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Overview: |
Students explore the effect of various activities on their heart rates. |
Objective: |
To show how different amounts amd kinds of activities cause the heart to beat at different rates. |
Skills: |
Predicting, linking cause and effect, making inferences, observing, collecting data. |
Materials |
Stethoscope or 18-inch (45cm) piece of rubber tubing with 2 kitchen funnels ( or two paper cups). Small ball of clay Match stick Stop watch or clock with second hand Heart Throbs Student Worksheet |
Preparation: |
None |
Lesson |
Ask: " How fast does your heart beat per minute?" Students can find out by counting their own pulse. When an artery passes close to the skin, we can feel a pulse. With the middle fingers of one hand, students can find their pulse on the opposite wrist, just above the hand. Have them press down slighty with their fingers and count the beats felt for 15 seconds. Multiply the answer by four to find out how many times their heart beats per minute.
Usually people feel a pulse, but students can make a simple device to watch it. Put a small ball of clay over the pulse point on the wrist. Flatten the bottom of the ball slightly and stick the match stick into it. Now rest the arm and watch the pulse, Count how many times the match moves in one minute. A student can hear the heartbeat by putting an ear to a classmate's chest. The heartbeat can be heard more clearly with the help of an 18-inch piece of rubber tubing and two kitchen funnels or simply two paper cups. Fit one end of the tubing over the narrow end of each funnel, or push through the bottoms of the cups. Put one funnel or cup to your ear and the other to your partner's chest. The "lub-dub" noise is the sound of blood rushing through the heart and the heart's valves closing behind the blood. It's the sound the doctor hears through the stethoscope. |
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