IBDP Biology Required Practical

Required
Practical 6
Monitoring Ventilation

Skill: Monitoring of ventilation in humans at rest

and after mild and vigorous exercise.

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Required Practical 6
Skill: Monitoring of ventilation in humans at rest and after mild and vigorous exercise.

Key Terms
• Ventilation • External Intercostal Muscles
• Tidal Volume • Internal Intercostal Muscles
• Inspiration • Abdominal Muscles
• Expiration • Air pressure
• Cell Respiration • Diffusion
• Gas Exchange • Spirometer
• Diaphragm

Notes
1. Informed consent is required for all participants in this experiment – See the IB
Animal Experimentation policy.
2. It is possible to use class members as volunteers with all students sharing the
collected data to write the report.
3. This is a good opportunity to practice the use of bar graphs for discontinuous data.
4. This is a good opportunity to practice the use of t-tests to determine if there are
significant differences between exercise levels.
5. A large number of volunteers (minimum of 20) is required if a student chooses to
investigate any aspect of human physiology that requires human volunteers. This
experiment report will not be submitted to the IB, therefore a smaller number of
volunteers is acceptable to use as practice.
6. If the school has Vernier Spirometers or similar, then students can also compare the
volume of inhaled/exhaled air (tidal volume) as the exercise intensity changes.

Suggestions for Experiment Set-up

• Mild exercise can be walking on the spot for three minutes.
• Vigorous exercise can be jogging on the spot for three minutes.
• Control how ventilation/breathing rate is measured (Inhalations or exhalations) – I
suggest sitting after the exercise, and counting the number of breaths for one
minute.
• Ensure consistency in counting breaths, by using either the inhalations or exhalations
for the investigation.

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Experiment Report Write-up

(Optional)

This is a good opportunity for you to practice experiment report writing skills in preparation
for completing your Biology Internal Assessment. The following provides guidance for what
should be included in a complete experiment report:

Exploration
(View IB Exploration Criterion Rubric)

Research Question
Write a clear research question linking the independent variable (intensity of exercise) and
the dependent variable (ventilation rate).

Background Information
Include the following:

• Explain the need for cellular respiration in humans.

• Explain the process of ventilation in humans, with reference to muscles and changes
in pressure and volume within the lungs.
• Explain gas exchange at the alveoli.
• Explain how the body monitors and controls ventilation rate as exercise levels
change.
Hypothesis
Answer the research question by predicting the effect of changing the independent variable
(intensity of exercise) on the dependent variable (ventilation rate), supported by cited
scientific literature.

Variables
Independent Variable: (Intensity of exercise): Outline the rationale for selecting the three
types of exercise.
Dependent Variable: (Number of breaths): Explain why only inhalations or exhalations are
counted.
Control Variables: Identify the control variables, and explain how and why each control
variable is controlled. Where possible, include measured values of controlled variables
[Exercise time is 120 seconds].

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Consider controlling the following:

• Exercise time
• Resting time between activities
• Age of participants
• Time of day
• Gender (or you could compare the ventilation rates of the different genders)

Confounding Variables – Identify the variables that you are unable to control, and explain
how they may impact your data.
Consider the following:

• Diet
• BMI
• Health
• Stress levels
• Tiredness
• Level of physical activity

Material List
Make a clear list of all materials required to carry out the investigation. Be specific regarding
measurements, use metric units, and include precision error for all of the measuring
instruments.
The material list will be short for this experiment, but do include the number of volunteers.

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Procedure
Produce a clear numbered step-by-step procedure.
Ensure that you:

• Identify the three variations of the independent variable (intensity of exercise).

• Clearly explain expectations for the volunteers when they are exercising.
• Provide clear guidance for how the number of breaths is counted.
• Include information on resting between trials.
• State which calculations will be carried out:
o Mean ventilation rate for each exercise intensity
o Standard deviation of the ventilation rate for each exercise intensity
Safety, Environmental, and Ethical Considerations

• Identify all possible safety concerns, and explain what is done to keep people safe
when doing the experiment. Refer to removal of hazards to ensure that volunteers
will not be injured.
• Refer to volunteers signing an informed consent form – refer to the IB Animal
Experiment policy

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Analysis
(View IB Analysis Criterion Rubric)

Qualitative Data
Include a list of relevant qualitative data which can help in answering the research question.
Consider:

• Intensity of exercise (not all volunteers will run on the spot at the same rate)
• Whether a person is breathing heavily
Raw Data and Processed data
Raw and Processed data tables can be combined into one data table.
Sample Table:
Table 1: Write a title statement linking exercise intensity and ventilation rate

Volunteer Intensity of Exercise

Rest Walking Running
1
Ventilation Rate /

2
3
4
5
BPM

(Insert one row

per volunteer)
↓

Mean
Standard
Deviation

Ensure that the data table includes the following:

• A row for each volunteer (the above example only shows 5 volunteers but you
should use more)
• Row and column headings, including the independent variable (intensity of exercise)
and the dependent variable (ventilation rate)
• Calculated mean number of breaths for each intensity of exercise
• Calculated standard deviation for number of breaths, for each intensity of exercise
• The unit used is BPM (breaths per minute)
• Consistent precision in processed data, which matches the raw data (in this case, it is
a count of breaths per minute, and therefore should be a whole number).
• Correctly calculated means and standard deviations (which should be whole
numbers).

