How Age Affects Lung Recovery

By Madison SniderGrade 9

Problem

How Does Age Affect Lung Recovery?

Research Total Lung Capacity: maximum volume to which the lungs

can be expanded with the greatest possible effort

How age affects lung recovery and found that a person’s total lung capacity (TLC) increases until puberty where it reaches its height. From there on, the TLC begins to decrease.

How exercise affects lung capacity and found that exercise creates a larger need for oxygen in the lungs so in order to obtain enough oxygen, lung capacity increases when a person exercises.

Breath out is known as tidal volume

Other factors that may affect lung capacity: whether a person smokes or not, amount of a exercise a person performs, and the health of a person

HypothesisThe hypothesis was: if there will be an

evident difference between the lung capacity of younger volunteer compared to older volunteers, then the younger volunteers will have a quicker lung recovery.

Materials

16 Volunteers

Lung Capacitor

Computer (with logger pro application)

Procedure Sterilized, disposable mouth cover is placed on the

lung capacitor

Volunteer exhales into the capacitor and lung volume is recorded and saved.

Volunteer performs the 10 jumping jacks.

After the exercise, volunteer exhales into the capacitor again and the lung volume was again recorded and saved.

Percent change was calculated

Procedure repeated with each volunteer

Variables UsedConstants: Time, Temperature, Lung

Capacitor, Computer, Exercise

Controls: Base Lung Volume

Independent: Age of Volunteer

Dependent: Trial Lung Volumes

Lung Recovery Data

Teens Adults

41.1 65.953.9 191.975.5 100100 105.1

71.4 103.0989.6 13.09100 30.94

10 53.3

Average: 67.6875 82.915Standard Deviation: 29.30018931 52.21628338

TeensAdults

Lung Recovery Rates

Teens Adults0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Lung Volume Recovery Rate

Trial Group

Perc

en

t C

hange

(%)

Conclusions The hypothesis was that if there will be a evident difference

between the lung capacity of younger volunteer compared to older volunteers, the younger volunteers group will have a quicker lung recovery.

This hypothesis was not supported because there was no significant difference between the rate of lung recovery in the younger volunteers and the older volunteers.

The ways this experiment could have been improved include using more volunteers, having a larger range of age groups, and/or having the volunteers perform more jumping jacks

Sources "Lung Capacity - Google Search." Google. Web. 13 Feb.

2011. <http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=lung capacity&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8>.

"Measuring Lung Capacity." The Biology Corner. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/lungcapacity.html>.

Life Science Glossary. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.everythingbio.com/index.php>.

Thanks!I would like to thank all my volunteers for

being apart of my experimentation and I would also like to thank all my sources of information.

Thank you for listening! If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them!