Practical activity (Spirometry and lung function)
Practical activity
In this activity, you will use the OpenSTEM Africa Virtual Laboratory Spirometer application to measure changes in FEV1/FVC (%) over time between males and females, and between smokers and non-smokers.
Read the following instructions before accessing the Spirometer application homepage. When you do access the homepage, first watch the introductory video before entering the application.
Task 1
Your first task is to measure the differences between healthy young males and females with a height of 180 cm.
The purpose of this task is to familiarise yourself with the operation of the Spirometer application and to corroborate the sex difference in lung function suggested in Figure 6.
When you enter the spirometry application, set the following parameters:
- age: 20
- male
- height: 180 cm
- non-smoker
Start the measurement and record the output of the FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC (%) using the ‘Record data’ button. Repeat this measurement a further two times (i.e., three readings per condition), remembering to record the data each time. Once you have collected the data, collate your observations in your laboratory notebook in the form of a table, such as the one shown below.
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Data for a non-smoking male aged 20 years old |
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FEV1 |
FVC |
FEV1/FVC (%) |
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Test 1 |
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Test 2 |
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Test 3 |
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Mean (average) values |
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Now set the following parameters and take three more measurements.
- age: 20
- female
- height: 180 cm
- non-smoker
Record your data in another table.
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Data for a non-smoking female aged 20 years old |
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FEV1 |
FVC |
FEV1/FVC (%) |
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Test 1 |
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Test 2 |
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Test 3 |
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Mean (average) values |
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Plot a bar chart showing the mean FEV1/FVC (%) values for healthy men and women (aged 20 and 180 cm tall) and compare the difference in lung function. Do your observations support the information presented in Figure 6?
Task 2
Your second task is to investigate the effect of height on lung function.
Set the following parameters:
- age: choose any age between 20 and 60 (but use the same age for all recordings)
- sex: choose either male or female (but use the same sex for all recordings)
- non-smoker
- height: choose several heights between 125 and 190 cm
Record your data (FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC (%) values) in a table – you will use this to answer one of the quiz questions at the end of this lesson.
Task 3
Your third task is to investigate the effect of smoking on lung function.
First, you will collect data for a healthy non-smoking population.
Set the following parameters:
- age: collect data for 20, 40, 60 and 80 years of age.
- sex: choose either male or female (but use the chosen sex for all readings)
- height: choose a height of your choice (but use the same height for all readings)
- non-smoker
Record your data (FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC (%) values) in a table.
Second, select the smoker status and repeat your data collection with the same settings used in the first part of this task.
Record your data (FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC (%) values) in a table.
Once you have collected your data, on the same graph plot (using a x–y scatter plot) the change in FEV1/FVC (%) as a function of age for both non-smokers and smokers – you will use this graph to answer one of the quiz questions at the end of this lesson.
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Spirometer |
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Click on the icon below to access the Spirometer application homepage in the OpenSTEM Africa Virtual Laboratory. Watch the introductory video before entering the experiment.
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