11-the Effect Of High Altitude On Oxygen Transport

AS Biology GOLD 1- Writing- High Altitude Transport

Name: Class:

Due: Friday (2/27)

Date: 2/26/15 Gold 1

Today’s Announcements:  Turn in the Hemoglobin Homework and answers from page 3 of “Transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood”  Tomorrow’s quiz will be postponed until next Tuesday, March 3.  The remainder of the Ch. 8 End-of-chapter Questions (5-7) are due tomorrow.  Today’s assignment is due tomorrow.

The effect of high altitude on oxygen transport On my Weebly, I’ve posted helpful resources:

Score: /20

http://ecampbellasuprep.weebly.com/g1-announcements/sub-day-high-altitude-transport (WeeblyBioG1 Announcements) Background Info: Problems associated with high altitude: The partial pressure at high altitude is significantly lower than at sea level (10 kPa vs 20 kPa).  Therefore the partial pressure in the lings at altitude is lower than at sea level.  Therefore the haemoglobin may only be 70% saturated in the lungs at high altitude.  This may cause altitude sickness: Increased rate & depth of breathing.  Feeling of dizziness/weakness.  Arterioles in brain dilate  increased blood flow to brain  leakage of tissue fluid from capillaries to brain tissues  disorientation.  Fluid may leak into lungs  impaired lung function.  Usually the symptoms decline if the person is returned to lower altitude. Adaptations to high altitude: Number of RBC increase from 40-50% of blood volume to 50-70%, but only after 2-3 weeks of living at altitude.  Broad chests  larger lung capacities.  Larger heart  greater stroke volume.  More haemoglobin in blood  greater oxygen carrying capacity.

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AS Biology GOLD 1- Writing- High Altitude Transport

Due: Friday (2/27)

Question Athletes often prepare for competition by spending several months training at high altitude. How could this improve their performance? Directions  Answer this question using at least one paragraph. Use the last portion of the Coursebook Ch. 8 reading, the background info on the front and back of this hand-out, and Google to help, as needed. 

This will be graded using a Cambridge rubric, so be thorough in your response. Please type this and share it with me on Google Drive ([email protected]). I would like to see between ½ to 2 pages typed and double spaced.

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Additionally, please list all sources used.

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If you finish early, please work on completing the Ch. 8 EOCQs.

Training: altitude or sea-level? In related work carried out by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, competitive rowers who trained at sea level achieved significantly greater gains in fitness, compared to rowers who trained at altitude. Nine rowers who trained at sea level for three weeks raised their maximal aerobic capacity (V02max) by an average of 4 per cent and upgraded work capacity during a difficult six-minute exercise test by about 3 per cent. By contrast, nine other rowers who trained at an elevation of 1822 metres (about 6000 feet) for three weeks were unable to improve their sea-level V02max or sea-level performance during the six-minute exercise. Since rowing involves the activation of a smaller total muscle mass compared to cycling and running, some exercise scientists have speculated that rowing has a reduced positive impact on the cardiovascular system (it's easier for the heart to keep the arm and shoulder muscles supplied with blood, compared to the arduous task of keeping the ample leg muscles happy, so heart rates are often lower during rowing. With reduced heart rates, there may simply be less stimulus for the heart to improve). However, the Copenhagen research determined that rowing athletes have hearts and blood vessels which are similar to those of endurance cyclists and runners. Overall, rowers have hearts with large internal volumes and thick, muscular walls, and their total blood volumes are also significantly higher than those of sedentary people. Why was sea-level training better than altitude work for the competitive rowers? Again, the difference was probably due to the intensity-dampening effect of altitude. As oxygen pressures decrease, it becomes more difficult to sustain high-quality intensities for prolonged periods during workouts. As a result, rowers working at altitude are usually training at 2

AS Biology GOLD 1- Writing- High Altitude Transport

Due: Friday (2/27)

a lower power output than sea-level trainers. Over a period of several weeks, that difference translates into an advantage for the sea-level athletes.

Of course, altitude training is necessary to produce the best-possible performances at altitude, but its advantages for sea-level competitions remain doubtful. Overall, the best-possible strategy for endurance athletes is to live at altitude, in order to enjoy the haemoglobin-boosting effects of thin air, but to train at sea level or with supplemental oxygen, so that high-quality training is possible. That's difficult to do, unless you happen to have your own helicopter or aeroplane or live in one of the few high-altitude communities in the world which are also just minutes away from a sea-level training site. 'High-Altitude Training Does Not Increase Maximal Oxygen-Uptake or Work Capacity at Sea-Level in Rowers, ' Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, vol. 3(4), pp. 256-262, November 1993

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