ATP Cellular Respiration Lab

Problem: How many times does my body undergo Cellular Respiration during exercise?
Hypothesis: Create a hypothesis to answer the problem question based on your personal experience. This should be
Relevant to your personal data and will be individual for each person (so not a group hypothesis).
If time and heart rate are recorded during exercise, then during long distance cellular respiration will occur with each
heartbeat, and anaerobic respiration will occur during sprinting, due to the presence of oxygen in one and the absence in
the other.
Background: As skeletal muscles contract and relax, they move bones in your body. This work requires energy.
Muscles get energy from ATP molecules made during the process of cellular respiration. During
continuous activity, the muscles begin to use up their energy supply and oxygen and start to accumulate
waste products. As a result, the muscles become fatigued, losing their ability to contract and the
individual begins to feel ‘tired’. Cellular respiration requires oxygen (which is breathed in) and creates
carbon dioxide (which is breathed out). The equation for cellular respiration is below:
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + 36 ATP (energy)
This lab will address how exercise (increased muscle activity) affects the rate of cellular respiration. The
American College of Sports medicine has created two formulas we will use in this lab to calculate how
much oxygen is used during the exercise and therefore, determine how many times your body underwent
cellular respiration for that activity.

For this lab, we will examine Absolute Oxygen Consumption and Relative Oxygen Consumption.
Absolute Oxygen Consumption is based on expensive and extensive lab research on human Oxygen
consumption while running a 1.5 mile in 8-15 minutes.

Absolute: oxygen consumption = (speed in m/min) x (0.2 ml/kg/min per m/min) + 3.5 ml/kg/min

Theoretically, two individuals running the same distance over the same amount of time will use the same
amount of oxygen and therefore have the same amount of cellular respiration, per amount of body weight.
However, the larger/bigger the individual, the further that oxygen must travel throughout the blood stream
and therefore this information can be slightly different. That is why we also examine the Relative Oxygen
Consumption.

Relative: oxygen consumption = (your weight / 2.2lb/kg) X Oxygen Consumption (from Ref. Table 1)
Then divide by 1000ml/L to get your average L of Oxygen per minute of run.

Please note: You in no way will need to share your weight with anyone. Please use for the calculations
and then share your Relative score only.

We will also be examining heart rate in this lab. How to take heart rate: well you can either use a smart
device if it takes heart rate, or have someone find the pulse in either the wrist or neck and count how
many beats per minute (or for 30 seconds and multiply times two).

Materials: Clothes for EXERCISE, HR smart tech if you have it, timer/watch

Pre-Lab QA: 1) Write down the formula for Cellular Respiration. How can knowing the amount of oxygen used help
you determine how many times this reaction occurs?
C6H12O6 + 6O2  6CO2 + 6H2O
Knowing the use of oxygen can help us to essentially fill in the blanks of the equation and determine how often cellular
respiration occurs.
2) What are your independent and dependent variables? Constants? Controls?
Independent: How far you run/what type of exercise
Dependent: # of times cellular respiration occurs/VO2 max
Constant: Same person, same temp/environment
Control: “norms”
3) Predict how well you will perform in this lab. I recommend examining the tables at the end of the lab.
I think I will perform pretty well, because I exercise a lot, and run a lot for lacrosse.
4) How many meters are in a mile? How can you turn mph into m/min?
There are about 1609.34 meters in a mile. You can change mph into meters per min multiplying the value by meters
divided by 60 min, or 26.822.
5) Name and explain at least 3 potential pitfalls of this lab. How can they be corrected for, prior to the
beginning of lab?
3 potential pitfalls are the lab not being completed at the same exact temperature, your body getting tired from the
previous exercise, and during sprinting not running as fast as you possibly can. The temperature can be fixed by running
all in one sitting. There’s not much you can do about the getting tired besides taking a small break in between exercises,
and the sprinting can provide most accurate results if you push your body to go as fast as it possibly can.
6) What is the difference between anaerobic and aerobic exercise? Which one requires more ATP?
Anaerobic exercise is quick bursts of energy that can only be done for short periods of time, while aerobic is a little more
paced/slowed down, giving the body time to take in oxygen. Aerobic is much more energy efficient, showing how you
can do aerobic exercise for much longer than anaerobic.
7) What muscle groups do you think have the most localized energy storage? Why?
My guess is the legs and arms. They both have large muscle masses in comparison to other parts of the body, and are the
main muscle target in lots of exercise.

