Anaerobic Respiration

Aim: To demonstrate the effects of anaerobic respiration (muscle fatigue).

Hypothesis: I think the quicker I open and close the peg, the quicker my fingers will get tired.


Equipment: A spring-loaded clothes peg.

Method:

1. Hold the clothes peg between your thumb and forefinger.
2. Relax your fingers so that the peg closes all the way.
3. Squeeze your thumb and forefinger so the peg is fully open.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as quickly as you can until you experience muscle fatigue.

Results/Observations:

When I did the experiment, my fingers got tired easily as I opened and closed the peg as fast as I could. But when I did it at a speed where it wasn't too fast or too slow it took me some time to get tired.

I timed myself opening and closing the peg at different speeds.

(Quick) Time: 13.69 seconds
(Right Amount of Speed) Time: 47.91 seconds

I got tired 34.22 seconds earlier when I went quickly.

Conclusion/Discussion:

In conclusion, I think I got tired easily when I went too quickly because there wasn't enough oxygen going in my body to make the energy I needed because I was consuming my energy too quickly. Though when I was going a pace where it was just right there was enough oxygen to make energy because I wasn't consuming my energy quickly.

Evaluation:

Next time I would try the experiment using different speeds and different kinds of pegs to see if there's going to be any different.