Lung Capacity and Fitness Level

Medium

Do people who exercise more have bigger lungs? Lung capacity (the total air your lungs can hold) is one way to measure fitness. You can test it with a simple water displacement method. Fill a plastic bottle with water and turn it upside down in a dish pan. Each volunteer takes a deep breath and blows through a tube into the bottle. The air pushes water out. You read the markings on the bottle to measure the volume. Test 7 to 10 volunteers with different fitness levels and compare their results.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that if someone has a higher volume of water displacement, then his lung capacity is greater than someone with less volume displacement.

Science Concepts Learned

Lung Capacity

Lung capacity is one way to measure fitness, and a water displacement method makes the measurement visible. You fill a bottle with water, turn it upside down, and have a volunteer blow through a tube into it. The air pushes water out, and the markings on the bottle show the volume of air from one deep breath. Testing volunteers with different fitness levels reveals whether more active people hold more air.

Respiratory System

A single breath can generate enough air pressure to push water out of a sealed container. You fill a plastic bottle with water, turn it upside down in a dish pan, and run a tube into the opening. Each volunteer takes a deep breath and blows through the tube into the bottle. The air pushes water out, and you read the markings on the bottle to measure the volume displaced. That volume equals the air the volunteer delivered in one breath. Testing 7 to 10 volunteers with different fitness levels lets you compare results and ask whether people who exercise more have bigger lungs.

Exercise Physiology

Regular exercise changes more than just heart rate. Lung capacity (the total air your lungs can hold) is one way to measure fitness. You can compare volunteers with different fitness levels using a water displacement method to see who holds more air.

Method & Materials

You will create a fitness survey, clean the plastic tubing, fill a plastic bottle with water, have the volunteer hold the bottle in the water, have the volunteer take in a big breath and blow out as much air as possible through the tube, measure the volume of water displaced, and give the volunteer a 2-minute break between trials.

You will need 7-10 volunteers with varying fitness levels, a fitness survey, a 2-liter plastic bottle or 1-gallon plastic jug, a plastic dish pan, masking tape, a permanent marker, clear, bendable plastic tubing, a large liquid measuring cup labeled with ounces, white vinegar, water, a small cup, and paper towels.

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Results

The results of the experiment showed that those who exercised more regularly and more intensely had greater lung capacity. This indicates that regular and intense exercise results in larger lung capacity, which is one measurement of someone being fit.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting and unique because it allows people to measure their own lung capacity and see how it relates to their fitness level.

Also Consider

Variations of this experiment could include testing the lung capacity of different age groups or testing the lung capacity of people who exercise differently.