Homeostasis Investigation
Introduction:
The goal of this project was to observe homeostasis in the form of an experiment. Students were put into groups and could choose a body function in which the body maintains homeostasis. The function that my group and I chose was heart rate. We decided on heart rate because we were familiar with the fluctuation in the speed of the heart, and were curious to find out more about how and why that happens during stress or exercise.
When the body undergoes stress, such as in the form of exercise, the muscles need more oxygen, which means that the blood has to circulate faster. To do this, the brain sends signals to the adrenal glands, which send out adrenaline, which makes the heart pump faster. When the heart pumps faster and harder, the blood carries oxygen to the organs faster.
Another important thing that we learned during this project was the scientific method, which helped us to create an experiment. The scientific method has 7 main steps. These are: Identify and research the problem, form a hypothesis, plan an experiment that will prove the hypothesis, perform said experiment, analyze the data, form a conclusion and finally, communicate the results. Knowing this method really helped my group to succeed in this project.
The end goal of this project was to create a research article that explained the experiment. Below is a shared document with all of the pieces of our specific project, including the research article.
The goal of this project was to observe homeostasis in the form of an experiment. Students were put into groups and could choose a body function in which the body maintains homeostasis. The function that my group and I chose was heart rate. We decided on heart rate because we were familiar with the fluctuation in the speed of the heart, and were curious to find out more about how and why that happens during stress or exercise.
When the body undergoes stress, such as in the form of exercise, the muscles need more oxygen, which means that the blood has to circulate faster. To do this, the brain sends signals to the adrenal glands, which send out adrenaline, which makes the heart pump faster. When the heart pumps faster and harder, the blood carries oxygen to the organs faster.
Another important thing that we learned during this project was the scientific method, which helped us to create an experiment. The scientific method has 7 main steps. These are: Identify and research the problem, form a hypothesis, plan an experiment that will prove the hypothesis, perform said experiment, analyze the data, form a conclusion and finally, communicate the results. Knowing this method really helped my group to succeed in this project.
The end goal of this project was to create a research article that explained the experiment. Below is a shared document with all of the pieces of our specific project, including the research article.
Our Project:
Terms:
Empirical evidence: Information acquired by observation or experimentation. Empirical evidence was used to prove our hypothesis in this project.
Equilibrium: A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced. In this project, the way that the body maintained equilibrium regarding blood flow and heart rate was studied.
Interdependent elements: Elements that work on their own as well as with other elements. An example of this in our project would be all of the variables that we used.
Homeostasis: The tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes. This was the overall subject that we were studying and testing in this project, which is why it is so important.
Adrenaline: A hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, especially in conditions of stress, increasing rates of blood circulation, breathing, and carbohydrate metabolism and preparing muscles for exertion. Since we were testing heart rate, adrenaline is important because it increases blood flow, which increases the heart rate.
Acetylcholine: A compound which occurs throughout the nervous system, in which it functions as a neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine affects the speed of the heart rate, so it was important to have knowledge on in this project.
Thyroid hormones: Thyroid hormones secrete adrenaline, which increases the heart rate.
BPM: BPM stands for Beat Per Minute, and it is how heart rate is measured.
Hypothesis: A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. During this project, one of the most important things to do was create a hypothesis because the entire goal of the project was to prove said hypothesis.
Independent variable: The independent variable for our experiment was the amount of exercise.
Dependent variable: The dependent variable was the BPM(heart rate)
Controlled Variable: The controlled variable was the resting heart rate
Feedback loop: A biological occurrence wherein the output of a system amplifies the system (positive feedback) or inhibits the system (negative feedback). The body uses feedback loops to maintain homeostasis, and that is why that is important for this project.
Empirical evidence: Information acquired by observation or experimentation. Empirical evidence was used to prove our hypothesis in this project.
Equilibrium: A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced. In this project, the way that the body maintained equilibrium regarding blood flow and heart rate was studied.
Interdependent elements: Elements that work on their own as well as with other elements. An example of this in our project would be all of the variables that we used.
Homeostasis: The tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes. This was the overall subject that we were studying and testing in this project, which is why it is so important.
Adrenaline: A hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, especially in conditions of stress, increasing rates of blood circulation, breathing, and carbohydrate metabolism and preparing muscles for exertion. Since we were testing heart rate, adrenaline is important because it increases blood flow, which increases the heart rate.
Acetylcholine: A compound which occurs throughout the nervous system, in which it functions as a neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine affects the speed of the heart rate, so it was important to have knowledge on in this project.
Thyroid hormones: Thyroid hormones secrete adrenaline, which increases the heart rate.
BPM: BPM stands for Beat Per Minute, and it is how heart rate is measured.
Hypothesis: A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. During this project, one of the most important things to do was create a hypothesis because the entire goal of the project was to prove said hypothesis.
Independent variable: The independent variable for our experiment was the amount of exercise.
