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General Medicine & Health Science Fair Project

Lung Capacity Across Age Groups

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Lung Capacity Across Age Groups | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Does your lung capacity peak at a certain age and then decline? You can measure it with nothing more than a balloon and a ruler. You recruit male and female participants from five age groups: 8-12, 13-20, 21-35, 36-50, and 51-65. Each person clips their nose shut, takes one deep breath, and blows into a balloon. You measure the balloon's diameter with a ruler propped between two wooden blocks. Each participant gets three tries and you record the largest diameter. By comparing the average balloon size across age groups and genders you can see when lung capacity reaches its peak and how it changes over time.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that a person’s lung capacity will increase until they are in their 20’s, after which their lung capacity will slowly decline as they grow older.

Method & Materials

You will need to gather 10 boys and 10 girls aged between 8 to 12 years old, 10 boys and 10 girls aged between 13 to 20 years old, 10 men and 10 women aged between 21 to 35 years old, 10 men and 10 women aged between 36 to 50 years old, and 10 men and 10 women aged between 51 to 65 years old. You will also need 100 balloons, 2 wooden blocks, 100 laundry clips, and 1 ruler. Each participant will take a deep breath and blow a balloon, and the size of the balloon will be measured using a ruler.
You will need 100 balloons, 2 wooden blocks, 100 laundry clips, and 1 ruler.

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Results

The results of this experiment showed that male participants had a larger lung capacity compared to female participants, and participants from the age group of 21 to 35 years old had the largest lung capacity compared to other age groups.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it explores the relationship between lung capacity and age, which is something that many people are curious about.

Also Consider

Variations of this project could include comparing the lung capacity of smokers and non-smokers, or comparing the lung capacity of athletes and non-athletes.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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