Running head: FINAL INQUIRY
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Final Inquiry
Kalene Winn
Ivy Tech Community College
FINAL INQUIRY
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MATERIALS:

Writing utensil/paper to record data

Stopwatch

Group members

3 stories of stairs, which is equivalent to 6 flights (each flight ranging from 10-12 steps)

Means to gather a heart rate

Means of listening to the selected songs: “Master of Puppets” by Metallica, “Only Time”
by Enya, and “Dies Irae”, a Gregorian chant

Headphones

Scale
INQUIRY ROUND 1
QUESTION: What will happen to your heart rate walking up stairs versus walking down stairs?
CLAIM: Walking up the stairs will raise your heart rate more than walking down the stairs.
PROCEDURE:
1. Establish weight and height of each participating individual.
2. Locate nearest stairwell where there are at least 6 flights of stairs; each flight containing
between 10-12 steps.
3. When all group members arrive at the stairwell, have a seat for five minutes.
4. After five minutes of sitting gather each group member’s resting heart rate.
5. Document resting heart rates.
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6. Starting at the top step of the highest flight of stairs, the first group member should begin
descending and stop at the bottom of the sixth flight.
7. Group member will record his own heart rate after decent.
8. Document results.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 for the remaining group members.
10. Have each group member reestablish his resting heart rate (doesn’t have to be exact; the
new resting heart rate may be within 3 beats per minute above/below each group
member’s original resting heart rate).
11. Have one group member begin ascending the stairs and stop at the top of the sixth flight.
12. Group member will record his own heart rate after ascent.
13. Document results.
14. Repeat steps 11-13.
15. Repeat the entire procedure two more times for each group member, to gather an
average ending heart rate.
16. Document average heart rates for each group member.
EVIDENCE:
*Key: BPM=beats per minute, HR=heart rate
Going Upstairs
Subject
Kalene
Bre
Jennifer
Height
5’6 ¼“
5’6”
5’3”
Weight
130 lbs.
132 lbs.
241 lbs.
Resting HR
71 BPM
74.6 BPM
86.7 BPM
FINAL INQUIRY
Ending HR
4
Trial 1: 120 BPM
Trial 1: 90 BPM
Trial 1: 120 BPM
Trial 2: 127 BPM
Trial 2: 93 BPM
Trial 2: 143 BPM
Trial 3: 132 BPM
Trial 3: 103 BPM
Trial 3: 140 BPM
Going Downstairs
Subject
Kalene
Bre
Jennifer
Height
5’6 ¼“
5’6”
5’3”
Weight
130 lbs.
132 lbs.
241 lbs.
Resting HR
71 BPM
74.6 BPM
86.7 BPM
Ending HR
Trial 1: 71 BPM
Trial 1: 81 BPM
Trial 1: 106 BPM
Trial 2: 73 BPM
Trial 2: 75 BPM
Trial 2: 105 BPM
Trial 3: 72 BPM
Trial 3: 77 BPM
Trial 3: 114 BPM
OBSERVATIONS: Weight seems to be directly correlated to resting heart rate and active heart
rate.
CONCLUSION: A person’s heart rate raises more walking up stairs rather than walking
downstairs. Our claim was supported.
RESEARCH:
The concepts being focused on in this round of inquiry are what a healthy/typical heart
rate is, how stress can affect the heart either positively or negatively, how blood pressure may
play into heart rate, how weight and height affect heart rate, and what may stimulate the heart.
FINAL INQUIRY
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Keeping track of your own heart rate, also known as your pulse, is a great way to gauge
your heart health. It can be an efficient way of catching a developing heart issue. An average
resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute (BPM). However, a very fit individual
can have a resting heart rate as low as 40 BPM, which is not a bad thing. All that this means is
that the person’s heart muscle is in better condition and doesn’t have to do as much work to keep
up a steady beat. A person who works out occasionally is not going to see much of a change in
resting heart rate. This person will still remain within the 60-100 BPM range because his heart
muscle has to work harder to maintain bodily functions. The most efficient way to gather a heart
rate is by putting your finger over your pulse and counting the beats for 60 seconds. The easiest
places to find your pulse are in the wrists, inside of your elbow, on the side of your neck, and on
top of your foot (“All about Heart Rate”, April 2014, American Heart Association).
