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Data Analysis
Biology Heart Rate
Investigating the effect of exercise on heart rate

Elias Chaibi
Biology Copland Community College
10/21/2010

Elias Chaibi 11KG Heart Rate

Copland Community College

Biology
Data Analysis

Objective
To find out if the more someone exercises the higher his/her pulse rate would be.

Prediction
Logically, my hypothesis is that the more we exercise the more heartbeats will take place in
a minute. This is because the supply of oxygen to the muscles will decline which will raise
the pulse rate. A small amount of energy should be used up as the exercise takes place,
resulting in an additional increase. Aerobic respiration will take place.
Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy
C6 H12 O6 (aqueous) + 6O2 (gas) == 6CO2 (gas) + 6H2 O (liquid) + Energy
This outcomes with lactic acid being formed. To end with, the CO2 levels would also
increase which would also add to the pulse rate intensifying. I presume that there will be a
steady increase to start with, however as the body has to work harder I believe that the heart
beats will then increase at a faster rate.

Method
I.

Firstly I found my average resting pulse (bpm) by resting for 5 minutes. This was to
make sure that my pulse was at a steady normal rate.

II.

Secondly I jogged for 30 seconds then straight after I record my pulse on the table
below.

III.

Then I do it at the same work out time, 2 more times to give more accurate and
reliable results for one workout time. I then calculated the average. (Add the 3 results
the divide by 3.)

IV.

I do this 4 times. Each time adding on 30 seconds workout time.

V.

Then I recorded our data on a graph.

Equipment used
Calculator
Stopwatch

Elias Chaibi 11KG Heart Rate

Copland Community College

Biology
Data Analysis

Results

= Outlier

What effects does exercise have

on the heart?
Like all muscles, the heart becomes stronger as a result of exercise, so it can pump more
blood through the body with every beat and continue working at maximum level, if needed,
with less strain. The resting heart rate of those who exercise is also slower, because less
effort is needed to pump blood.
Inactivity is one of the four major risk factors for coronary artery disease, on part with
smoking, unhealthy cholesterol, and high blood pressure. However, exercise helps improve
heart health in people with many forms of heart disease and can even reverse some risk
factors, such as some of the effects of smoking.
A person who exercises often and vigorously has the lowest risk for heart disease, although
any amount of exercise is beneficial. Studies consistently find that light-to-moderate exercise
is even beneficial in people with existing heart disease. Note, however, that anyone with
heart disease or cardiac risk factors should definitely seek medical advice before beginning
a workout program.
{http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/whateffectsofexerciseonheartcirculation0000293.htm}

Elias Chaibi 11KG Heart Rate

Copland Community College

Biology
Data Analysis

Conclusion
The graph shows that as the length of exercise increases, the pulse rate rises. The
highest increase in the pulse rate occurs between 30 to 60 seconds. The pulse rate goes up
by an average of 114 beats per minute. When the body is exercising the muscles respire
to produce energy, so the muscles can contract. Oxygen is needed for this process; the
oxygen is carried in the haemoglobin of the red blood cell. The heart and lungs need to work
harder in order to get a greater amount of oxygen to the muscles for respiration. In
muscle cells digested food substances are oxidised to release energy. These oxidation
reactions are called cellular respiration.
The heart rate rises during exercise because you are using your muscles more than when
you are not doing anything. To work, muscles need oxygen, and they get oxygen from the
blood. When muscles need more oxygen, your pulse rate increases because the oxygen is
getting used faster, so your muscles need new oxygen faster.
This happens due to the body not being able to provide enough oxygen quickly for aerobic
respiration to take place. Anaerobic respiration produces energy much quicker than aerobic
respiration however it only produces 1/20th as much. Lactic acid is also produced and this
can build up in muscles causing pain and fatigue while creating an oxygen shortage known
as the oxygen debt in the muscles. This explains when athletes pant heavily after a
race/sport as they repay the oxygen debt by breathing deeply so they can take in more
oxygen.
Aerobic respiration is the process of producing energy using oxygen:
Glucose + Oxygen Carbon Dioxide + Water (+ energy)
C6H12O6 + 6O2

6CO2

+ 6H2O (+ energy)

However there is a process of producing energy without the inclusion of oxygen:

Glucose Lactic Acid (+ a bit of energy)
C6H12O6

+ 2C3H6O3 (+ some energy)

My graph proves that my predictions were correct in that as the length of exercise increases,
the more heartbeats will take place in a minute. The number of beats per minute rises
steadily because the amount of exercise is gradually increased. The heart reacts to this by
increasing the number of times per minute that it beats so that the muscles have enough
oxygen and glucose to work with the greater amount of exercise.

