Heart Rate Before and After Exercise

Introduction:

Heart Rate is defined as the amount of times a person’s heart beats in one minute. A resting heart rate is the person’s heart rate prior to any activity or exercise. As activity increases, the heart rate will increase in speed. An increased heart rate is essential as it replaces oxygen in the muscles that is used during said activity and gets rid of excess carbon dioxide through the blood stream. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing on the walls of the veins and arteries as blood is pumped through the bloodstream each time the ventricles contract. The hypothesis is that the heart rate will increase significantly after exercise.

Methods:

First the resting heart rates of six subjects were determined by placing two fingers on the carotid artery in the neck and counting the heart beats for fifteen seconds. The number of beats was then multiplied by four to get the number of beats per minute. The resting heart rates were recorded. Exercises were then performed by the six subjects. Subjects jumped twenty times on each foot (a total of forty times). Heart rates were then determined once again, giving the heart rate after exercise, and then recorded. A statistical analysis was done. See Figure 1 for data and Figure 2 for mathematical solutions.

Results:

The paired T-test result was 6.5, confirming that the hypothesis was correct. See figure 3 for T-test distribution.

Discussion:

The hypothesis is supported due to the T-test value. “Determine the probability that your results are valid at the 0.05 level by comparing the number listed in the 0.05 column on the line that corresponds with your degrees of freedom with your t-test value. If the number is less than your t-test value then you are 95% confident that your data or your results are due to the experiment.” The number in said column was 2.015, the degrees of freedom for this experiment was 5. Possible sources of error for this experiment are the mathematics. Exercise and activity are not the only things that would cause a higher heart rate. Another source of error is the method of determining the heart rate. It would be more accurate to count the heart beats for a full minute rather than count for fifteen seconds and multiply the outcome