SBA #:

Date: January 31, 2020

Topic: Circulation in Humans

Aim: To investigate the immediate effect of exercise on the pulse rate of an individual

Materials/ Apparatus: Stop watch

Paper

Pen

Procedure/Method:

1. Three students were selected from the class as test subjects namely an athletic

student who trains vigorously daily, a student who engages in moderate levels

of exercise weekly and a non-athletic individual.

2. With the aid of a stopwatch, each student was allowed to sit quietly for two

minutes while breathing normally.

3. In the third minute, the students counted their own number of breaths while

another person recorded the students pulse rate by checking the pulse in the

students’ neck.

4. The students were then allowed to rest for the fourth minute then their pulse

rate and number of breaths were counted again in the fifth minute.

5. Each student then performed three minutes of vigorous exercise (jumping

jacks).
 6. The exercise was immediately followed by the counting of each student’s pulse

rate and breath while they sat.

7. The pulse rate and number of breaths were counted until each student started to

breathe normally and quietly.

8. The results were recorded in a table and a graph showing the number of breaths

and pulse rate in beats per minute against time was plotted.

Observations:

Table showing the results obtained before, during and after the exercise for the three

students in the experiment.

Time/ Athletic Student Student with moderate Non- athletic student

minutes exercise level

Breath Pulse Breath Pulse Breath Pulse

3 16 72 19 76 21 60

5 17 84 21 72 24 60

10 24 96 34 124 44 124

12 16 80 28 96 31 88

14 16 72 26 88 26 72

16 16 72 18 88 25 76

18 16 72 19 76 21 64

20 16 72 19 76 21 64
It was observed that after each student started the exercise they all started to breathe

heavier. The non-athletic student was breathing the heaviest then the moderate student

then the athletic one. It was also observed that after they stopped the exercise, the

athletic one took less time to return to normal breathing then the moderate student

then the non-athletic student.

Calculations:
Discussion:

The human circulatory system is made up of the heart and blood vessels.

Humans are active so they respire rapidly hence they need constant deliveries of

oxygen and the removal of carbon dioxide. The blood vessels include: the arteries

which carry oxygenated blood away from the heart except the pulmonary artery, the

veins which carry deoxygenated blood towards the heart except the pulmonary veins

and the capillaries which are small vessels found mainly in the organs. The human

heart is a bag of muscle called cardiac muscle that is filled with blood. Cardiac

muscles are myogenic as they relax and contract without receiving nerve impulses. A

cardiac cycle is the sequence of events that makes up one heartbeat. The heart beats

approximately 70 times a minute at rest.

The cardiac cycle is initiated by a small patch of muscle in the wall of the right

atrium called the sino-atrial node (SAN). It is also called the pacemaker as it sets the

rhythm for all the other cardiac muscle cells. The excitation waves from the SAN

spread across the atria but is delayed by the atrio-ventricular node (AVN) when it

reaches the ventricle. After that, it spreads to the Purkyne tissues where it further

spreads outwards through the ventricle walls which then causes the cardiac muscles to

contract from the bottom up, squeezing blood upwards into the arteries. The heart is

designed to respond to an increased volume of blood from the veins by pumping

faster.

The incoming blood stretches the walls of the heart and the muscles respond

by contracting harder thus increasing the stroke volume. In this experiment, the effect

of exercise on the pulse rate was investigated. Before the students started the exercise,
it was observed that their pulse and breathing rate was normal. During and after the

exercise, both the pulse rate and number of breaths increased. This happened because

during exercise more blood is returned to the heart. This is due to a drop in oxygen in

the blood within blood vessels of active muscles as it was used up for respiration. An

increase in the rate of blood returning to the heart will increase cardiac output. So the

pulse rate will increase.

In addition, carbon dioxide is produced after respiration and it is toxic to the

body so when it is increased in the blood, the heart will pump faster to allow it to

diffuse through the blood and into the alveoli. This will cause breathing to increase so

that the carbon dioxide can quickly leave and for oxygen to quickly take its place. The

athletic student is used to exercising often for a longer time so their pulse rate and

number of breaths was the lowest as seen in the graph because their heart is used to

that pressure. Their arteries and veins are thicker due to vigorous exercise daily so that

few minutes of exercise would not affect their pulse rate and number of breaths so

quickly hence their recovery rate did not take long.

The recovery rate is defined as the amount of time it takes for the human body

to repay an oxygen debt However, the non-athletic student’s pulse rate and number of

breaths was the highest because their heart is not used to pumping blood so fast for

such a long time compared to the athletic and moderate student. Their heart was under

the most pressure so their recovery rate took the longest. The moderate student did not

exercise as often as the athletic student but their pulse rate and number of breaths did

not go as high as the non-athletic student as seen in the graph. They are slightly used

to exercise so it was not as stressful as it was for non-athletic student but it was not as
low as the athletic student. The moderate student had lower number of breaths than

the non-athletic student but the non-athletic student had a lower pulse rate than the

moderate student. Nevertheless, the moderate student recovered before the non-

athletic student.

The heart and blood vessels make up the human circulatory system. They are

responsible for transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body. During exercise,

oxygen is used up for respiration and carbon dioxide is increased in the body. The

circulatory system is responsible for replacing the oxygen and getting rid of the

carbon dioxide quickly. Hence, the number of breaths and pulse rate is increased

during exercise but the rate is dependent on how active a person is.

Limitations:

1. Students stopped during the exercise so that affected their pulse rate and

number of breaths.

2. The stopwatch did not start and stop at the same time when the students started

and stopped the exercise.

Conclusion:

It can be concluded that exercising increases the pulse rate and the number of

breaths of an individual but the rate is higher for a non-athletic individual and lower

for an athletic individual.