Lab#: Date:

Skill Assessed: ORR

Title: Respiration: Investigating breathing rate and exercise
Aim:
Apparatus: 1 person, stopwatch, pen, paper.
Procedure:
1. Sit quietly for 1 minute so that your breathing rate is normalized.
2. By either observing the rise and fall of your chest, or taking note of every time you inhale or
exhale, immediately start the stopwatch and determine the amount of breaths you take in one
minute and record your value. Do not stop the timer.
3. Rest for one minute and then determine the amount of breaths your take for another minute and
record your value.
4. Repeat step 3 one more time. After this, stop the timer and find the average value for your
normal breathing rate. Record this in table 1.
5. Rest for 1 minute and then immediately after engaging in jumping jacks or on the spot jogging
continuously for 3 minutes.
6. After you have completed your physical activity, start the timer immediate and take note of the
rise and fall of your chest or each time you inhale and exhale. At the end of 1 minute, record the
amounts of breaths you have taken. Do not stop the timer.
7. Repeat step 6 until the number of breaths you take per minute has returned to your resting
breathing rate. Record the number of breaths per minute and the time taken in table 2.
Results: [PLOT A GRAPH OF BREATHING RATE VS TIME] – Y AXIS NOT TO BE BROKEN

Table 1. TABLE SHOWING THE RESTING BREATHING RATE BEFORE EXERCISE

TRIAL NUMBER OF BREATHS PER MINUTE/bpm

1
2
3
Average

Table 2. TABLE SHOWING THE BREATHING RATE AFTER TWO MINUTES OF JUMPING JACKS*
(PLEASE CHANGE IF YOU DID ON THE SPOT JOGGING)

Time (Minutes) Number of breaths per minute/bpm

 Discussion:
1. Define respiration using the chemical equation and differentiate between aerobic and anaerobic
respiration.
2. Explain why the term breathing cannot be used to explain respiration. Identify 4 factors that affect
breathing rate.
3. State your value for resting bpm and compare this with the average bpm of an individual.
4. Using your graph, describe the changes in bpm observed.
5. Use your knowledge of respiration and breathing to explain why the breathing rate rose so quickly
after exercise.
6. Why did the breathing rate not return to normal immediately after stopping exercise?
7. Suggest how exercising for longer than 3 minutes can change the pattern observed in the graph.
8. What are 2 precautions taken when conducting this lab?
9. What are 2 sources of error that occurred in this lab?
10. Identify 2 things that limit the accuracy of the results obtained.

Conclusion: State the effect that breathing rate has on the individual.
Reflection: How does bpm provide information about the health of an individual, and how does a
named respiratory disease affect an individual’s bpm.