Robby+D.

=The Lung Capacity Test=

Goals:
For my project I wanted to see which way of breathing would deliver the most oxygen to the lungs. The two different ways testing were mouth and nose breathing. I hypothesized nose breathing would lead to a greater lung capacity. I felt this way because I received nose surgery during Thanksgiving to correct my deviated septum. After this procedure, I realized that my endurance during aerobic activites seemed to go up. I felt as though after the surgery, I could run for longer with out getting as winded as I did before the surgery. toc

Discoveries
The average control inhale volume was 3240 mL and the complete average inhaled volume was 3433 mL. After this baseline test, each subject was told to breathe only through his mouth for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, he was told to take three deep breaths and try the spirometer again. For most people, the score went up and the first mouth test average was 3375 mL compared to the average baseline test of 3240 mL. The first nose test often saw a slight decrease in volume inhaled with the average at 3226.25 mL. The second mouth inhalation averaged the highest volume out of all the tests with an average of 3646 mL. The second nose test displayed an increase of about 100 mL on average compared to the first test. The second nose test average was 3347.5 mL. The last and third mouth test showed a slight decrease in volume when compared to the previous mouth test, but it was still an increase from the previous nose test. This average was 3562.5 mL. The last nose test was the most surprising. This test showed the greatest jump from test to test. This last test’s average rivaled that of the highest mouth test with an average of 3636.25 mL. This is a jump of nearly 300 from the previous nose test. There are a few explanations for this sudden jump. First, the airway through the nose is smaller and more constricted than that of its counter part, the mouth. This makes it harder for air to travel in and out of the nose. This resistance on the lungs forces them to expand further than they have to while one is breathing in and out of the mouth. Another reason may have nothing to do with the way one was breathing but rather each test subject got reenergized knowing that this was the last test. Perhaps he wanted to go off on his highest score of the day and put the most effort into the last test. The last reason may be that they finally figured out how to use the spirometer for the nose tests. The spirometer was an inhale spirometer, which means that one must inhale for the measurement cylinder to go up. The piece that each person had to inhale into was a mouthpiece so it was a little awkward taking deep breaths through the nose and then taking the test with the mouth. This awkward part did in fact cause some people trouble and forced them to get lower scores than they were capable of. In the end the mouth inhale volume average was 3527.5 mL and the nose average inhale volume was 3404 mL. This means, on average, participants were able to inhale 123.5 mL more air into their lungs while breathing through their mouth than while breathing through their nose. My hypothesis that breathing through one’s nose would yield higher volumes of air inhaled than while breathing through the mouth was not supported by the data. This, however, does not mean that my hypothesis was disproved. I feel that there is inclusive evidence and I am unable to fully determine which way is better. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, breathing through the nose, as mentioned above, creates resistance, which leads to lung expansion. For my test, however, breathing through the nose and breathing through the mouth was mixed together, so any benefits gained by nose breathing could have either been used by mouth breathing or lost after one started breathing with the mouth. Also, the last nose score average was the highest one recorded while the mouth average scores had begun to decrease. This makes me wonder if the experiment had been longer the trend would have been reversed and the nose average volume would have passed the mouth average volume.

Challenges
The biggest challenge for my project was dealing with experimental error. This experiment was littered with chances for experimental error. Firstly, the biological make of the subject directly influences lungs size and capacity. The taller the person, the bigger the lung cavity he has and thus he will inevitably have a bigger lung. This is not to say all tall people have a greater lung capacity, because if a shorter person takes part in lots of aerobic activities then they have potential to have a greater lung capacity, but tall people have a natural advantage. Second, the spirometer produced some areas of potential experimental error. First off, it was an inhale spirometer so no matter how long one breathed only through the nose, the test was only made possible breathing in through the mouth. The spirometer was also a little awkward. Most people felt they should exhale into it and not inhale, and this cause some questionable results. Some subjects had medical conditions such as allergies that caused stuffed noses or sore throats and asthma. A stuffed nose makes breathing through the nose more difficult and would inevitably bring the nose score of that person down. The weather could also influence the results because on a cold day one could pick up a runny nose, which would effect the results of the test like the stuffed nose did. Another source of experimental error was the previous activity of each participant. If the subject had been running out side, nervous, or something else that would induce heavy breathing than their lungs would have started working before the test began and would thus get different results from someone who had been just sitting before taking it. The position and technique of each subject had the potential to and did influence many results. Each person was told to position himself however he felt he could get the highest score, for some this meant standing and for other this meant sitting. Also, some realized that if one exhales as hard as one can, he could in turn inhale more air. Some figured this out mid way through the test so their scores suddenly jumped half way through, and others were told this in the beginning by on lookers so they had the advantage from the start. Competition turned out to be a huge factor in scores. High school boys are naturally competitive especially when comparing themselves to classmates and friends. The first people tested had nothing to compare to, and thus had no incentive to try really hard, but after my number of participants increased people would look for their friends scores and try to beat it. Another source of competition was people standing around. If I tested multiple people in a short amount of time then a small cluster of kids would surround the tester, cheering him on and pushing him to do well. The focus of the person being tested was another thing I could not control. If he was spacing out and not focusing on really breathing well then he would not turn out very impressive results. Lastly, as touched on above, the order in which the tests were administered could and did lead to some experimental error. In my tests, mouth breathing always came first and nose last, and this influenced the elasticity of the lungs and thus the results.

Looking Back
By completing this experiment I learned the true complexity of experiments. I went into the process thinking that 20 participants would yield strong evidence either for or against my hypothesis but realized that coming out with a definite answer is a lot harder and takes a lot more time. The most enjoyable part of the experiment was the experiment itself. It was really fun to watch people’s lungs frustrate themselves by not sucking in close to as much air as they thought they could have. The main skill I learned while doing this project was my explanation skills. In the beginning my subjects were constantly confused on how to be breathing and what they were supposed to be doing, but by the end I was able to convey my direction in a much more understandable way. To reflect on this process I am mostly happy and proud of my work. I was satisfied in the number of participants and the data collected. The one area I wish I had done a better job in would be in coming up with conclusive evidence one way or another because I was planning of using my results to help myself train. The way I could improve on this would have been if I had lots more time. With more time I would have been able to test mouth and nose volume on different days and would have been able to do more repeated trials with more people. Although, overall I am pleased with the way the project went.

Project Resources
Overall results
 * Red means OVER 5000 because 5000 was the limitBlue – Baseline Average



 Red – Nose only average Light Green – Mouth only Average Blue- Baseline average



Blue – First mouth test Orange – Second mouth test Light Green – Third and final mouth test



Blue – First nose test Orange – Second nose test Light Green – Third and final nose test

Participants’ baseline score vs. their average score


 * 1) 21 is the average baseline vs. the average score

Overall Mouth Average Score vs. Overall Nose Average Score