Homeostasis exercise lab free essay sample

How does exercise affect a person’s heart rate, breathing rate, and perspiration level? Background Information: Homeostasis is the maintaining of a balanced condition in the body despite changing external conditions or demands on the body. The circulatory system works with the respiratory system in order to deliver nutrients to the body’s cells. The respiratory system is made of the mouth and nose, trachea, and lungs. The respiratory system brings oxygen into the lungs where it is delivered to the blood vessels. The lungs are where the circulatory system takes over. The circulatory system includes the heart, blood, and blood vessels. The blood vessels in the lungs, called capillaries, take oxygen from the lungs and deliver it to the organs, muscles, brain and other tissues of the body. When oxygen arrives where it is needed, it will leave the blood by diffusion. Along the way, blood picks up a waste called carbon dioxide which enters the blood by the process of diffusion. When the blood makes it back to the lungs, carbon dioxide leaves the blood and enters the lungs where it is then breathed out. In addition to carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide, the blood carries other nutrients and wastes from the food that we eat. These nutrients are carried from the stomach (where they are from the food we eat) to cells where they are needed. Like carbon dioxide is taken to the lungs, other wastes are picked up from the cells and delivered to the kidneys where they will be added to urine to be excreted by urination. The body has many systems that work together to keep it in homeostasis – balance. When two systems work together, we call it complementary. Just like a student might get a complimentary drink to go with their popcorn at the movies, two complimentary systems in the body also go â€Å"with† each other. The circulatory and respiratory systems are just two of these complimentary systems. We will learn about other complimentary systems as we continue to learn about homeostasis in the human body. Hypothesis: With your group, develop an â€Å"if†¦then†¦because† hypothesis for this lab activity. Safety Precautions: After reading this activity, write at least 3 safety precautions that would be appropriate for this lab. Materials: You, plus two other group member (groups of 3, no more, no less, unless approved by me) A clock or stopwatch Procedure: 1. Choose one volunteer to complete jumping jacks at a pace that can be maintained for eight minutes (just choose right now; don’t actually do the activity yet). Make sure the volunteer is inactive for a few minutes before the experiment begins. 2. Measure the heart rate by taking his or her pulse; you can do this one of two ways. (1)Radial Pulse: This is probably what were most familiar with when visiting the doctors office. Take two fingers, preferably the 2nd and 3rd finger, and place them in the groove in the wrist that lies beneath the thumb. Move your fingers back and forth gently until you can feel a slight pulsation ? this is the pulse of the radial artery which delivers blood to the hand. Dont press too hard, or else youll just feel the blood flowing through your fingers! (2)Carotid Pulse: The carotid arteries supply blood to the head and neck. You can feel the pulse of the common carotid artery by taking the same two fingers and running them alongside the outer edge of your trachea (windpipe). This pulse may be easier to find than the radial artery. Since the carotid arteries supply a lot of the blood to the brain, its important not to press on both of them at the same time! Count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Your partner will use the clock or stopwatch to tell you when to start and when to stop. 3. Multiply the number of beats in 15 seconds by 4 to calculate the beats per minute. Record the data in the Table 1 under the 0 minutes box. # of beats X 4 = beats per minute 4. Measure the persons breathing rate by counting the number of breaths taken in 15 seconds. The multiply this number by 4 to calculate breaths per minute. Add this information to the table. # of breaths X 4 = breaths per minute 5. Rate the persons perspiration level from 1 to 5 (1 = none; 5 = droplets dripping down the face). Note this observation in the table. 6. Have the volunteer do jumping jacks for 2 minutes. Caution: If the person exercising feels discomfort at any time, stop the experiment and inform your teacher. After 2 minutes, measure heart rate, breathing rate, and perspiration level (refer to Steps 2 through 5), and record the data. Measure the pulse, breathing and perspiration levels as quickly as you can so that the volunteer can resume exercise. Do not have volunteer wait while you do the calculations and enter the data. 7. Repeat Step 6 three more times and record your data at each point. 8. After the final recording of the dependent variables, wait 1 minute and 30 seconds with the volunteer at rest. Then measure all of the variables again. Record this data under the â€Å"9. 5 Time (min. ) box†. Data: Analysis and Conclusions: 1. What is the independent variable in this experiment? 2. Graph the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. You may choose one graph to display all of your data, or you may use separate graphs for each of the dependent variables. 2b. Explain your graph choice (Why did you choose this graph to show your data? ). 3. What are the effects of exercise over time on the circulatory and respiratory systems? On perspiration level? 4. What other processes could you have measured to determine the external and internal effects of exercise on the body? 5. How is perspiration level related to body temperature? How is perspiration related to homeostasis?