with a suitable set of steps.

Method

Firstly, we will measure the person's pulse rate before the experiment so we know how much the pulse rate changes after exercise. Next, the same person will walk up and down the set of steps for one...