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Graph

Use the processed data to produce a column graph with intensity of exercise (Independent
Variable) on the X-axis, and ventilation rate (Dependent Variable) on the Y-axis.

The graph should include the following:

• Axes titles shown, with the unit (BPM) on the Y-axis

• Correctly plotted columns
• Correctly constructed error bars on each column, using the calculated standard
deviations
• If error bars overlap for any two exercise intensities, then a t-test should be carried
out to determine if there is a significant difference between ventilation rates for
these two conditions

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Evaluation
(View IB Evaluation Criterion Rubric)

Conclusion
Identify the pattern present for how intensity of exercise affects ventilation rate.
Discuss whether there are significant differences between the ventilation rate at different
exercise intensities with reference to overlapping error bars, and t-tests if any were carried
out.
The conclusion should include the following, in relation to the research question:

• An explanation of the pattern using an understanding of biology

• An attempt to answer the research question
• A comment on the implications of the data in regards to the hypothesis
The conclusion should include the following in relation to scientific literature:

• An explanation of the pattern using relevant (cited) biological theory

• A comparison of results to scientific theory with citations [if possible, refer to
scientific journals]
• Suggested explanations for differences between your results and biological theory

Evaluation of the Experimental Procedure

Include strengths, problems and improvements.
Strengths
Possible strengths include:

• Sufficient data to carry out statistical analysis - standard deviation requires at least 5
repeats (volunteers)
• Sufficient data to carry out a t-test if error bars overlap - a minimum of 10 repeats is
required for a t-test (at least 10 volunteers)
• Sufficient data to answer the research question – sufficient data to allow standard
deviations and t-tests to be carried out
• Variables were effectively controlled, and it is possible to explain how these
variables were able to be kept constant.

Comment on the range of the data. If the standard deviations are small, the data is reliable
and this is a strength. If the standard deviations are large, the data is not reliable and this is
a weakness.
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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Problems and Improvements

Identify any problems that may affect the quality of the data collected (ventilation rate).
Qualitative observations can help identify problems. Explain the impact of each problem on
the data.
Suggest improvements to attempt to solve each identified problem. Explain how each
suggested improvement would improve the quality of the data collected (ventilation rate).
Possible problems for this investigation include:

• Volunteers’ exercise intensity is not consistent – can be improved using treadmills

set at a certain speed and incline.
• Volunteers’ self-reporting ventilation rate may not be accurate
• Comment on not being able to control the confounding variables identified on Page
3 of this document (the Variable section)

Extensions
Suggest and explain extensions to the experiment.
Extensions to this experiment could include:

• Repeating the investigation, using a spirometer

• Repeating the investigation using different forms of exercise (for example, lifting a
series of different weights)
• Repeating the experiment using a treadmill to change intensity – note, this could
produce a scatter graph as the data would be continuous

Works Cited
• Use one recognized system for documenting sources – consider using an online tool
such as MyBib.com
• Include in-text citations within the report, including all graphics used.
• Include a complete, alphabetical works cited list at the end of the report, for all of
the in-text citations
• All internet sources should include the date accessed in the works cited list.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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 Ventilation
IBDP Biology Required Practical

Communication
(View IB Communication Criterion Rubric)

Communication is assessed holistically, with the IB Examiner making a judgement based on

the whole experiment report.
The Examiner will be looking for the following:

• Appropriate titles for each section

• The report is 6-12 A4/Letter pages long. This page limit includes the Works Cited
page and cover page. If your report is too long, do not include a cover page.
• The variables, procedure, data and conclusion relate to the research question
• In-text citations are effectively used throughout the report
• Correct alphabetical works cited (including date accessed for online sources) is
included for all in-text citations
• All graphics include captions and are referred to in the text
• SI units are used throughout the report
• Biological terminology is correctly used throughout the report

IB Biology Exam Practice:

See:

• May 2017 Time Zone 1: Standard Level Paper 3, Question 3

• May 2018 Time Zone 1: Higher Level Paper 3, Question 2 [This question is also
suitable for SL students]
• May 2018 Time Zone 2: Standard Level Paper 3, Question 3
• November 2018: Higher Level Paper 3, Question 1 [also included on November
2018: Standard Level Paper 3, Question 2]
• May 2018 Time Zone 2: Higher Level Paper 3, Question 2 [also included on May
2018 Time Zone 2: Standard Level Paper 3, Question 3]

All examination papers are available on Follett’s IB store.

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Ventilation
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IBDP Biology Required Practical

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