Presentation and

Analysis of Data
Assignment
Results

127 abled university students enrolled in 91400 at the University of Technology and over the
age of 18 years old volunteered to participate in this study. In pairs, students recorded the
participant’s radial pulse and breathing rate before and after completing 1 minute of star
jumps.

Of the participants 75 were female and 52 were male, no other details regarding the health
status and bodily dimensions of the participants aside from their gender were recorded.

Table 1: Average Heart Rate of the female and male participants pre- and post-exercise
calculated for 75 females and 52 were males

Female Male
Heart Rate (n=75) (n=52)
Resting (Pre-
Exercise)
(Beats per
minute) 70.44 67.08
Post-
Exercise
(Beats per
minute) 101.63 98.52
Table 1 constitutes the average heart rate (HR) of females and males pre- and post-exercise
which was calculated from the raw data collected during class by students enrolled in 91400.
Participants were asked to seat comfortably while a student recorded their radial pulse for 1
minute and recorded this as pre-exercise HR, then participants were asked to perform star
jumps for 1 minute, after performing star jumps the participants returned to a seated position
and a student recorded their radial pulse for 1 minute and recorded this as post-exercise HR.
The average female resting/pre-exercise heart rate, 70.44 beats per minute(bpm), is higher
than that of the male participants, 67.08bpm, by 3.36bpm, this trend can also be seen in the
participant’s heart rates post-exercise, females higher than males by 3.11bpm.

Table 2: Average Breathing Rate of the female and male participants pre- and post-exercise
calculated for 75 females and 52 were males

Breathing Female Male

Rate (n=75) (n=52)
Resting (Pre-
Exercise)
(Breaths per
minute) 17.39 16.69
Post-
Exercise
(Breaths per
minute) 25.85 24.63
Table 2 constitutes the average breathing rate (BR) of females and males pre- and post-
exercise which was calculated from the raw data collected during class by students enrolled
in 91400. Participants were asked to seat comfortably while a student recorded their breathing
rate for 1 minute and recorded this as pre-exercise BR, then participants were asked to
perform star jumps for 1 minute, after performing star jumps the participants returned to a
seated position and a student recorded their breathing for 1 minute and recorded this as post-
exercise BR. The average female resting/pre-exercise breathing rate, 17.39 breaths per
minute(bpm), is higher than that of the male participants, 16.69bpm, by only 0.7bpm, this
trend can also be seen in the participant’s breath rates post-exercise, females higher than
males by 1.22bpm.

Comparison of Average Heart Rate between Females

and Male at Pre and Post-Exercise
110

100

90

80
Average Heart Rate (Beats per minute)

70
Resting (Pre-Exercise)
(Beats per minute)
60
Post-Exercise (Beats per
minute)
50

40

30

20

10

0
Female Male

Figure 1: A combined bar chart summarising the comparison of the average heart rate (beats
per minute) pre- and post-exercise with error bars indicating the calculated standard
deviations of 1.0 for 75 females and 52 were males

Figure 1 was created in excel using the date from Table 1, and then error bars were added to
indicate the uncertainty in the values. The figure shows a significant increase in heart rate for
both females and males in post-exercise
 Comparison of Average Breathing Rate
between Females and Male at Pre and Post-
Exercise
30

25
Average Breathing Rate (Breaths per minute)

20 Resting (Pre-Exercise)
(Breaths per minute)
Post-Exercise (Breaths
per minute)
15

10

0
Female Male

Figure 2: A combined bar chart summarising the comparison of the average breathing rate
(breaths per minute) pre- and post-exercise with error bars indicating the calculated standard
deviations of 1.0 for 75 females and 52 were males

Figure 2 was created in excel using the date from Table 2, and then error bars were added to
indicate the uncertainty in the values. The figure shows a significant increase in breathing
rate for both females and males in post-exercise
Discussion

The heart is made of special types of muscles called myocardium, and its role is to pump
enough blood to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to the brain, organs, and muscles. A
heartbeat is when the heart muscles relax so the heart can be filled with blood then the
muscles contract to pump that blood throughout the body, a specialised group of heart cells
known as the sinoatrial node act as the natural pacemaker of the heart and sends out electric
signals to regulate the timing of the heartbeat.

According to Health Direct (2022) a normal resting heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per
minute, usually 78-82 bpm for females and 70-72bpm for males one way this can be
calculated is by feeling your pulse, each pulse is equal to one beat. A lower heart rate
signifies the heart is working more efficiently and is more fit while a higher resting heart rate
can be a sign of a problem. There are several factors that can influence heart rate, physical
activity, emotions, age, air temperature etc. The data in Table 1 and Figure for average
resting heart falls in between the normal range for both males and females.

During exercise, there is an increase in sympathetic activity, an increase in skeletal muscle

activity and an increase in respiratory pumps this leads to an increase in venous return (blood
returning to the heart) which then, in turn, increases the end-diastolic volume (EDV) which
increases stroke volume (SV) this then finally leads to an increase in cardiac output (CO). As
per the formula, cardiac output equals stroke volume multiplied by heart rate, if both CO and
SV are increased this means that heart rate (HR) will also increase. This can be seen in our
data as well, after exercise for females the average heart rate increased by 31.19bpm and for
males, it increased by 31.44bpm (Table 1 and Figure 1). According to some studies, though
males have a lower resting heart rate their heart rates will rise more than females during
exercise (Rowden, 2021), this is also reflected in table 1 and figure 1.

The respiratory system is a collection of organs and tissues that are involved in gas exchange,
during inhalation your diaphragm contracts and flattens, compressing the abdominal organs,
this increases the volume of the thoracic cavity and lowers air pressure. The oxygen from the
air travels through a winding system to eventually end up in the alveoli where gas exchange
occurs, oxygen enters into the bloody and carbon dioxide leaves the blood to travel back
through the lungs and be expelled via the mouth and nostrils. According to Health Line
(2022) a resting breathing rate is between 12 to 20 breaths per minute for both females and
males, this is reflected in the data shown in Table 2 and Figure 2.

During exercise, oxygen requirements increase, increasing breathing rate as well as the depth
of breathing, as a result, forced inspiration occurs, this is when the body will use the
accessory muscles of inspiration to further enlarge the thoracic cavity and therefore volume.
Table 2 and Figure 2 shows a dramatic increase in breathing rate for both females and males
post-exercise, there was an increase of 8.46 breaths per minute for females and an increase of
7.94 breaths per minute for males (Table 2 and Figure 2). According to some studies due to
the reduced airways and lung volume of females, they will generate less ventilation during
exercise meaning the increase in their breathing rate will be higher (Aliverti and LoMauro,
2018), this is reflective in the data provided in Table 2 and Figure 2, where the females had
an increase in breathing rate post-exercise by 0.52 breaths per minute.

In conclusion, it can be seen that exercise has a significant effect both on heart rate and
breathing rate in both females and males, this was seen in both the results obtained from this
experiment and correlated with other literature. However, this study only focused on gender
with a proportion of 59% female, future studies can use a 50/50 ratio of females and males
and look at other bodily dimensions or health factors that may have also affected the heart
rate and breathing rate.