Using the steps of the scientific method complete the following exercise recording the your data on a separate sheet of paper. When complete please graph your results and write a short summary describing the methods used results obtained and conclusions.

I. You have noticed that your heart rate seems to race when you physically exert yourself. You wonder if heart rate increases as the intensity of exercise increases.

A. State the initial observation that prompted your research.

B. What problem or question has been identified?

C. The hypothesis is

D. Experimentation: To obtain the necessary data, you must determine your heart rate at varying levels of physical exertion. You will first monitor your heart rate at rest to establish a base line. Lie down for at least five minutes, then determine your heart rate by monitoring your pulse rate. (Blood surges through arteries each time your heart beats.) On your report sheet, record your resting pulse rate in beats per minute. The step exercise will be used at varying levels of intensity. In this exercise you will step up one step, then step back down. Do this ten times in a one minute period. (Once every six seconds.) Quickly monitor your pulse in beats per minute. Record your pulse rate on the grid (graph) on the Report Sheet. Rest until your pulse rate nears your resting rate. Repeat the step exercise and pulse reading for: fifteen steps, twenty steps, twenty-, thirty steps, forty steps, and finally sixty per minute. (If you are physically unable to perform the step exercise, substitute another mode of exertion that is measurable. Or let another person do the step test.) Summarize your results by plotting your heart rate against your exercise intensity on the graph provided.

E. Data: record your heart rate and that of your lab partner after each round of exercise.

F. Conclusion: based on the above data what do you conclude about the link between exercise and heart rate?