Some things that affect heart rate are air temperature, body position, body size, emotions,
and medication use. When temperature and/or humidity increases, your heart pumps a little
more blood which will cause about a 5-10 BPM increase in heart rate. Whether you are sitting,
standing, or laying down your resting heart rate will be relatively the same. Sometimes standing
will cause your heart rate to increase by a small amount, but after standing still for a couple
minutes it will lower to its usual resting heart rate (RHR). Body size is usually not a factor in
heart rate. If an individual is more obese, his heart rate may be higher than an individual who is
of smaller proportions. However, even an obese individual should have a resting heart rate
below 100 BPM. Height is not known to cause any changes in heart rate. There are medications
that block adrenaline, called beta blockers, which will slow one’s pulse. Conversely, thyroid
medication in a high dosage can cause heart rate to increase substantially. When an individual is
stressed, anxious, or extremely happy/sad, his heart rate will most likely experience an increase.
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Even something as small as a fear of tripping can be stressful, and cause a small rise is heart rate
(“All about Heart Rate”, April 2014, American Heart Association).
Contrary to much talk about blood pressure and heart rate being interrelated, these two
things are not directly related to one another. Rather, the same condition such as frequency of
exercise can affect both heart rate and blood pressure. Heart rate is the number of times your
heart beats per minute (BPM), while blood pressure is the push of blood against the walls of your
arteries. Measuring heart rate is not an indicator of a high or low blood pressure. Also, a rising
heart rate does not indicate the same rate of raising blood pressure. As heart rate rises and the
heart muscle is beating more beats per minute, healthy blood vessels will expand to allow the
blood flow to move along easier. When exercising, one’s heart rate will speed up to allow blood
to reach your muscles. Even as one’s heart rate may double while exercising, which is not bad,
his blood pressure may remain the same, or only increase by a small amount. Taking your pulse
throughout exercise will measure your cardiovascular activity and oxygen consumption, but will
not act as a substitute for getting an accurate blood pressure (“Blood Pressure vs. Heart Rate”,
August 2012, American Heart Society).
Heart rate increases after food consumption to help your body with digestion. A larger
amount of blood is directed towards the gastrointestinal tract to process the food that was
ingested. One’s heart rate will be further increased when eating a large meal versus a small
meal, and will take a longer time to return to resting heart rate. Just by eating alone an
individual’s heart rate can increase to over 100 beats per minute. Caffeine also increases heart
rate because it is a stimulant, which influences the nervous system to raise heart rate. Caffeine
copies the effects of adrenaline, which is a natural hormone in the body that raises heart rate
(“Blood Pressure vs. Heart Rate”, August 2012, American Heart Society).
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Exercise can cause one’s heart rate to double or triple; it all depends on the intensity and
duration of the exercise. Exercising on a consistent basis will help to lower one’s heart rate,
which is healthier for that person and lowers the chance of heart complications. Drinking water
before and after exercising is important because it prevents dehydration. When dehydration
occurs, it causes the heart rate to increase and also induces more stress on the heart which is
unhealthy for a heart (“Blood Pressure vs. Heart Rate”, August 2012, American Heart Society).
Aging does not cause your resting heart rate to change significantly; however, as you get
older your maximum heart rate does decrease due to telomere shortening and associated
deconditioning. By subtracting your age from 220, you can determine your maximum heart rate.
This works for both resting heart rate and heart rate after exercise or other physical activity
(“Blood Pressure vs. Heart Rate”, August 2012, American Heart Society).
