Hands-On Lab:
Heart Hubbub
Summary
In this hands-on investigation, students determine the relationship between duration of an activity,
type of activity, and heart rate.
Time Needed
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Activity Time: one 45-minute class period
Analysis Time: one 45-minute class period
Extension: 10 minutes a day for 15 days
Objectives
After completing the activity and participating in discussion, students will be able to:
• Ask a valid testable question about heart rate.
• Make a valid hypothesis about the effects of one variable on heart rate and support it with
background knowledge.
• Test different levels of a single variable (duration of an activity or activity type) while keeping
all other conditions constant.
• Make accurate qualitative and quantitative observations (measurements) about heart rate.
• Make an appropriate and accurate graph of the independent variable (the variable being
tested) versus the dependent variable (heart rate).
• Explain how at least one variable affects heart rate.
• Relate the results of the investigation to the Heart Hubbub scenario and propose a solution to
the problem.
• Identify problems with the investigation and propose modifications to improve the
investigation.
Materials List (for each group)
• space to move
• timer
•
Student Planning, Record, and Analysis
Sheets
Safety Alert
Children with asthma or chronic breathing problems should not participate in the active part of this
lab. If at any point in time a student feels lightheaded or finds it hard to breathe, he or she should be
instructed to sit down. The Virtual Lab On Your Mark, Get Set,… Start Your Heart is a viable
alternative for students with physical challenges.
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© 2009 Discovery Communications, LLC
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Preparation
Decide on how many groups you will have. Ideally, each group will test a single variable (breathing
rate or type of activity). There should be 3–4 students per group.
Background Information for Teachers
The heart is responsible for pumping blood through the circulatory system of the body. The circulatory
system is designed to carry oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to all the cells in the body. When the body
is active, muscle cells require more oxygen and nutrients than they do while the body is at rest. This
is because the metabolism of the cell increases. In order to work harder, the cells need more energy.
Cells get energy from carbon compounds like sugar. They use oxygen to break the sugar down into
energy that can be used by the cell to do work. In the process, cells create carbon dioxide. This is
why we breathe oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. To meet the needs of hardworking cells, the heart
pumps more blood through the body by pumping faster and, sometimes, harder.
Heartbeats can be felt at pulse points throughout the body. The pulse points that are easiest to reach
are on the neck below the ear, and on the inside of the wrist. Arteries, which carry blood away from
the heart to the tissues, are located at the pulse points. Every time the heart beats, the rush of blood
from the heart makes the arteries briefly swell outward. This is what you feel when you place your
fingers on someone’s pulse.
Heart rate can be measured by counting the number of heartbeats that occur in a minute. A faster
way to measure heartbeat is to count the number of beats in 10 seconds and multiply that number by
six. In this activity, students should be resting between each activity, so it is a good idea to have them
count beats for an entire minute—this will ensure an adequate period of rest. The typical resting heart
rate for a healthy person is between 60 and 80 beats per minute. Athletes tend to have lower resting
heart rates. Children tend to have slightly higher resting heart rates.
Engage
Read the following scenario aloud to the students while they follow along. Discuss the scenario with
students and have them take notes on their handouts. (Note: if a similar actual scenario that students
can relate to exists, present that instead.)
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Heart Hubbub
Lucas sets his alarm every night for 6 a.m. so he’ll have plenty of time to get ready for
school. But every morning when he wakes up, he feels so warm and cozy that he lies and
listens to the quiet, slow beat of his heart and falls back asleep. And every morning, five
minutes before the bus comes, Lucas’s sister Anna comes running into his room shouting,
“LUCAS, GET UP OR YOU WILL MISS THE BUS!” Startled, Lucas bolts out of his bed
straight into his clothes, grabs his bag, races down the hall, scoops up a handful of cereal, and
runs out the door straight onto the waiting bus. Heart pounding, pulse racing, Lucas sits on the
bus and catches his breath. Why does his heart sound so angry now, when it sounded so
peaceful this morning? Is there a problem? Lucas is beginning to wonder if he should go see
his Aunt Molly and Uncle Raul; they’re cardiologists, and they know everything about the
heart.
Introduce the term heart rate. Heart rate is the number of times your heart beats every minute.
Assess Preconceptions and Activate Prior Knowledge: Ask students the following questions:
Where is your heart? (a little to the left of the center of the chest) What does your heart do? (keeps
you alive, pumps blood) Why is it important for the heart to work properly? (Students may not know
the answer. Help them understand that the blood carries food and oxygen all over your body, and
without it the body will die.) How can you tell when your heart is working hard? (sounds loud, feels
fast, thuds) When do you notice your heart working harder? (running, jumping, nervous)
Introduce the Activity: Explain that the duration of an activity, the type of activity, all affect how fast
your heart pumps. Have each student decide which variable he or she wants to test. Discuss the
concept of controls. Make sure students understand that in order to fairly test the effect of one
variable, everything else must be the same in each trial.
