Homeostasis
Abstract:
This lab proved homeostasis by testing our body temperature after exercising. In this experiment, two people ran 1-2 laps on a track and timed it, then had their temperatures taken with a thermometer before and after running. The results were that after running, our body temperature rose and then cooled back down to our original/starting temperature in a number of minutes. We found that the increase and the decrease in temperature in runner 1 and 2 was the same throughout the lab.
Introduction:
To prove homeostasis, our group tested how our bodies regulate temperature. Human bodies must remain at a specific range of temperature around 97-98℉. The body temperature that is too hot for the average person is above 100℉, or too cold which would be below 95℉. The droppage and raise of temperature below or above the average degrees can cause organ failure and death if not returned to a normal temperature. During exercise, the body naturally heats due to release of heat energy by muscles. The body is able to remove this excess heat through sweating, respiration, etc., and return to a state of homeostasis. Thyroid hormones like triiodothyronine, thyroxine are sent by the brain to help regulate body temperature and metabolism. They signal blood to carry more waste from the cells to cool them and prolong the time a person can exercise. We tested the process of heating and cooling of the body with runners whose body temperature would rise as they ran, and cool down once they stopped.
Procedure & Materials:
Materials
Procedure
Results: Homeostasis was proved when body temperature returned to normal/starting temperature of the runner before he/she started running.
This lab proved homeostasis by testing our body temperature after exercising. In this experiment, two people ran 1-2 laps on a track and timed it, then had their temperatures taken with a thermometer before and after running. The results were that after running, our body temperature rose and then cooled back down to our original/starting temperature in a number of minutes. We found that the increase and the decrease in temperature in runner 1 and 2 was the same throughout the lab.
Introduction:
To prove homeostasis, our group tested how our bodies regulate temperature. Human bodies must remain at a specific range of temperature around 97-98℉. The body temperature that is too hot for the average person is above 100℉, or too cold which would be below 95℉. The droppage and raise of temperature below or above the average degrees can cause organ failure and death if not returned to a normal temperature. During exercise, the body naturally heats due to release of heat energy by muscles. The body is able to remove this excess heat through sweating, respiration, etc., and return to a state of homeostasis. Thyroid hormones like triiodothyronine, thyroxine are sent by the brain to help regulate body temperature and metabolism. They signal blood to carry more waste from the cells to cool them and prolong the time a person can exercise. We tested the process of heating and cooling of the body with runners whose body temperature would rise as they ran, and cool down once they stopped.
Procedure & Materials:
Materials
- Track
- Thermometer
- Paper
- Pencil
- Timer
Procedure
- Take temperature of 3 people before running
- Record their temperature in a data table
- Person 1 runs (1 lap) ¼ mile
- Person 2 runs (2 laps) ½ mile
- Take both person 1 and 2’s temperature immediately after they ran and record their temperature in the data table
- Take & record person 3’s temperature
- Wait 2 minutes to take temperature every time until temp drops back down to normal/starting temperature and record data
Results: Homeostasis was proved when body temperature returned to normal/starting temperature of the runner before he/she started running.
Observations:
The person who didn’t run (person 3) had the same temperature the whole time throughout this experiment. After running two laps, person 2’s temperature rose to the highest degree compared to person 1 and 3. Person 1 had a very low starting temperature at 96.9 degrees as person 2 and 3 had the same starting temperature at 98.7 degrees. Each person’s running average was about 2:11 seconds per lap. The rate of increase and decrease was almost the same throughout the lab for person 2.
Discussion:
Our group discovered how each of our participants were able to maintain homeostasis throughout our experiment. This was proved when the runners’ temperatures increased, due to the activity, but because of the process of homeostasis and how our body’s have the ability to cool itself down. This led to their temperatures dropping back down to their original/normal temperature. The control aspects also helped prove this because someone who didn’t exercise, for example person 3 in our experiment, exerted heat energy which didn’t need to be used processes like sweating, breathing heavily, and other cool processes to maintain a normal, healthy temperature. The times at which we took temperatures, it worked well and made sense for our experiment because it gave good insight into body temperature at different stages of movement during exercise. This meant our group could have made an error when timing the laps of each person, which could have affected the rate of heating (degrees/min). Our group could improve our experiment by adding more runners and more laps of running to see how homeostasis works for more participants, and how extra exercise could affect our data. What went well was each person only had to test run once, and we all communicated and worked together greatly as a group. Some errors we might have made were that our group could have not started or stopped the timer precisely as each runner started or stopped running. The temperature outside could have affected our external body temperature, which could have changed our internal temperature by a number of degrees. Our thermometer could have been affected or not have been 100% accurate, which could have changed our data overall. Our group could have improved on having more accurate results and not making as many human errors that occurred. Further investigations led to how quickly homeostasis took to occur.
Homeostasis: refers to the ability of the body or a cell to seek and maintain a condition of equilibrium or stability within its internal environment when dealing with external changes. It is involved in the maintenance of the constant internal environment which includes the function of kidney, liver, skin, etc.
Body Temperature: the normal temperature of the human body. A person's normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius
Temperature: is a measure of how hot or cold something is; specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object, which is a type of energy associated with motion
Body Temperature: the normal temperature of the human body. A person's normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius
Temperature: is a measure of how hot or cold something is; specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object, which is a type of energy associated with motion