Women typically have a higher heart rate than men all the time. The reasoning behind
this is that women are usually built smaller than men and have a faster heart rate to facilitate
metabolism. Size difference refers to the fact that women are constructed to naturally have less
muscle mass than men. Muscle is in charge of much of the body’s metabolism, so higher heart
rates are natural boosters to heighten the metabolic rate (“What Factors can Influence Heart
Rate”, September 2013, Livestrong).
INQUIRY ROUND 2
QUESTION: What effect does listening to different genres of music have on your heart rate,
walking up stairs?
CLAIM: The Metallica song will cause heart rates to be the highest in comparison to the other
two selected songs. (Song 1= “Only Time” by Enya, Song 2= “Dies Irae” a Gregorian chant,
Song 3= “Master of Puppets” by Metallica)
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PROCEDURE:
1. Establish weight and height of each participating individual.
2. Locate nearest stairwell where there are at least 6 flights of stairs; each flight containing
between 10-12 steps.
3. For this round each group member begins at the bottom of six flights of stairs.
4. When all group members arrive at the stairwell, have a seat for five minutes.
5. After five minutes of sitting gather each group member’s resting heart rate.
6. Document resting heart rates.
7. One group member should put on headphones and set the volume level at 50% on
whichever device the group chose to listen to the selected songs.
8. Group member should select and begin playing Song 1.
9. Group member should begin ascending and stop at the top of the sixth flight.
10. Group member will record his own heart rate after ascent.
11. Document results.
12. After the first group member records his own heart rate he should return the headphones
and listening device to the bottom of the six flights of stairs for the next group member to
use.
13. Repeat steps 7-12 for the remaining group members.
14. Have each group member reestablish his resting heart rate (doesn’t have to be exact; the
new resting heart rate may be within 3 beats per minute above/below each group
member’s original resting heart rate).
15. Each group member should repeat steps 7-12 for Song 2.
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16. Have each group member reestablish his resting heart rate (doesn’t have to be exact; the
new resting heart rate may be within 3 beats per minute above/below each group
member’s original resting heart rate).
17. Each group member should repeat steps 7-12 for Song 3.
18. Document average heart rates for each group member, for each song.
EVIDENCE:
Going Upstairs Listening to Music
Subject
Kalene
Bre
Jennifer
Height
5’6 ¼”
5’6”
5’3”
Weight
130 lbs.
132 lbs.
241 lbs.
Resting HR
79.3 BPM
73BPM
80 BPM
Trial 1 Ending HR
132 BPM
106 BPM
134 BPM
137 BPM
100 BPM
137 BPM
129 BPM
108 BPM
140 BPM
(Enya)
Trial 2 Ending HR
(Greg. chant)
Trial 3 Ending HR
(Metallica)
COMPARITIVE TABLE EXHIBITING HEART RATE WITH AND WITHOUT MUSIC
WALKING UPSTAIRS
Key: >= higher than, <= lower than, RHR= Resting Heart Rate
FINAL INQUIRY
Subject
Kalene
Bre
Jennifer
No Music/BPM
55.3> RHR
20.7 > RHR
47.6 > RHR
10
Artist
Music/BPM
Difference/BPM
Enya
52.7 > RHR
-2.6
Greg. Chant
57.7> RHR
+2.4
Metalllica
49.7
-5.6
Enya
33> RHR
+12.3
Greg. Chant
27> RHR
+6.3
Metallica
35> RHR
+14.3
Enya
54> RHR
+6.4
Greg. Chant
57> RHR
+9.4
Metallica
60> RHR
+12.4
Averages:
Enya
+16.1 BPM
Greg. Chant
+18.1 BPM
Metallica
+21.1 BPM
OBSERVATIONS: Although we thought the results would be the same for each of us
individually, our results did not all match up. Bre and Jennifer’s heart rate increased and
decreased where we predicted that it would, but mine was very inconsistent with the rest of the
results.
CONCLUSION: Our claim was supported.
RESEARCH:
FINAL INQUIRY
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The concepts being focused on in this round of inquiry are the tempo of music affecting
one’s heart rate, how genres of music tend to make one feel, and how does stress or relief from
music affect one’s heart rate.