Explore
Most students may benefit from instruction and practice in measuring heart rate prior to the
investigation. Then have students work in groups of 3 or 4, depending on your material supply.
Ideally, there is at least one group to measure each variable and students are working on the variable
of their choice. Have students divide up the roles: for example, one can do the activity, one can use
the timer, and one can record observations. All members of the groups should make observations.
Instructions for three trials are provided, but if there is time and resources, students should conduct
additional trials, either repeating conditions or using other variable values.
1. Decide on which variable to test (activity type or length of activity).
2. Complete the Student Planning Sheet.
3. Have each student determine his or her resting heart rate and record it on the Student Record
Sheet.
4. Have students determine how they will test each variable.
a. Activity type: One student engages in a specific activity for one minute and then
measures his or her heart rate. Some example activities are walking, jogging in place,
and doing push-ups. Students may increase the speed on a scale (e.g. 1 step every 2
seconds; 1 step per second; 2 steps per second; etc.)
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b. Activity duration: One student engages in a specific activity for different amounts of
time. For example, he or she could run in place for 1 minute, 2 minutes, or 5 minutes.
5. Have the first student repeat step 3 two more times (three trials). Be sure that students rest
between trials. Besides this being good health practice, the heartbeat will not return to normal
and data collected will not be as accurate.
6. Have each student in the group repeat steps 3–4.
As students are conducting their investigations, make sure each group is doing the following,
providing support where necessary:
• testing a single variable, holding other conditions constant (varying activity but not time,
activity time but not type)
• collecting and recording data accurately on their Student Record Sheets
• making quantitative as well as qualitative observations [heart rates AND appearance (e.g.
amount of sweat) ]
• making observations regarding the design of the investigation as well as the results of the
investigation (students may have difficulty staying active for 5 minutes or doing push-ups for
an entire minute)
• thinking about how the investigation relates to the Heart Hubbub scenario
Explain
Have students use the Student Analysis Sheets to graph their data and spend some time discussing
the results with each other.
• How is each variable related to heart rate?
• Why does more activity result in a higher heart rate? (Your body needs more oxygen because
it is using more energy.) Why does harder activity result in a higher heart rate? (Your body
needs more oxygen because it is using more energy.)
2. Bring the class back together so that they can share results and explain their results.
3. Apply to the Problem: Read the scenario to the class again.
• Have students use what they learned to explain why Lucas’s heart rate changes when he runs
to the bus. (He is working harder because he is moving fast; his muscles need more energy.)
• Have students suggest ways that Lucas might keep his heart from having to work so hard in
the mornings. (get up on time, move more slowly, have things ready in advance)
Elaborate/Extend
Have students determine ways of keeping their active heart rates in a healthy range. Suggestions
may include regular exercise and breathing control. Have students design an activity plan that spans
a 15-day period. Give students 10 minutes a day to put their plan into action. Students should
measure their resting heart rates each day before the activity, and their active heart rates every day
after the activity. Graph results to see if improvement occurred.
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Evaluate
1. Have students evaluate their investigation.
• Did the investigation help them answer their question?
• What about the investigation worked well? What didn’t work well? How might they change the
investigation if they were to do it again?
• What didn’t the investigation tell them? What other variables could they test? (It didn’t tell
them anything about health factors that could affect heart rate or why sitting heart rates differ
from person to person.)
2. Use the Rubric to evaluate students’ progress toward achieving the objectives of the lesson.
Rubric
Objective
IN GENERAL
Full Credit
Mastery
Partial Credit
Partial Mastery
Ask a valid testable
question about heart rate.
Student came up with a valid
testable question related to
heart rate.
Make a valid hypothesis
about the effects of one
variable on heart rate.
Student’s hypothesis was
reasonable based on the
question and on prior
knowledge.
Student’s
question was not
a testable or was
not directly
related to heart
rate.
Student’s
hypothesis was
related to the
question, but not
entirely
reasonable (did
not demonstrate
careful thought).
Test a single variable
(mass, volume, or shape)
while keeping all other
conditions constant.
Student kept all conditions
constant (as much as
reasonably possible) while
testing a single variable.
Discovery Education Science Hands-On Lab
Student tested a
single variable,
but did not
always
remember to
keep other
conditions
constant.
© 2009 Discovery Communications, LLC
No Credit
Little or No
Mastery
Student’s question
was not testable
and was in no way
related to heart
rate OR student
made no attempt.
Hypothesis had no
bearing on the
question and/or
was wholly
unreasonable
given background
knowledge OR
student made no
attempt.
Student
consistently varied
more than one
condition and did
not show an
understanding of
the importance of
controlled
variables.
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Objective
Make an appropriate and
accurate graph of the
independent variable (the
variable being tested)
versus the dependent
variable (heart rate).
