Unit 5a: Keeping Healthy The Heart and Lungs

1. Unit 5a: Keeping HealthyThe Heart and Lungs Key Stage 2: Year 5 Science by Mrs. Chapman, 2005 Greet School, Birmingham

2. Introduction 1 The human body 2 What does the heart do? 3 Heart key facts 4 Heart health 5 What do the lungs do? 6 Lungs key facts 7 The circulation 8 Pulse and exercise 9 Pulse rate data 10 How do I look after them? Heart and lungs quiz Links for further study Unit 5a Keeping Healthy: The Heart and Lungs Year 5 Science by Mrs. Chapman

3. Your body is very special. We need to look after our bodies to stay healthy. Although we may look still and quiet on the outside, our body is constantly moving and changing inside. Can you find the brain, the heart and the lungs? The human body Back to Introduction

4. Your heart, made of muscle, pumps blood around your body via bloodvessels (tubes). The heart is inside your chest, protected by bones - the ribs and breast bone. When the heart pumps, it beats - we measure the heartbeat via the pulse - easily found on your wrist and neck. Blood carries oxygen to the parts of the body that need it. What does the heart do? Back to Introduction

5. Your heart is about the size of your fist. In most adults it beats about 70 times a minute (70 bpm). In children and small animals, the heart beats faster. The first heart transplant was in 1967. You cannot normally live for more than 5 minutes if your heart stops beating. Heart disease is the number 1 killer in the western world! Doctors examine your heart by taking the pulse (to see how fast it’s beating), ECGs (special electrical rhythm charts), x-rays and scans including ultrasound (like an unborn baby scan). Heart key facts Back to Introduction

6. Heart health Heart on chest x-ray Man having a chest x-ray Ultrasound output Back to Introduction ECG graph output

7. Your lungs receive the air you breathe in through your nose. When you breathe in, the lungs puff-out or inflate, and deflate when you breathe out. From the air, they take the useful part - oxygen (a gas), and convert it for use in the body via the bloodstream. The blood swaps carbon dioxide (the waste material) for oxygen in the lungs. This is why the lungs are often said to convert gases. What do the lungs do? Back to Introduction

8. Lungs key facts • You have 2 lungs. • Your lungs are protected by your ribcage. • Close-up, they look like a wet sponge. • The left lung is smaller - to accommodate your heart (see the x-ray showing the heart). • Your lungs are particularly vulnerable to breathing-in nasty substances - toxic chemicals, smoke from fires and cigarette smoke all damage your lungs. Back to Introduction

9. The circulation • Blood (with oxygen and nutrients) goes round our bodies via the heart. We call this circulation (from the word ‘circle’). • The heart sends blood to the lungs first to collect the oxygen from the air we’ve just breathed-in, then it goes to where it’s needed (this is shown in red). • The blood then returns to the lungs via the heart (this is shown in blue) with carbon dioxide - the gas that we breathe out. • This is described as a figure of ‘8’. Back to Introduction

10. When you exercise parts of your body need an increased blood supply (more oxygen and nutrients) so your heart beats faster. You also breathe faster - to get more oxygen into your lungs, and to get rid of the carbon dioxide. You also get hot and sometimes flushed (or red faced). What parts of the body need an increased blood supply when running? Take your resting pulse and produce a bar chart of your group’s results. What is the most common range for pulse? Pulse and exercise Back to Introduction

11. Pulse rate data Back to Introduction

12. By doing exercise regularly: our hearts get fitter and bigger - better at pumping blood and not needing to work so hard or fast. our lungs get stronger and have increased capacity so we are able to take in more oxygen in a single breath. we will feel healthier. How can we check that exercise is good for our hearts or lungs? What else could we check to see if exercise is good for us? How do I look after them? Back to Introduction

13. Heart and Lungs Quiz Are they True or False? • Your heart pumps blood around your body. • The heartbeat of smaller animals and children is slower than adults or big animals. • Your blood carries carbon dioxide to all the parts that need it . • Your lungs exchange gases. • Blood travels around the body in a figure of ‘8’. • Your pulse tells you how much air you are breathing. • Athletes have a slower resting pulse than unfit people. • The ribs are bones that protect the heart and lungs. • Exercise and eating healthily are good for your heart. Back to Introduction

14. Heart and Lungs Quiz • Your heart pumps blood around your body. • True • The heartbeat of smaller animals and children is slower than adults or big animals. • False – the smaller the animal the faster the heartbeat. • Your blood carries carbon dioxide to all the parts that need it . • False – the blood carries oxygen to all the parts that need it. • Your lungs exchange gases. • True • Blood travels around the body in a figure of ‘8’. • True • Your pulse tells you how much air you are breathing. • False – pulse tells us how fast your heart is beating. • Athletes have a slower resting pulse than unfit people. • True • The ribs are bones that protect the heart and lungs. • True • Exercise and eating healthily are good for your heart. • True Back to Introduction

15. Useful links for further study • http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/biology/abpi/heart/index.html Back to Introduction