THE SCIENCE OF CYCLING – Practical 1
TOPIC:

RESEARCH QUESTION:
Scientifical relationship between the time period of cycling and the amount of energies burnt (i.e. the varition between the
BACKGROUND / THEORY:
Information source : "Cycling to Lose Weight." Weight Loss Resources. Web. 14 Jan. 2012. <http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/logout/sport/cycling.htm>.
Cycling has several advantages in different perspective. Cycling helps in long distance locomotion without the need of automobile. In addition to that, cycling activates major muscles that are found in legs: the quadriceps, glutei, hamstrings and calves. The Pedal power is low in impact and therefore takes the weight off the body, so for many people who cannot do high impact sports because of the pressure it puts on their joints, such as running, cycling is a great alternative. Most women might be concerned that their muscle might enlarge in size due to the vigorous cycling, however this is not true. Cycling burns calories and is unlikely to build large quantities of muscle. Instead it is much more likely that your thighs, bum and waist will all slim down and tone up, making cycling a great exercise for those wanting to help their weight loss. Therefore cycling is considered to be one of the healthiest ways of losing fats.
HYPOTHESIS:
It is hypothesize that as the time period taken by a person to cycle increases then the amount of calories burn by that person also increases. Inversely, if the time taken by a person to cycle decreases, then the amount of calories burn also decrease.
IDENTIFYING VARIABLES: INDEPENDENT | DEPENDENT | CONSTANT | 1. Time period | 1. The amount of calories burn | 1. BMI of the person or their average size 2. The cycling machine used |

MANIPULATION OF THE VARIABLES: 1. Time period:
In this experiment, the investigation is about how time affects the amount of calories loss. Therefore the time should be varied. As this is the independent factor, therefore this factor determine the final result
This factor can be manipulated by using a stopwatch to control the amount of time a person should continue to cycle and at what gap of time.
2.The amount of calories burn:
The amount of calories burn will depend on the time of cycling. If the amount of calories increases, then the amount of energy loss also increases and vice versa.
This factor can be manipulated by using life cycle bike (i.e. 90C upright lifecycle bike) , this machine allow the experimental candidate to cycle and the amount of calories will appear automatically in the machine.

3.BMI of the person or their average size and The cycling machine used:
These two factors must be kept controlled. The experimental candidate should have an average BMI that is between the ranges of 8.5–24.9kg/m².
Using the formula can control this factor:
BMI =
(kg/m² ) weight in kilograms/height in meters²
The cycling machine used must also be the same for all the trials, since different machine can have different pedal pressure . The type of cycling machine used in this experiment is called 90C upright lifecycle bike. The product details are: * • Comfort CurveTM ergonomic seat with 27 seat height adjustments * • 11 Wide RideTM pedal adjustments * • Ergonomically correct handlebars • Alphanumeric LED console * • Heart Rate Monitoring: Polar® telemetry * • 4 workouts * • User can select from up to 9 different languages * • Integrated reading rack and optional accessory tray * • Self-powered * • Available with Attachable LCD Entertainment System

MATERIALS REQUIRED: * Stopwatch * Lifecycle bike 90C upright * 2 candidates with average weight (BMI range from 8.5 to 24.9kg/m².)
DIAGRAM OF THE EXPERIMENT:

CANDIDATE B = FEMALE

CANDIDATE A = MALE

PROCEDURE: 1) The candidate (A) was placed on the life cycle bike to get ready 2) The time was recorded by candidate (B) 3) Candidate (A) cycled for an intervals of 5 minutes for complete 30 minutes 4) The amount of calories burned every 5 minutes was recorded by the machine and it was noted down by candidate (B) 5) Procedure number 1,2,3,4 repeated for 5 trials 6) Position was exchange between candidate (A) as well as candidate (B). Therefore candidate (B) has to repeat procedure no. 1,2,3,4,5
DCP
- RAW CALCULATION TABLE- TABLE 1

| Weight (kg) | Height (m) | BMI (kg/m²) | Male candidate | 67 | 1.76 | 21.6 | Female candidate | 47 | 1.49 | 21.17 |

This data show that both candidate lies on the normal weight category which makes it credible enough to perform the experiment Information source : "Calculate Your BMI - Standard BMI Calculator." Web. 16 Jan. 2012. <http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/>. -Table of Results-

