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9.3.1 Activity sheet
Investigating the effect of exercise on breathing
rates
Setting the scene
Most of us notice that our breathing rate changes when we exercise. This is
linked to the process of respiration and transfer of energy.
Aims
In this practical you will:

plan an investigation into what happens to your breathing rate during
exercise.
You will be working scientifically to:

plan an investigation and identify independent, dependent, and control
variables




test a prediction
use appropriate methods in your practical work
make and record measurements
present explanations of your data.
Safety

Take extra care if you have breathing problems. You may wish not to
participate.

Be sensible when moving around the classroom.
Equipment and materials


stopwatch
selection of laboratory equipment as provided by your teacher
Prediction
In this practical you will be finding the answer to this question:
How does our breathing rate change when we exercise?
The hypothesis (idea to test) is:
Breathing rate will increase during and after exercise because our
bodies need more oxygen for respiration (for transfer of energy).
© Oxford University Press 2017 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements
This resource sheet may have been changed from the original.
9
9.3.1 Activity sheet
Method
Work in small groups to discuss how to measure changes in breathing rate whilst
a member of the group does star jumps.
Consider the following variables in your experiment:

Independent (the one you change): How can you vary the amount of exercise
you do?

Dependent (the one you measure to get your results): Circle your choice.
number of breaths per minute

time taken for 20 breaths
Control (what must be kept the same): What will you keep the same in this
experiment? For example, should different people in the group be doing star
jumps?
You can have more than one control variable.
Now answer the following questions to write your method.
1 How will you keep the amount of exercise the same? (Think about time, type of
exercise, etc.)
2 What will you measure?
3 How will you measure it?
4 Will you have a short period of rest between each measurement?
© Oxford University Press 2017 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements
This resource sheet may have been changed from the original.
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9.3.1 Activity sheet
5 How will you change your test for the next measurement?
Results
Record your measurements in the table below. Include units where possible.
Amount of exercise
Dependent Variable =
Questions
1 Describe what your results show.
2 State whether your results support the hypothesis.
3 How do you think breathing rate is linked to respiration?
© Oxford University Press 2017 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements
This resource sheet may have been changed from the original.