Louise Harris

IB Biology 2
4/27/17
3rd Period

Observing Ventilation in Participants Before and After  
Different Types of Exercise 
Introduction:
Ventilation is the process by which carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen in the lungs. This is
an intricate process that involves many parts and muscles to keep it going. Air is required for this process
to begin. A human will inhale and exhale, yet in those two actions there is so much work required. The
first part of ventilation is when the diaphragm contracts at the same time as the external intercostal
muscles. This raises the ribs to allow for a negative pressure inside the body so the air flows right into the
body through the mouth and down the trachea and into the lungs. Once the air has reached the lungs, it
travels through the trachea and to the left and right primary bronchi. The air then goes into the smaller
bronchioles and finally into the alveoli. The alveoli are made of tiny air sacs that are one cell layer thick
and are surrounded by capillary beds. These capillary beds contain blood from the pulmonary artery that
has a low oxygen concentration and that diffuses carbon dioxide out of cell layers from alveoli will
diffusing oxygen into the alveoli. This process is able to be carried out because the alveoli are only one
cell layer thick, so the gases do not have to diffuse across a thick membrane that might slow down the
exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the lungs. In addition to the thin walls, the alveoli have a moist
inner lining that allows for the gases to be diffused even quicker. Once the exchange had occurred, the
human will exhale by their diaphragm
relaxing and causing the rib cage to rise.
This process occurs from the time one is
born to the time that one passes away, and
this gas exchange is vital for human life.
The oxygen that is inhaled and exchanged
in the alveoli is passed through the
bloodstream and used by muscles to make
ATP in the process of cellular respiration.
Without ventilation, all human life would
cease to exist.
 Question:
Under which conditions will the respiratory rate and also the tidal volume of the students be the highest?

Null Hypothesis:
Respiratory rates measured after a short period of exercise will be the highest, while tidal volumes
measured after exercising for a short period of time will be the highest.

Alternative Hypothesis:
Respiratory rates measured without any exercise will be the highest, and tidal volumes measured after a
resting respiration rate will be the highest.

Variables:
Control: ​Respiration rate measured after resting
Independent Variable: ​Type of exercise done for a minute to increase respiration
Dependent Variable: ​Respiration rate increase as a result of exercise

Materials:
See attached

Method:
See attached

Raw Data:
Table 1: Raw Data measured by students under each test
Group Exercise type Resting Rate Resting After After Challenge
(Vent./min) Volume (L) Challenge Volume
Rate

Abby 1 Jumping Jacks 17 1.22 34 2.35

Abby 2 (Ally) Jumping Jacks 15 29

Abby 3 (Sydney) Jumping Jacks 18 32

Gerry (1) Jumping Jacks 18 17 /

Gerry (2) Jumping Jacks 15 17 /

Gerry (3) (Steph) Jumping Jacks 26 1 52 0.5

Gerry (4) (Izzy) Jumping Jacks 17 16 /

Devin 1 Jumping Jacks 23 29

Devin 2 Jumping Jacks 17 27

Devin 3 ( Falen) Jumping Jacks 16 22

Devin 4 Jumping Jacks. 14 1.25 26 1.65

mollie 1 Jumping Jacks 13 17

Mollie 2 Jumping Jacks 18 23

mollie 3 Jumping Jacks 13 17

mollie 4 Jumping Jacks 16 21

mollie 5 Jumping Jacks 26 29

mollie 6 Jumping Jacks 13 18

mollie 7 Jumping Jacks 15 0.05 19 0.042

Alexis 1 Jumping Jacks 20 0.31 29 0.49

Alexis 2 (Ginna) Jumping Jacks 23 27

Alexis 3 (Sydney) Jumping Jacks 24 30

danielle 1 jumping jacks 12 2 20 2.34

danielle 2 jumping jacks 14 17 2.12

danielle 3 jumping jacks 17 26 2.43

Bao 1 (Hallie) Jumping Jacks 18 27

Bao 2 (Lane) 9 0.7 23 1.99

Bao 3 Burpees 15 22

Bao 4 Burpees 9 15

Bao 5 Jumping Jacks 14 30

Cara 1 Jumping jacks 27 29

Cara 2 jogging 25 35

Cara 3 jogging 25 1.07 30 2.69

Cara 4 jumping jacks 27 31

Cara 5 jumping jacks 26 34

Cara 6 jumping jacks 24 28

Summer 1 Jumping-jacks 24 1.56 29 1.98

(1 min)

Summer 2 Jumping-jacks 25 28
(1 min)

Summer 3 Jumping-jacks 17 28
(1 min)

Summer 4 Jumping-jacks 24 33
(1 min)

