Discussion As revealed in the results section, the average heart rate of the experimental group was higher than the control group’s heart rate throughout the entire experiment.
This supports the first section of our hypothesis, which stated that the experimental group would have a higher pulse rate after exercise than the control group. However, due to the fact that the experimental groups average heart rate was higher than the control groups before any kind of cardiovascular activity occurred, it could have been other factors that caused the heart rate to remain elevated besides the amount of layers the subjects were wearing. It is unknown whether or not there were other health conditions that were had by the subjects in the experimental group, if they smoked, how many minutes they exercise per week, etc. Although, the same could be said about the control group, there were many unknown factors within the experiment. This same lack of knowledge about every variable within the experiment could explain the results of Figure 1.2. Each control group had a higher fitness index than its experimental counterpart, except for Group Three. This could be because the prior fitness level of the subject in the Group Three experimental group had been higher than that of the subject in the control group, which could be due to any of the factors listed in the prior paragraph.
This data negates the second part of our hypothesis, which stated that the experimental group would have a lower fitness index due to their higher heart rate. Conclusively, the data conveys that the experimental group did have higher pulse rates, thus a majority of them had lower fitness index scores. These results can largely be contributed to the fact that the more layers of clothing a subject wears, the higher their body temperature becomes.
The correlation between body temperature and heart rate is positive, meaning that a higher body temperature causes a higher heart rate, thus, this positive relationship combined with the cardiovascular activity caused a higher heart rate and lower fitness index within this group. References Morgan, Judith Giles, and Eloise Brown Carter. “Lab Topic 1: Scientific Investigation.” General College Biology Laboratory Manual, Third ed., Pearson, pp. 1–29.