Elias Chaibi 11KG Heart Rate

Copland Community College

Biology
Data Analysis

Evaluation
I believe that I have a firm conclusion. I have decided this due to a number of factors. We
repeated our results three times in order to take an average which would produce more
reliable results. All our results were of a similar pattern. There were none that were
totally unexpected and completely went against my prediction.
Throughout the experiment I kept the following things the same to
ensure reliable results:

We kept the same person throughout the trials.

The trial was taken on the same day and not in intervals.
The pace of the exercise was kept reasonably constant.
Starting heart rate was always the resting heart rate.
The equipment used was kept the same.

We controlled all the above variables that could have affected our
results.
Our experiment was fairly accurate, we measured the carotid artery and although this is not
a direct measure of the heart, the ripple felt is directly proportional to the heart rate. So as a
result by measuring the pulse rate we were measuring the heart rate.
There were areas of my experiment that would question the reliability of my results. The
pace of the person carrying out the trial may have changed during the trial. Even though
another person was counting the beats the exerciser may have not kept in time with the
beats. A way to make sure the person would be kept at the same pace throughout the
trial would be to carry out the test on a treadmill. The pace could be kept to within a decimal
place of the actual speed, greatly improving the accuracy of the results. When one trial was
over, and we would be lying down relaxing so that our heart rate would return to normal, we
did not account enough time for the lactic acid in our leg muscles to be carried away. We
would not be able to judge if all traces of lactic acid had indeed been carried from the legs.
This would affect the following trial because the lactic acid building up in the legs would
make them work slowly and eventually have a cramp in their leg. This would make the
person slower, reducing their actual heart rate, therefore affecting our results. There would
not be a certain way of assessing the amount of lactic acid in the leg muscles; the only way
to make the experiment more reliable would be to increase the amount of time in between
each trial. This would give the body a longer time to recover and to carry away the waste
products of anaerobic and aerobic respiration.
As the trial was being carried out the body temperature of the exerciser was rising.
The heat of the body would increase the heart rate which would adversely affect
our results, making them less accurate and reliable. We cannot control if the body
heats up during exercise, only to the extent of using a fan to cool the epidermis of the
5

Elias Chaibi 11KG Heart Rate

Copland Community College

Biology
Data Analysis

skin which would lower the temperature of the blood, thus reducing the body's core
temperature. This would then keep the heart rate at a more natural level during exercise.

After the trial had been performed the exerciser would have taken their own pulse rate. This
was a very unreliable way of taking the pulse rate. They may have taken a while after the
trial to find their pulse, they may have counted incorrectly, due to systole and diastole they
may have ended up with half a beat when the 15 seconds was up or they may forget half
way through counting. The only way to accurately measuring the heart rate would be to use
a data logger; the data logger is a heart rate sensor which takes the heart rate directly
during exercise. This would produce far more accurate results because the heart rate could
be taken during exercise rather than after it.
Within our results we only found one result to be anomalous - the one circled red - I believe
we got this result as it probably was due to human error when reading or counting; which is
perfectly normal.
To improve upon this experiment, I would increase the amount of times it is repeated, to give
a wider range for the average to be taken from. I would also increase the range of the
results. I would make the experiment longer as I will enable us to see if the heart rate will
actually level out and at which point. I would also increase the results in between the current
ranges, e.g. have a range going up in intervals of ten seconds instead of an interval of thirty
seconds.
Further experiments I could carry out within my aim could involve exercising different muscle
groups of the body. This could show which muscles need the most amount of blood supply. I
could also try different intensities of the exercise being carried out.