Exercise and Cardiopulmonary Physiology Lab Report

The effect of exercise/physical activity on pulse, blood pressure, and respiration rate was tested on biology students. The results of the experiment showed that each of these parameters is affected after engaging in 2 minutes of physical activity. We found that average pulse, mean arterial pressure, and respiratory rate were all higher in males than in females. But, it was also found that women have a longer time to recovery for all these parameters. The reasons for higher pulse, MAP and blood pressure, and respiratory rate could be because on average men have an overall higher normal blood pressure than women. Also, I would assume that a reason women have a longer recovery time than men could be due to hormonal differences. Factors not recorded that could have affected outcomes of the experiment could be that the sample size and distribution, human error of calculation, and mechanical error.

Introduction:
There are multiple ways to measure cardiopulmonary function; pulse, blood pressure, and respiration rate. Factors like gravity, body position, age, and fitness can all have an effect on these factors. In this experiment, the time to recovery is the approximate amount of time it takes for the individuals blood pressure, pulse, and breaths per minute to return to the initial measurements that were taken at resting time. Because it is difficult to measure fluctuating blood pressure, the mean arterial pressure can be used to compensate for pressure changes during heartbeat (Harris-Haller 2005). The objective of this experiment was to determine whether or not exercise effects cardiopulmonary function and whether or not there were differences shown between the results of the male and female
subjects overall. H1 (o): Exercise had no effect on cardiopulmonary function

H2 (o): There was no difference in results between males and females

Materials and Methods:
Blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate were all measured during the experiment in two separate trials on the same female individual. These measurements were taken with the use of an automatic sphygmomanometer and the methods described on pages 238 and 239 of the Biology 112 7th edition lab manual. One individual’s resting blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate were taken while just sitting down. Then, the same individual exercised for 2 minutes straight by running in place. Her blood pressure and other measurements were taken right when she finished her workout, then every 30 seconds after until 120 seconds. This process was then repeated.The same individual was used in each trial, and the same exercise was performed in each trial for 2 minutes. In each trial resting then post-exercise measurements were taken and recorded. The necessary calculations for MAP and net changes were calculated using the equations given in the lab manual. The results of these measurements and calculations for the subject are displayed in Table 1 below. Measurements were taken at resting time and 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 seconds after exercise. The class’s results were then combined in one table separated by genders, and a single table of the female sample mean and the male sample mean were constructed. This table is displayed below as Table 2.

Results:
The respiratory rate, blood pressure, pulse, and MAP on average for males and females showed an increase after 2 minutes of exercise was performed. The MAP was calculated using the formula in the lab manual in Exercise 11. Males, on average, showed to have higher values than women in these categories, and females exhibited longer recovery time than men overall. These values can be seen in Table 2. Females showed an average pulse rate, MAP, and respiratory rate at time 0 as 92.3, 97.3, and 28.9, respectively, where as males showed values of 117.6, 103.4, and 29.6. Average female time to recovery was overall longer than male time to recovery. In both Table 1
and Table 2 it can be seen that after time 0, respiratory rate, blood pressure, pulse, and MAP generally decrease and approach resting values. Trial 1, though, shows some deviations from this “rule” most likely due to human error.

Discussion:
The objectives of this experiment were to determine whether or not exercise effects cardiopulmonary function and to determine whether or not there were differences shown between the results of the male and female subjects with respect to cardiopulmonary function. Two null hypotheses were formed in order to test the objectives: H1 (o): Exercise had no effect on cardiopulmonary function

H2 (o): There was no difference in results between males and females
We rejected H1 (o): Exercise, even for only 2 minutes, did indeed have significant effect on cardiopulmonary function. This conclusion can be supported by the experimental results of the individual as well as the results of the class. Exercise caused cardiopulmonary function to increase overall. Respiration rate, pulse rate, and mean arterial pressure all increased after 2 minutes of exercise was completed. Then during the 2 minutes following exercise, the cardiopulmonary function began to return to how it was at resting time. The reason for this increase due to exercise I assume to be because the heart is working to pump oxygenated blood to the muscles and parts of the body that are being utilized for the workout because those muscles are using up the oxygen more quickly than they would be during a resting state.

We also rejected H2 (o): There was significant difference between male and female cardiopulmonary function. Males had higher pulse rates, MAPs, and respiratory rates than females on average. One explanation of this could be that males have a higher normal blood pressure than females to begin with; males have a normal blood pressure of approximately 105-104 over 62-86 whereas females tend to have a normal blood pressure around 100-130 over 60-85. The higher blood pressure might also be explained by the fact that men, on average, are larger than women, so it takes more effort for the heart to pump blood to the body since it has more area to pump to. Another difference shown between genders was that female time to recovery took longer than males. Female time to recovery ranged between 120-153.1 seconds and male time to recovery ranged from 72.9-122.9 seconds. This is a significant difference. I believe this difference has something to do with hormonal differences in males and females. Males produce much more testosterone than females. Testosterone promotes protein synthesis which is critical for muscle repair and growth. Therefore, men (in general) can recover more quickly from tough workouts and tolerate harder training programs than women (Do Age and Gender Affect Recovery?).

In conclusion, exercise even for a short amount of time has a significant effect on cardiopulmonary function. Also, it can be concluded from the experiment that men show higher cardiopulmonary function measurements than women overall. Errors in this experiment could have been made when taking blood pressure with the sphygmomanometer, as technology can give slightly innaccurate readings, maybe due to low battery power. Another error is human error. When taking the readings maybe the individual was not sitting in the exact same position or maybe the individual did not work out equally as intense in both 2 minute trials. There were also a couple calculations that had to be made during the experiment where errors could have been made. There is always room for improvement when performing experiments and I believe that more time for the experiments and machines with new batteries could have contributed more accurate results. Despite these possible errors and room for improvement though, I believe that this experiment was successful because both hypotheses were clearly rejected with appropriate supporting evidence and multiple trends were seen in the data.