Download School Inquiry - Heart

2017 Q2 I ʂ
INQUIRY!
Learn about your HEART and circulatory system!
What You Need:
● Yourself
● A timer or stopwatch (probably
found on an adult’s smartphone)
● Pencil and this paper
Our heart is a muscle which functions as a very
powerful pump to transport blood around the body
in ​our circulatory system​. Your heart, blood
vessels and blood w
​ ork together in a system ​with
your lungs to bring nutrients and oxygen to cells in
the body and take away waste products. Just before each beat the heart fills with blood, it then
contracts which squeezes the blood along throughout your body.
When we need more energy, for example to run, the heart beats faster to pump more oxygen
around the body. When your heart beats it sends a wave of pressure through all of your veins in
your body. You can feel this pressure in some areas of the body (such as when a vein passes
over a piece of bone). We call this your p
​ ulse​. You can easily feel your pulse if you put your
finger on the side of your neck next to your windpipe. Try it!
*Look for the kid-created instructional video on our website and Facebook page*
Inquiry Instructions:
Try testing your pulse rate under a variety of different conditions to see how it is affected by exercise,
rest, temperature or other circumstances.
1. Take your resting heart rate pulse. Find your pulse on the side of your
neck next to your windpipe. Count how many beats you feel in 60
seconds (one minute). Have an adult time you. My resting pulse is
_______________ beats per minute. (Turn this sheet over…)
Name: ________________________________ Teacher: _____________
2. Now try comparing your heart rate after some different conditions! Use the table
below to record your heart rate. Have someone time you for each. ​Add your own
activity for the last one.
Activity
Pulse beats More or less than
per minute resting pulse?
(Bonus- how many beats
different?)
Resting (recorded on
front side)
Same- 0
Jumping for one minute
inside
Resting outside on cold
day
Jumping outside on cold
day
Right after eating dinner
Upon waking and still
laying down in bed
3. What can you ​conclude​ about how different activities affect your pulse?
4. What can you ​conclude​ about how different temperature affects your
pulse?
5. How could you change this experiment to learn more about if
temperature affects pulse?
BRING THIS COMPLETED INQUIRY SHEET BACK TO YOUR TEACHER BY FRIDAY 2/3/17