Home Experiment #2: You Can’t Stop the Beat
Remember that time when you were in school and had to run a mile, and it was so easy?
Didn’t think so.
Remember that time when you were in school and had to run a mile, and you walked away gasping for breath, your heart pounding out of your nose, and sweat in all sorts of places you didn’t know got sweaty?
Me too.
Those physiological reactions are part of your body’s attempt to maintain homeostasis, or internal balance. When your body is under stress, like in the case of running or when entertaining your kids nonstop for several weeks, you breathe faster to bring more oxygen into your body and clear more carbon dioxide from it. Your heart beats faster to move blood, and its gases and nutrients, around your body faster. Your skin releases sweat to cool you off.
Other examples of homeostasis include shivering to warm up and dilating pupils to let in more light in a dark room.
This activity gives you the opportunity to see how your body responds to different activities. You may want to read a little bit about how to check your heart rate if you’re not already familiar with it.
My littlest scientist is lying down to see if it lowers his heart rate.
Home Experiment #2: You Can’t Stop the Beat*
(Pun lovingly borrowed from a mandatory middle school lab in Bridgeport Public Schools.)
Materials:
Stopwatch or timer app
Paper and pencil for recording data
Procedure:
Decide on at least 3 activities that might change your heart rate. Ideas include: running, jumping jacks, going up stairs, lying down, pretending to sleep, laughing, singing
Sit quietly for a few minutes to find your resting heart rate. Record it in beats per minute.
Do one of the activities for a few minutes or as long as you can, and then check your heart rate again. Record it in beats per minute.
Rest for a few minutes between activities and then try another one.
Discussion Questions
Preschool and Elementary
Before: What does your heart do? When do you notice your heart beat? What activities might make your heart beat faster?
During: What do you feel after this activity? Did that surprise you? Which activity made your heart beat the fastest?
After: Why does your heart need to beat faster? How can you make it beat faster? How can you make it beat slower?
Middle School
Before: What does your heart do? When do you notice your heart beat? What activities might make your heart beat faster? Which activity do you predict will make your heart beat the fastest? What is homeostasis?
During: What do you feel after this activity? How might these relate to homeostasis? Which activity made your heart beat the fastest?
After: Why does your heart need to beat faster? How can you make it beat faster? How can you make it beat slower? What might happen if someone was taking a medication that prevented their heart from beating faster, but still wanted to do these activities? What are some ways you can improve your experiment?
High School
Before: What does your heart do? When do you notice your heart beat? What activities might make your heart beat faster? Which activity do you predict will make your heart beat the fastest? What is homeostasis? What are the ways your body maintains homeostasis?
During: What do you feel after this activity? How might these relate to homeostasis? Which activity made your heart beat the fastest?
After: Why does your heart need to beat faster? How can you make it beat faster? How can you make it beat slower? What might happen if someone was taking a medication that prevented their heart from beating faster, but still wanted to do these activities? What activities would you recommend for someone with heart disease and why? What are some ways you can improve your experiment?
Resources for Enrichment