Music is known to affect the body; this can be both positively or negatively. There are
times when you are listening to music very loudly and you can actually feel a beating in your
chest. This means that your body is becoming restless or anxious. This is one reason why there
are warnings on most listening devices telling you to be aware of the effects of listening to music
at high volumes. Louder and faster music causes a high level of stress and anxiety, whether we
are aware of it or not. Slower music with a slower tempo cause the heart rate to actually slow
down. The effects of music on the heart are based on brain function (Pandit, 2013). Sound
waves are first received from the middle ear which causes the eardrums to vibrate. The brain
turns this into electrical energy which is deciphered by the cerebral cortex (the part of the brain
that does the thinking). After that this energy travels to the part of the brain which controls
arousal, anxiety, creativity, stress, and so on. Finally it travels to the hypothalamus which
controls heart rate, along with body temperature, respiration, and blood pressure (Holt, 2013).
Studies published in “Heart” magazine show that listening to fast, upbeat music raises
heart rate and respiration. In one particular study 24 healthy men and women were used, half
having a musical background and the other half having no musical background. The individuals
with the musical background were more affected by listening to music, because of their
developed ability to synchronize their breathing with musical instruments. The individuals with
no musical background breathed slower and had higher resting heart rates than the musicians
(Holt, 2013).
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Dr. Claudius Conrad is a young surgical resident at Harvard Medical School who also
holds a degree in music. She conducted a study on music being a healing process for ill patients
in the ICU. After being removed from sedation, the patients would receive one hour of Mozart
piano sonatas. Before and after this experiment the leading individuals measured the patients’
stress hormones, cytokines, heart rate, and blood pressure. It turns out that music decreased the
patients’ need for sedative drugs. The reduction in stress hormone levels was associated with a
great decrease in heart rate and blood pressure (Holt, 2013).
Different types of music have different intentions about your emotions. Slower music
tempo is meant to be relaxing and soothing. It can be very calming for an individual, and relieve
stress and tension that are built up. Our song “Who Can Say” by Enya was considered to be
under the pop genre, but it was a very slow, relaxing song. Initially, we had predicted that
slower songs would decrease our heart rate or keep it the same, while a faster tempo song would
raise our heart rates. Conversely, all of our lowest heart rates occurred in different songs. The
only results that matched with our claim were Jennifer’s results. As the music tempo increased,
her heart rate increased. This was not true for me or Bre, however. Music with a faster, violent
tempo was predicted to significantly raise our heart rate. We used the song “Master of Puppets”
by Metallica, which is a very heavy metal song. This song raised both Bre and Jennifer’s heart
rates by a good amount, but my heart rate was the lowest when listening to this song. This
would make more sense if I listened to heavy metal music on a regular basis and didn’t mind the
sound of that type of music. However, I never listen to heavy metal music and I can honestly say
I did not enjoy that particular song.
INQUIRY ROUND 3
QUESTION: How will arm placement affect your heart rate walking up the stairs?
FINAL INQUIRY
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CLAIM: The higher our arms are elevated, the lower our heart rate will be (Position 1= fingers
laced behind head, Position 2= arms straight up, Position 3= arms straight out).
PROCEDURE:
1. Establish weight and height of each participating individual.
2. Locate nearest stairwell where there are at least 6 flights of stairs; each flight containing
between 10-12 steps.
3. For this round each group member begins at the bottom of six flights of stairs.
4. When all group members arrive at the stairwell, have a seat for five minutes.
5. After five minutes of sitting gather each group member’s resting heart rate.
6. Document resting heart rates.
7. One group member should stand at the bottom of the six flights of stairs and place his
hands in Position 1.
8. Group member should begin ascending and stop at the top of the sixth flight.
9. Group member will record his own heart rate after ascent.
10. Document results.
11. After the first group member records his own heart rate after ascent he should return to
the bottom of the sixth flight.
12. Repeat steps 7-11 for the remaining group members.
13. Have each group member reestablish his resting heart rate (doesn’t have to be exact; the
new resting heart rate may be within 3 beats per minute above/below each group
member’s original resting heart rate).
