Saddleback Journal of Biology - Saddleback College

Fall 2009 Biology 3B Paper
the participants’ blood was retested in the same manner
and the results were then recorded in the lab notebook.
After the first portion of the study, the
participants waited for five minutes before beginning
the treadmill portion. During this portion the
participants jogged for fifteen minutes on the treadmill,
at a speed of 7.1 kilometers per hour. Subjects then
waited for five minutes before their glucose levels were
retested. The participants then took a different memory
test with the same format, and studying time. After the
participants wrote down as many numbers as they
could recall, their blood glucose levels were retested
and recorded.
Results
Memory Tests
The average amount of number sets recalled
after exercise was significantly greater than the initial
test prior to exercise. The average number sets
remembered in the initial test prior to exercise was 4.6
± 0.476 (±SEM, n=10). The average sets recalled after
exercise was 7.3 ± 1.27 (±SEM, n=10). A one tailed,
paired t-test revealed that the number of sets
remembered after exercise is significantly greater than
without exercise (p=0.003) (Figure 1).
Blood Glucose Levels
The blood glucose levels did not change
significantly throughout the testing period. The average
blood glucose level before the initial memory test was
86.6 ± 3.1 mg/dL (±SEM, n=10), and the level after the
initial memory test and before exercise was 89 ± 3.7
mg/dL (±SEM, n=10). The average blood glucose level
after exercise and before the second memory test was
95.8 ± 6.1 mg/dL (±SEM, n=10). The average level
after the second memory test was 86.6 ± 4.1 mg/dL
(±SEM, n=10). An ANOVA test revealed that there
was no significance in the differences between the
glucose levels (p=0.417) (Figure 2).
Average Number Sets Remembered
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Memory Test 1 Before Exercise
Memory Test 2 After Exercise
Figure 1: The average number of sets recalled after exercise were 58.6 percent greater than before exercise. A one
tailed, paired t-test revealed that the number of sets recalled after exercise was significantly greater than without
exercise (p=0.003).
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Saddleback Journal of Biology
Spring 2010