The human body responds to the increased demands of exercise in a number of ways. Studying this response can provide useful information about the function of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. For instance, physiological measurements allow us to understand exactly how the lungs and heart respond to increased physical activity.

A dataset for this piece of work can be accessed via Blackboard. The data shows the physiological response measured from an individual subject during a bout of incremental exercise. This data must be reported, described and explained as part of your essay. It should be written using a style and language suitable for students, researchers and academics to understand.

Format

It is essential that you follow the structure detailed below and use these subheadings.

Title Page
1. Cardiovascular system
2. Respiratory system
Reference List

The entire essay should be a maximum of 1500 words (±10%) (excluding Reference List and Figures).

You should use the following layout for this report:
• Arial or Times New Roman font, size 12
• 1.5 line spacing
• All margins at least 2cm
• Text alignment justified
• Page number at bottom right corner of the page

Presentation of Figures should resemble a scientific journal. Tips on how to make these clear and how to follow conventions can be found in the following section.

You should write in the third person. Avoid using words such as “I” or “we”.

Contents

Title page

Include your title, name, student number and word count (excluding Reference List and Figures).

TIP: Carefully choose an appropriate title which indicates broadly what the essay is about to all readers, including those who are not specialists in the subject area. Be clear and concise: avoid abbreviations, avoid unnecessary words and use no more than ~150 characters (including spaces).

1. Cardiovascular system

• Report the acute response of the heart to exercise using the set of data distributed via Blackboard
• You must include the following Figure in a similar format to that seen in a journal article:
o Figure 1: Plot the individual subject’s heart rate at each running speed
• Describe how this data compares to typical values
• Also describe typical values for stroke volume and cardiac output at rest and during maximal exercise
• Provide an explanation for why the cardiovascular system responds to exercise in this way. Consider the function of the cardiovascular system during exercise. You should explain the physiological mechanisms which bring about this response.

2. Respiratory system

• Report the acute response of the ventilatory system to exercise using the set of data distributed via Blackboard
• You must include the following Figure in a similar format to that seen in a journal article:
o Figure 2: Plot the individual subject’s minute ventilation at each running speed
• Describe how this data compares to typical values
• Also describe typical values for breathing frequency and tidal volume at rest and during maximal exercise
• Provide an explanation for why the respiratory system responds to exercise in this way. Consider the function of the respiratory system during exercise. You should explain the physiological mechanisms which bring about this response.