(Submitted by CHS student, Sydney Blome)
On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, Mr. Bradley’s anatomy class did a lab investigating blood pressure and pulse rates. Students worked in groups of two using an automatic sphygmomanometer, a device which measures blood pressure, and in this case, pulse, too.
Each pair was given a series of situations in which they measured changes in blood pressure and pulse rate. They recorded initial measurements as well as measurements after a period of rest and a period of activity. For each of these tests, students received “fitness points” for the variance between their initial rates and rates after being tested. Fitness points were also given for recovery time after 15 seconds of running up and down stairs. When added together, these fitness points represented a level of cardiovascular fitness. A score of 7 or less ranked as poor fitness, 8 - 13 ranked as fair, 14 - 16 ranked as good, and 17 - 18 ranked as excellent condition.
Following the lab, students were told to write a paper describing their results and the accuracy of this lab. They were also told to describe improvements which could be made to this lab.
The purpose of this lab was to observe how metabolic rates are affected by certain situations. During exercise, the circulatory system increases blood flow to muscle tissue while decreasing flow to other areas. This helped students to further understand how metabolism works in their chapter over cell and tissue functions.