Samir 1 jumping jacks 26 1.52 28 1.91

Samir 2(steph) jumping jacks 24 29

Samir 3 (jt) jumping jacks 20 26

Samir 4 jumping jacks 18 22

Samir 5 jogging 10 23

Samir 6 jogging 15 21

Hillary 1 (Emily) Squat Jumps 24 / 37 /

Hillary 2 (Adia) Jogged 26 / 35 /

Hillary 3 (Louise) Squat Jumps 25 / 40 /

Hillary 4 (Ellen) Speed Walked 21 / 18 /

Hillary 5 (Kenzie) Jogged 15 / 32 /

Hillary 6 (Hillary) Sprinted 9 0.8 32 2.1

Evelyn 1 (Lauren) Jumping jacks 20 39

Evelyn 2 (Gabby) Jumping jacks 19 54

Evelyn 3 (Nina) Jumping jacks 17 40

Evelyn 4 Jumping jacks 21 50

Evelyn 5 (Evelyn) Jumping jacks 17 29

Table 2: Tidal Volume Before and After Exercise

Resting Resting (con’t) After Challenge After Challenge (con’t)

1.22 1.25 2.35 0.5

1 .5 1.65 0.5

.31 2 .42 .49

.7 1.07 2.12 2.43

1.05 1/56 1.99 2.69

Processed Data:

Table 3: Averages
Resting Post Challenge Resting Tidal Volume Post Challenge Tidal
Breath/minute Breath/Minute Volume
19 28 1.1 1.8
Calculation:
Example: 1+2+3/3= 2

Table 4: Standard Deviation

Resting Post Challenge Resting Tidal Volume Post Challenge Tidal
Breath/minute Breath/Minute Volume

5.1 8.7 0.50 0.90

Calculation:
Example: √(2.0-2.4)​2​ + (2.0-2.4)​2​ + (2.0-1.5)​2​ + (2.0-2.0)​2​ + (2.0-1.8)​2​ / 4= 0.39

Table 5: Percent Change of Averages

Breathing Rates: Before and After Exercise Tidal Volume: Before and After Exercise

32% 39%
Calculation: [(final-initial)/initial] x 100
Example: [(34 - 17)/34] x 100= 50%

Conclusion:
The null hypothesis was proved to be true, as the respiration rate was lower when measured
before exercise, and higher when measured after. Additionally, the tidal volume experienced the same
trend which validated the second statement made by the null hypothesis. Some of the data could have
been skewed, especially in the tidal volume tests where many groups left the majority of their data slots
empty on classroom. However, when all of the data points were observed (as seen in figure 2), the tidal
volume was greater after exercise in every case. This is more likely not due to the effect of exercise on
the actual process of physiological respiration, but because after exercise people tend to take deeper
breaths as their bodies try to bring in more oxygen to go into cellular respiration to make up for the
adenosine triphosphate burned up during the exercise. When the students were “gasping” for more air,
they took deeper breaths. This caused their intercostal muscles to expand more and the diaphragm to
contract further down, expanding the rib cage and capacity of the lungs. When they exhaled into the tidal
volume test, this hyperextension of the lung volume was expelled outward and shown by having a higher
volume than when students simply exhaled during a resting respiration rate. The physiological respiration
rate, measured in the number of breaths taken per minute, was also higher after exercise. Because there
were so many values (56), figure 2 shows randomly selected values from Table 1. In every case except
for one, the respiration rate measured after exercise was higher. The trial in which the resting rate was 18
breaths per minute and the post-exercise rate was 17 breaths per minute most likely an outlier do to
human error such as miscounting of the breaths, or not enough energy exerted during the exercise period.
For the other trials, the respiration rate rose following exercise. This is because as the body exercises, it
uses up ATP. To replenish ATP for the body, more oxygen needs to be brought into the body to prevent
cellular respiration from transitioning solely into glycolysis, which would bring about muscle cramping.
More oxygen from physiological respiration is used in cellular respiration to take on loose ions and aid in
the process of making more ATP. To conclude, higher exertion on the body results in higher respiration
rates and tidal volume of the lungs.

Evaluations:
Tidal volume test often resulted in water overflowing from the beaker, preventing an accurate
measurement. Have a larger container than the beaker provided so once the student breathes into the
graduated cylinder, the water has somewhere else to go to. Not all of the students in each class did the
same amount of exercise, which could affect the variance between respiratory rates as some exercises had
larger populations. When doing the exercise tests, the same number of students should be doing each
exercise to ensure that the populations under which the test is occurring is as similar as possible. The
exercise was not sufficient in making the student breathe much quicker, although it did make a difference.
Because we were supposed to exercise for a certain time period, choose a more vigorous exercise, most
likely a cardio exercise, that will make the student more tired and result in them breathing more in order
to gain a more noticeable difference in respiration rates