
Gender Differences in Lung Volume
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Does gender affect how much air your lungs can hold? You can measure lung volume with just a balloon, a piece of string, and a ruler.
You recruit 10 males and 10 females of similar age and health. Each person breathes normally into a balloon three times. You measure the balloon's circumference each time and convert it to a volume. Then each person exhales forcefully into a new balloon so you can measure their expiratory reserve volume (the extra air pushed out after a normal breath).
Average the results for each gender and compare whether males or females hold more air in their lungs.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that boys will have a higher lung volume than girls.
Method & Materials
You will divide the participants into two groups: 10 males and 10 females. Then, you will measure the lung volume of each participant by having them breathe into a balloon and measuring the circumference of the balloon. Finally, you will calculate the average lung volume of each participant and record the results.
You will need a supply of balloons, 20 participants, a piece of string, a ruler, a lung volume table, and a data table.
Results
The results of the experiment showed that boys had a higher lung volume than girls. The most interesting observation was that the boys had an average lung volume of 4,000 cubic centimeters, while the girls had an average lung volume of 3,500 cubic centimeters.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it allows us to compare the lung volumes of boys and girls while controlling for other variables.
Also Consider
Variations of this experiment could include repeating it over a wide range of age groups and ethnicities, or measuring the lung volumes of athletes compared to non-athletes.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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