TABLE 2

MALE CANDIDATE | TIME (minute) | Amount of calories burnt (cal) | | TRIAL 1 | TRIAL 2 | TRIAL 3 | TRIAL 4 | TRIAL 5 | AVERAGE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15.3 | 14 | 15.5 | 15.3 | 15 | 15.02 | 10 | 30 | 30.5 | 29.8 | 30.1 | 30.1 | 30.1 | 15 | 40.1 | 44.7 | 45 | 44.5 | 44.7 | 43.8 | 20 | 57.8 | 56.6 | 57 | 55.5 | 57.9 | 56.96 | 25 | 70 | 72.3 | 72 | 71.8 | 72.5 | 71.72 | 30 | 85.2 | 88.1 | 85.3 | 85.2 | 85 | 85.76 |

TABLE 3

FEMALE CANDIDATE | TIME (minute) | Amount of calories burnt (cal) | | TRIAL 1 | TRIAL 2 | TRIAL 3 | TRIAL 4 | TRIAL 5 | AVERAGE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15.4 | 14 | 15.5 | 14.5 | 15.8 | 15.04 | 10 | 30 | 31.5 | 30 | 30.1 | 30.1 | 30.34 | 15 | 40.1 | 44 | 45 | 44.5 | 44 | 43.52 | 20 | 56.28 | 57.6 | 57 | 55.5 | 57.9 | 56.856 | 25 | 70 | 71.3 | 73 | 71.8 | 72.3 | 71.68 | 30 | 84.2 | 88.1 | 86.3 | 84.2 | 85 | 85.56 |
TABLE 4

TIME (minute) | MALE | FEMALE | AVERAGE | | Amount of calories burnt (cal) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15.02 | 15.04 | 15.03 | 10 | 30.1 | 30.34 | 30.22 | 15 | 43.8 | 43.52 | 43.66 | 20 | 56.96 | 56.856 | 113.764 | 25 | 71.72 | 71.68 | 71.7 | 30 | 85.76 | 85.56 | 85.66 |
RESULT OF DATA TABLE:
From the previous few data tables we can conclude that as the time of cycling increases, so does the amount of calories burn. For e.g. when time of cycling is 5 minutes the average calories burn is 15.03 cal, as the time increases to 15 minutes, the amount of calories burn becomes 43.66 calories. Therefore as the time period taken for cycling increases the average amount of calories burn for both male and female increases.
RELATION OF THIS EXPERIMENT TO LIVING ORGANISM (HEALTH): * This experiment shows how the amount of calories burn increases as the time for cycling also increases. This helps people estimate the amount of time a person has to or willing to cycle in order to burn the specific amount of calories desire. The more cycling a person can do (although not excess) can helps to improve health such as your heart and lungs get a solid workout which is excellent for improving your cardiovascular fitness levels. When cardiac muscle strengthen this helps in transport of oxygen around the body. As more calories are burn the level of fat as well as pressure within the body of a person will follow to depreciate. cycling for 30 minutes just 2-3 times a week will help with all other aerobic exercises too and reduce the chances of you having to stop your activity to get your breath back, and again improve your weight loss.
Information source : "Cycling to Lose Weight." Weight Loss Resources. Web. 14 Jan. 2012. <http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/logout/sport/cycling.htm>.

Conclusion- Overall, I can say that my hypothesis was correct. As the time period of the cycling increased the number of calories burnt also increases because Biking will target the muscles of your lower body. Regular exercise will tone and strengthen your quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles. Since biking also requires balance, you will also work your abdominal muscles. It is because you engage so many muscles that you will burn calories and lose weight. These muscles need energy. They will first use the sugar in your blood. Then they will tap the stored sugar and fat in your liver, muscles and fat tissue. From my results I can see that when time of cycling is 5 minutes the average calories burn is 15.03 cal, as the time increases to 15 minutes, the amount of calories burnt is 43.66 cal. Therefore as the time period taken for cycling increases the average amount of calories burnt for both male and female increases. I also learnt from this experiment that cycling not only helps us to burn calories and lose weight but it also keeps people physically fit and protects us from cardiovascular diseases.
Evaluation- overall, I can anticipate that our experiment was a success because we followed our procedure and discovered as the duration of cycling increases, the number of calories burnt also increases. We tested 2 candidates of different genders and obtained a quite good and effective data. However there were some errors in our experiment such as; the frequency and the velocity of the cycling was not totally kept constant. This might have caused a slight fluctuation in our data. We could have improved this experiment in a number of ways such as; we should have used more number of candidates as this would have made our data more accurate and reliable. Also we should have taken more number of trials on other cycle machines, we should have also taken people from different age groups and BMI as this would have made our data near accurate and very effective.