The following survey study uses a quantitative research design to investigate motivational and affective aspects of students (aged 14-17) in a mathematical workshop on graph theory. Motivational and affective aspects are related to heart rate measurement (using the digital medium of a pulse watch) in mathematical knowledge development processes in an empirical-oriented mathematics class. Interestingly, a link between constructs on motivational and affective aspects and a heart rate measurement is describable. This gives further impulses for investigation and could be used in the future to determine the teaching phases or tasks in which students are particularly motivated.