Procedure: You will work in in your lab groups. It is recommended that a lab group split up into 2 pairs to complete
the various exercises.

Exercise 1: Running a 1.5 minute mile (AEROBIC EXERCISE)

1. We will travel to either the indoor or outdoor track. 1-2 group members should prepare to time and the
others should be prepared to run the 1.5 min mile. The more you apply yourself, the better and more
accurate your results. Please note, I will not force you to run, but if you do not, your data will be
ridiculous because the norm charts are based on running an 8-15min 1.5 mile.
2. Document your time in Exercise Table 1 below.
3. Switch roles with your lab mates and repeat the exercise until all lab mates are done.
4. Complete the calculations required to complete each table. Percentile Ranking can be determined by
going to http://www.kumc.edu/fitness-ranking.html

Exercise Table 1:
Name Time for 1.5 Time Predicted Absolute Oxygen Relative Percentile
mile (min) converted to Oxygen Consumption Oxygen Ranking
m/min Consumption ml/kg/min Consumption
(Ref. Table 1) mL/min
Gracie 12:47 min 189.1 m/min 41.36 41.3 2.46 66.7%
Jisung 11:24 min 214.8 m/min 45.78 46.5 2.6 60.2%
Lara 13:16 min 182 m/min 39.93 39.8 2.50 58.3%
Radhika 12:38 min 195 m/min 41.70 42.5 1.80 72.8%

Exercise 2: Sprinting 50-meter dash (ANAEROBIC EXERCISE)

1. After your breathing and heart rate have returned back to normal after Exercise 1, you will run a 50-
meter dash as fast as you possibly can (aka a sprint). In order for your calculations to be correct, please
really try to push yourself 90% or better of what you possibly are able to do.
2. IMMEDIATELY after finishing either you or your partner take your Heart Rate and document it in
Exercise Table 2 below.
3. Switch roles with your lab mates and repeat the exercise until all lab mates are done.
4. Complete the calculations required to complete each table.
 Your Max Heart Rate is 220-your age
 % HR max is your HR following the sprint over the Max HR times 100
 %VO2max = (%HRmax – 37)/.64
 VO2 max is pretty much the same as absolute oxygen consumption
Exercise Table 2:
Name Heart Rate Absolute Oxygen Norm Ranking Relative Norm Ranking
after 50 m Consumption for Absolute Oxygen for Relative
SPRINT Oxygen Consumption Oxygen
Consumption Consumption
(Ref. Table 2) (Ref Table 3)
Gracie 134 44.83 Good 2.67 Good
Jisung 158 63.2 Good 3.59 Good
Lara 150 57.07 High 3.49 High
Radhika 148 56.10 High 2.42 Average

Exercise 3: YOUR CHOICE (AEROBIC or ANAEROBIC EXERCISE)

1. Create your own exercise. Consider what information it would provide you and how you would
design your Data Table. You can determine this with your group.
Name Heart Rate After Absolute Oxygen Norm Ranking Relative Oxygen Norm Ranking for
100 Jumping Consumption for Absolute Consumption Relative Oxygen
Jacks Oxygen Consumption
Consumption
Gracie 139 48.65 Good 2.90 High
Jisung 155 60.9 High 3.46 Average
Lara 146 54.01 High 3.31 High
Radhika 142 51.49 High 2.22 Average

Results: Graph your results. I am not going to tell you how to graph, but here is what to keep in mind: this is a
visual representation of your data. It should be clear, neat, accurate and easy to determine what trends you
are trying to show. Feel free to discuss the best way to set up your graph with your lab mates.
Analysis: Now you know your oxygen consumption amounts. What does this have to do with cellular respiration?
Refer back to pre-lab Question 1. How can you apply the data you got in lab to determine how much
cellular respiration you and your lab mates performed? Make sure to include all calculations and units!

