4/18: Exercise Lab

Let's Get Moving!

Have you ever felt your heart pumping fast after some tough exercise? Maybe you've run so fast you've felt out of breath? Those are the signs of cellular respiration!

Last class you were introduced to cellular respiration - the reaction happening inside of your cells that helps you get energy from the food you eat and the oxygen you breathe in. When you exercise, your body will need even more energy than usual, but can we experiment to determine just how much more??

Today we will do an experiment to measure the inputs and outputs of cellular respiration. Our heartrate tells us how quickly blood is being transported to our cells, so is a measure of the amount of oxygen we are taking in. We will also measure how much carbon dioxide is leaving our bodies by blowing air into BTB solution, which changes color in the presence of carbon dioxide.

Students will work together with a partner to track heartrate and the time it take BTB solution to change color while resting, and after exercising for two, and then four minutes. You will need to complete a graph for one of these measurements - please see my picture which will help you get started on this!

THE EXERCISE LAB IS DUE ON 4/22! While you MAY complete it during class on Monday, I strongly suggest that you finish it as homework so that you may focus on the test review during class.

If you were absent for this lab, please see me during lunch or after school to complete it! The data collection can be completed in about ten minutes.

Need extra help??

Scroll down to find additional resources! As always, please let me know if I can coach you with anything you're stuck on.

EXTRA PRACTICE - OPTIONAL

This is a simple, step-by-step worksheet to help you solidify your understanding of cellular respiration. This is great practice if you're still feeling unsure of what cellular respiration is, or what happens in the process.

Cellular Respiration Help:

Mild: Click here for a very simple introduction

Medium: Click here for an animated explanation

Spicy: Click here if you're ready for more information! (The Spicy video is much more detailed than you will need to understand for the test, but it's a really interesting topic and learning more details can boost your understanding!)