Whos Got The Beat Lab
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3Name ___________________________ Date __________________ Period _____ Score out of 25 _____
Corrected by __________________________
Who’s got the Beat? Lab
How fast will pulse increase with physical activity and how long does it take to return to normal?
Unlike most workers, the heart never gets time off. Each hour, an
average heart pumps about 75 gallons of blood throughout your
body. Even more difficult, during exercise the heart must work
overtime. The heart is the pump that causes your blood to
circulate throughout your body and to all of your cells. The heart
makes sure that the oxygen you breathe, the nutrients from the
food you eat, and the water you drink, get delivered to your body.
Without the heart, each of your organs would not be able to
function.
When you exercise, you increase the demands for energy.
Therefore your heart must increase the speed at which the blood delivers the vital nutrients. But just
how hard is your heart willing to work? In this investigation, you will examine how much your heart rate
will increase and the amount of time it takes for your heart to return to its normal rate.
Materials
• Clock with a Secondhand
• Ruler
Setting up
A pulse is the vibrations created each time your heart pumps blood through your arteries. The rate of your
pulse indicates the speed of your heart pumping.
Find a large tendon on the underside of your wrist. Using your middle and ring finger from your other
hand, locate your pulse just below the base of the thumb and on the outside of the large tendon.
1. Why can’t you use your thumb or index finger to take your pulse?
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Other students took their pulse to find the number of beats per minute. They recorded this score
three times in Table 1 and then found the average.
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Students in this sample had an average resting pulse rate ranging from 48 to 88.
Table 1: Rate of pulse when resting
Resting
Beats/Minute
Name
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
Kevin
48
47
49
49
Angelina
60
59
61
60
Dana
78
80
77
78
Yesenia
90
85
88
88
Your name
2. Now it’s your turn to find your resting pulse rate before you exercise. As the teacher times you for
30 seconds, count the beats in your pulse then multiply that number by 2 to find the number of
beats per minute. Repeat the step two more times, and average your results. Record your results
in Table 1.
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Parent category: Medical