Dependent variable: The dependent variable was the BPM(heart rate)
Controlled Variable: The controlled variable was the resting heart rate
Feedback loop: A biological occurrence wherein the output of a system amplifies the system (positive feedback) or inhibits the system (negative feedback). The body uses feedback loops to maintain homeostasis, and that is why that is important for this project.
Our Experiment:
The steps:
1. Obtain a group of three students. One will have the job of timing (the “timer”), anotherwill provide the heart rate(the “provider”), and the last one will record the heart rate (the“recorder”).
2.Take the BPM (beat per minute) heart rate of the provider after this student has beensitting for 5 minutes. To do this, have the provider hold two fingers against the right sideof their neck, right under the jawbone. Have the timer set the watch to 10 seconds.When the timer starts, have the student count the amount of beats in that ten seconds.Then, have the recorder multiply that number by 6. Record that number. This is theirresting BPM.
3.Have the provider do 35 jumping jacks.
4.Immediately after, take their BPM, the same way as before. Record that number as the provider’s “active heart rate”.
5.Next, have the timer start the stopwatch.
6.Every 2 minutes, take the provider’s BPM and record it, until they reach their resting BPM.
7.Record the time that it took them to reach their resting BPM after their active BPM.
8.Repeat entire process two more times, rotating jobs, to solidify data
1. Obtain a group of three students. One will have the job of timing (the “timer”), anotherwill provide the heart rate(the “provider”), and the last one will record the heart rate (the“recorder”).
2.Take the BPM (beat per minute) heart rate of the provider after this student has beensitting for 5 minutes. To do this, have the provider hold two fingers against the right sideof their neck, right under the jawbone. Have the timer set the watch to 10 seconds.When the timer starts, have the student count the amount of beats in that ten seconds.Then, have the recorder multiply that number by 6. Record that number. This is theirresting BPM.
3.Have the provider do 35 jumping jacks.
4.Immediately after, take their BPM, the same way as before. Record that number as the provider’s “active heart rate”.
5.Next, have the timer start the stopwatch.
6.Every 2 minutes, take the provider’s BPM and record it, until they reach their resting BPM.
7.Record the time that it took them to reach their resting BPM after their active BPM.
8.Repeat entire process two more times, rotating jobs, to solidify data
Hypothesis
In this project, the homeostasis with the heart rate in a human was tested. During exercise, the heart rate raises, and the body keeps homeostasis by eventually lowering the heart rate back to its resting Beat Per Minute (BPM).The test consisted of doing thirty-five jumping jacks and measuring heart rate before, after, and during.. The initial hypothesis was that “If heart rate is measured before and after exercise, then the heart rate will quicken, and then slow back down to the resting heart rate”. The independent variable was the amount of exercise, or number of jumping jacks. The dependent variable was the heart rate and time that it took to go back to the resting rate. The constant was the time, and the resting heart rate was the control run. After testing, the data showed a definite pattern. Overall, the hypothesis was proven true.
Results
Reflection:
I liked this investigation because it was really interesting to learn how the body maintains homeostasis with the heart rate during exercise. When the body undergoes stress, such as exercise, the heart rate increases drastically. Then, shortly after, the heart’s BPM lowers all the way back down to its resting rate. Overall, this project was very informative, and I felt like I learned a lot.
The tests that were taken showed very positive results, and many aspects went right, but there were also some things that did not go as well as planned. First off, all three trials started with a resting heart rate between 90 and 102, and after 35 jumping jacks, raised to a BPM between 138 and 144. This shows a definite pattern in the results, which is a very good sign for the investigation. Although the investigation, there are some factors that could have gone better. Other factors can play into heart rate, such as stress, nervousness, or how much exercise the test subject is used to. These factors may have affected the results, and to better this, other tests could have been done to include those factors. An example of one of these tests would be to test the subject throughout that day. Overall, the tests that were taken show extremely positive results.
One thing that I feel I could have worked on in this project would be motivation. This is because after my group and I finished the entire project, we had a lot of extra time, and I feel that we had the opportunity to improve upon our final result, but we didn't. Other than that minor improvement, I feel that this project went really well, and I really liked the amount of freedom that we got when making our experiment.
The tests that were taken showed very positive results, and many aspects went right, but there were also some things that did not go as well as planned. First off, all three trials started with a resting heart rate between 90 and 102, and after 35 jumping jacks, raised to a BPM between 138 and 144. This shows a definite pattern in the results, which is a very good sign for the investigation. Although the investigation, there are some factors that could have gone better. Other factors can play into heart rate, such as stress, nervousness, or how much exercise the test subject is used to. These factors may have affected the results, and to better this, other tests could have been done to include those factors. An example of one of these tests would be to test the subject throughout that day. Overall, the tests that were taken show extremely positive results.
One thing that I feel I could have worked on in this project would be motivation. This is because after my group and I finished the entire project, we had a lot of extra time, and I feel that we had the opportunity to improve upon our final result, but we didn't. Other than that minor improvement, I feel that this project went really well, and I really liked the amount of freedom that we got when making our experiment.