Relative and absolute oxygen consumption values are an indicator of how often your body undergoes cellular
respiration. One of the reactants of cellular respiration is oxygen, so each time you inhale, oxygen is entering your
body, undergoes cellular respiration, and is expelled as CO2 and H2O when you exhale, and the energy produced
fuels your body during aerobic exercise. We can find out specifically who is performing more cellular respiration
during aerobic activities when looking at oxygen consumptions. In order to calculate my absolute oxygen
consumption for the 1.5 mile run, I did:

(speed (189.1) m/min)*(0.2 ml/kg/min per m/min) +3.5 ml/kg/min= 41.3

While this shows the amount of oxygen in all I consumed, a slightly more accurate calculation would be relative,
which shows how much oxygen I consumed per minute in relation to my weight. I found this by:

(my weight/2.2lb/kg)*(41.3 absolute oxygen consumption) divided by 1000ml/L

On the other hand, during the sprinting portion, our bodies underwent anaerobic respiration, because when doing
highly strenuous exercise, such as sprinting, our cells cannot receive the needed oxygen to perform cellular
respiration. Our bodies instead undergo lactic acid fermentation, which can only work for a short amount of time,
thanks to the small amount of ATP being produced. In order to calculate, I did:

(220)-(16)= 204 HR Max

(134/204)*100 gave the percent HR Max (66%)
 (66-37)/.64 gives us the %VO2 max of 45.31, which is essentially the same as absolute oxygen consumption

Through the calculations, we can see that higher absolute oxygen consumptions, relative oxygen consumptions,
and VO2 max are indicators of more cellular respiration. As more oxygen is allowed into the body, more oxygen
can be used by the cells, meaning more cellular respiration can be done. When looking at percentiles (based on
body weight), we can see that at a 66.7% percentile in the 1.5 mile run, I performed more cellular respiration than
Lara, who had a 58.3% percentile, but less cellular respiration than Radhika, who had a 72.8% percentile.

Conclusions: Write a conclusion that includes whether or not you accepted your hypothesis, what information your
gathered in the lab, what kinds of trends you saw in the data, how you analyzed your results and what
conclusions you were able to draw after the lab. Be sure to include how you compared to your lab mates.
Make sure to end with the various types of error (there is never just one) as well as what can be done to
correct it or how the lab can be improved if repeated.

I do not fully accept my hypothesis. While we never found an exact number of times our body underwent cellular
respiration, we know it occurs with each breath, not each heartbeat. On the other hand, anaerobic respiration does
in fact occur with sprinting, as I hypothesized. My group analyzed 3 different types of exercises: the two
anaerobic were the 50-meter dash and the 100 jumping jacks, and the one aerobic was the 1.5-mile run. The
trends we saw were that there were very high relative oxygen consumptions for the 50m dash, but the cell could
still not adequately distribute and process the oxygen, meaning anaerobic respiration still occurred. In addition,
the oxygen consumption values tended to be around the same for the anaerobic, but slightly lower for the aerobic.
Me and my lab mates had around the same values when it came to relative oxygen consumption in relation to our
times and weights, and also had the same trends in data. There were some possible limitations to the lab,
including how fast we pushed ourselves, temperature and humidity differences, different types of clothing, and
places ran. In order to combat some of these limitations, we could all run in the same, flat area, as to reduce time
elongations due to hills, we could all wear the same clothing (so no extra wind resistance), and all run at one time
as to not have temperature or humidity differences affect our time.
Reference Tables
Norm Ranking for Oxygen Consumption ABSOLUTE