Main content
Course: Middle school biology - NGSS > Unit 10
Lesson 1: Unit 3 activitiesActivity: How can measuring cellular respiration help us reach a fitness goal?
Make science come alive in your classroom with this free hands-on activity aligned to middle school NGSS standards.
Activity: how can measuring cellular respiration help us reach a fitness goal?
Imagine you are setting off on a morning jog. After some time, your muscles start to feel tired. Your heart rate increases, and you begin to breathe harder. Why do our bodies respond this way to exercise?
In this activity, students investigate the relationship between exercise and the process of cellular respiration. Then, students use data from their investigation to design an effective cardiovascular exercise plan.
Give us feedback!
Have you tried this activity? Tell us your thoughts in this short survey.
Overview
This activity is designed to be completed in two 45-minute class periods, with additional time required for follow-up creative projects. The activity consists of the following parts:
- Setting the stage—Students review the fundamentals of cellular respiration and its connection to the body's physiological responses to exercise. (15 minutes)
- Investigation—Students do an experiment in which they use an indicator (bromothymol blue) to measure how different exercises affect cellular respiration. (75 minutes, can be completed over two days)
- Let's get creative!—Students use the data from their investigation to design an effective cardiovascular exercise plan. (45 minutes)
- Keep creating!—Students can choose from additional project ideas. Each project encourages students to combine scientific knowledge with creativity to produce something new.
Printable resources
NGSS performance expectations
MS-LS1-7. Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.
Want to join the conversation?
During my quiz there was a question that stated plants and animals both release carbon dioxide is this true.I always thought plants release oxygen while animals release carbon dioxide.(11 votes)
Well, plants release Oxygen through Photosynthesis, a process where they make their own food. To explain shortly, plants consume water (H2O), minerals and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from the environment to rearrange the molecules and turn them into glucose (C6H12O6), a sugar they consume for energy, getting rid of the leftover oxygen. For all this they need the sun's light energy, and then, the energy produced becomes chemical.
However, plants also do Cellular Respiration (at the same time they do photosynthesis), where everything is basically the reverse from Photosynthesis. They consume the glucose and environment oxygen to make ATP and NADPH (Both essential compounds) that serve as usable energy for metabolic functions.
In short words, plants DO release Oxygen, in photosynthesis, but also CO2, in Cellular Respiration, simultaneously.(16 votes)
How does a plant grow?(5 votes)
Plants grow using Photosynthesis and water from the soil that they are in, they use photosynthesis and convert that energy into usable sugars.(3 votes)
What is the link between photosynthesis and cellular respiration in plants. It seems like it's just a loop. How, or in what case does a plant have an output of oxygen if it uses it in cellular respiration?
Relating, in the quiz right before an answer states that both animal cells and plant cells have an output of carbondioxide, so does the plant actually "clean" the atmosphere?(3 votes)
The plant produces excess oxygen that it releases into the atmosphere because it needs more glucose than oxygen. ( it uses all of the glucose to grow but doesn't need all the oxygen)(6 votes)
I enjoyed reading this because its an exercise for the brain.(5 votes)
real because how real it is is because i also enjoyed reading this is how real it is(2 votes)
During my quiz there was a question that stated plants and animals both release carbon dioxide is this true.I always thought plants release oxygen while animals release carbon dioxide.(3 votes)
"I'm sorry, but you are mistaken."(2 votes)
Well, I don't know what to say but how does carbon dioxide form in our body and where does it come from?(2 votes)- When you breathe in, you take in oxygen. That oxygen goes towards cellular respiration and giving oxygen to blood cells. Cellular respiration (Metabolism) releases carbon dioxide and is taken out with an exhale.(2 votes)
- Is it true that you do not always need sunlight for your plant to survive??(2 votes)
- A plant can grow under a UV lamp instead of sun! But there are some plants that don't need light at all to survive but get their energy from fungus in the ground. It's really interesting, you should look it up!(2 votes)
I run 10 miles almost every day and I don't get tired and my feet feel fine my breathing stays the same as I started and my heart beat stays the same too and idk how i'm just built differently. lol(2 votes)
About to turn 15 next month YAAAAAY!(1 vote)
- how long does it take a plant to fully adapt?(2 votes)
- that exercise increases the rate of cellular respiration because more carbon dioxide was produced. The data has a consistent trend that show the time needed.(2 votes)