14. Each group member should repeat steps 7-11 for Position 2.
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15. Have each group member reestablish his resting heart rate (doesn’t have to be exact; the
new resting heart rate may be within 3 beats per minute above/below each group
member’s original resting heart rate).
16. Each group member should repeat steps 7-11 for Position 3.
17. Document average heart rates for each group member, for each song.
EVIDENCE:
Placement of Arms Going Upstairs
Subject
Kalene
Bre
Jennifer
Height
5’6 ¼”
5’6”
5’3”
Weight
130 lbs.
132 lbs.
241 lbs.
Resting HR
74 BPM
72 BPM
92 BPM
Trial 1 Ending HR
112 BPM
84 BPM
126 BPM
122 BPM
88 BPM
128 BPM
130 BPM
92 BPM
146 BPM
(Behind head)
Trial 2 Ending HR
(Straight up)
Trial 3 Ending HR
(Straight out)
OBSERVATIONS: Our claim was correct that the higher your arms are elevated, the lower your
heart rate will be. Although the increases in numbers were vastly different, they all increased by
some amount which is what we had predicted.
CONCLUSION: Our claim was supported.
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RESEARCH:
The concepts being focused on in this round of inquiry are how does arm placement
affect heart rate, and can raising one’s arms help with blood flow to the heart.
Normal cardiac physiology is responsible for the drop in heart rate when raising your
arms over your head. This will happen even in perfectly healthy people. Cardiac output can be
calculated by multiplying heart rate and stroke volume. The heart is designed to adapt to
changes in the in the blood return by successfully modifying its output. Increasing the return of
blood to the heart is a change in stroke volume. For example, when you raise your arms your
blood has an easier passage to the heart. This is because instead of working against natural
gravity, your blood is being pulled towards the heart due to your arms being vertical to the heart.
During this moment the return of blood to the heart is significantly raised. Here’s the equation
used to compute stable cardiac output: stroke volume increases to match output with input, by
adjusting the return of blood to the heart. Heart rate must drop, according to this equation. “The
feedback mechanism for controlling heart rate involves pressure sensors in your carotid artery.
This major blood vessel is the one that carries blood to your brain; you can feel your carotid
pulse in your neck. This artery supplies your brain with oxygen and nutrients. The moment
cardiac output changes and pressures increase or decrease in this artery, the baroreceptors in the
carotid artery detect the change in pressure and respond by changing the heart rate accordingly.”
Heart rate is controlled by the amount of adrenaline released by the baroreceptors. When raising
your arms, cardiac output increases, so the release of adrenaline decreases, in turn lower the heart
rate (Larson, 2013).
FINAL INQUIRY
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References
All about heart rate (pulse). (2014, March 31). Retrieved April 22, 2014, from American Heart
Association website:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/AboutHighBloodPres
sure/Blood-Pressure-vs-Heart-Rate_UCM_301804_Article.jsp.
Blood pressure vs. heart rate. (2012, August 27). Retrieved April 22, 2014, from American Heart
Association website:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/MyHeartandStrokeNews/AllAbout-Heart-Rate-Pulse_UCM_438850_Article.jsp.
Holt, B. (2013, August 16). Do different types of music affect the heart rate? Retrieved April 22,
2014, from Livestrong.com website: http://www.livestrong.com/article/352811-do-differenttypes-of-music-affect-the-heart-rate/.
Larson, M. (2013, October 21). Why does my heart rate drop when I raise my arms up?
Retrieved April 22, 2014, from Livestrong.com website:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/315286-why-does-my-heart-rate-drop-when-i-raisemy-arms-up/.
Pandit, M. (2011, May 19). How music affects heart rate. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from Buzzle
website: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-music-affects-heart-rate.html.
What factors can influence heart rate? (2013, September 22). Retrieved April 22, 2014, from
Livestrong.com website: http://www.livestrong.com/article/137631-what-factors-caninfluence-heart-rate/.