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LAB
How Does Fatigue Affect Muscle Performance?

Problem
A condition known as muscle fatigue occurs when certain waste products of
muscle activity (lactic acid) build up in the cells. Until these waste chemicals
are removed, the fatigue will continue.

Do the Following Activity:

Hold a spring-type clothespin between your thumb and index finger. Pinch the
ends together completely (until the two ends touch) and release them. Do this
as rapidly as possible for one minute. Record the number of times you could
squeeze the clothespin:

Hypothesis: Make a prediction of how many squeezes youll be able to do.

In this experiment, I predict that I will be able to get 46 times in one minute.
Dependant:we measure
Independant: gender: boys vrs. girls

Data/Results:

Trial # # of Squeezes in 1 minute

1 128
2 149
3 159
4 160
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Average Average
Boy Girls
140.013 155.3

Conclusion: (Analyze your data and summarize your findings. Sate how the
results relate to the hypothesis.)
What we did was we tried to find out the dependent on how many times we
can make our finger and thumb go in one minute with a close pin. My
hypothesis was I predict that I will be able to get 46 times in one
minute. The boys were in shock because girls won by 15.287 points the
boys got 140.013 and girls got 155.3.

Reflection Questions:

1. Could you do as many in a minute the fourth time as you could do the first
time? Provide a biological explanation for these results.
No because my first one was 128 and my last was 160

2. What does an increased pulse rate indicate about the heart rate and flow
of blood in someones body?
It increases as the pulse rate slows down
It decreases as the pulse rate goes up

3. If you want to increase your clothespin-squeezing rate, would you suggest

exercising or resting before you did it? Explain why you think your choice
is correct.
I would rest because then you can go faster because your pulse rate is geting
slower if your calm.
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4. What do you think would happen to the number of squeezes if you were
asked to do a 5th trial for clothespin squeezing?
I think I would have gone slower and get less then my first try because my
hand was already really tired And I could barely even do it anymore.

5. What effect did muscle fatigue have on the action of your hand muscles?