Full Credit
Student made accurate and
appropriate general
observations about heart rate
and measured and recorded
his or her heart rate carefully
and consistently.
Explain how at least one
variable affects heart rate.
Student graphed data
accurately.
Relate the results of the
investigation to the Heart
Hubbub scenario and
propose a solution to the
problem.
Student provided an
explanation of the effect of
the tested variable on heart
rate; explanation is
reasonable given prior
knowledge and the
observations made.
Identify problems with the
investigation and propose
modifications to improve the
investigation.
Student showed an
understanding that the
investigation modeled the
problem in some way and
proposed a solution that is
reasonable given the results
of the investigation.
Partial Credit
Student made
general
observations
about heart rate
and measured
and recorded his
or her heart rate,
but without
adequate care or
accuracy.
Student
attempted to
graph data but
made some
mistakes.
Student provided
an explanation of
the effect of the
tested variable
on heart rate, but
the explanation
is not consistent
with prior
knowledge or the
data collected.
Student tried to
relate the results
of the
investigation to
the problem but
did not show a
complete
understanding.
Student
proposed a
solution, but one
that is
inconsistent with
the results of the
investigation.
No Credit
Observations
made and data
collected had no
bearing on
investigation OR
student did not
attempt to collect
any data.
Student made no
attempt to graph
data properly.
Student made no
attempt to provide
a reasonable
explanation.
Student did not
attempt to relate
the investigation to
the problem or to
propose a
reasonable
solution.
Options and Suggestions for Differentiation
Extension: Have students come up with a plan that will help them to decrease their active heart rate
after certain activities over time. Give students class time to engage in their plan, or assign active
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time for homework. Students should measure their heart rates at the beginning of the plan and at the
end of the plan to see if their activities were effective.
Have students consider whether or not it is possible to slow one’s heart rate. Many people believe
that it is possible to consciously lower one’s heart rate with concentration or relaxation. You may wish
to have students discuss whether or not they believe this is possible, since the heart is part of the
autonomic nervous system and beats without our thinking about it.
Structured: Instead of having students choose their own variable to test, assign each group a
variable, setting the values of both the variable and the controls for the students. Students may also
benefit from completing the Virtual Lab On Your Mark, Get Set…Start Your Heart! before being
introduced to the hands-on lab.
Open-Engineering Focus: Instead of providing students with the procedure for the investigation, have
them brainstorm a variable to test and ways to test it. Time permitting, once you have evaluated the
designs and helped students think through the challenges, students will be able engage in the
investigation. Guide students in the design with questions like How will we measure heart rate? What
kinds of activities increase heart rate? If I do an activity for five seconds, will my heart rate increase?
Heart Hubbub
Student Planning Sheet
Topic of lab (what the lab is about) Heart rate
Variables (things I can change) How long I do an activity, the kinds of activities
Testable question How will the kind of activity I do affect my heart rate?
Variable I will test (variable I will change to see what happens) I will change the kind of activity.
Variables I will not test (variables I will keep the same throughout the investigation) I will do each
activity for the same amount of time.
This is a fair test because I am changing just one variable. I am changing the kind of activity, but
I am keeping the time I do an activity the same.
Hypothesis (what I think will happen and why I think so) I think that when I do harder activities, like
push-ups, my heart rate will be faster than when I do easier activities, like walking.
Make a sketch of your setup. Make sure to label each part.
Procedures (list of the steps I will take to try to answer the question)
1. Measure and record my resting heart rate.
2. Walk around the room for one minute.
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3. Measure and record my active heart rate. Rest for two minutes.
4. Run around the room for one minute.
5. Measure and record my active heart rate. Rest for two minutes.
6. Do push-ups for one minute.
7. Measure and record my active heart rate. Rest for two minutes.
Student Record Sheet
Indicate the variable that you are testing.
My resting heart rate is:
Trial #
Activity Type
1
Walking
Activity
Duration
Active Heart
Rate
Other Observations
1 minute
135 beats per
min
I began to breathe more
quickly
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Student Analysis Sheet
Variable: Activity Type
Use the graph below to plot your data.
200
180
Heartbeats per minute
160
140
120
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
100
80
60
40
20
0
Walking
Running
Pushups
Activity Type
How is activity type related to heart rate? The harder the activity, the higher my heart rate
.
What is one way Lucas can lower his heart rate in the morning? If Lucas got up earlier, he wouldn’t have
to run, and his heart rate wouldn’t get very high.
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Student Analysis Sheet
Variable: Activity Duration
Use the graph below to plot your data.
200
180
Heartbeats per Minute
160
140
120
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
100
80
60
40
20
0
1 minute
2 minutes
5 minutes
Activity Duration
How is activity duration related to heart rate? The longer the activity, the higher my heart
rate.
What is one way Lucas can lower his heart rate in the morning? If Lucas got up earlier, he
wouldn’t have to run, and his heart rate wouldn’t get very high.
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