Biology · Professor Darwin

Every card in Human body systems, Year 8: respiration and heart rate

The whole deck, in order — so you can read it through before your child ever sees it.

1 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0013

Where in the body does respiration take place?

In every living cell

HintNot just in the chest: think much smaller, and all over the body.

WhyEach cell needs its own supply of energy, so each one carries out respiration for itself.

2 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0014

Which process in cells releases the energy stored in glucose?

Respiration

HintIt is the reason you need food as well as air.

WhyIt is a chemical reaction. In its usual form, glucose reacts with oxygen and energy is released for the cell to use.

3 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0015

Is 'moving air into and out of the lungs' a description of breathing or of respiration?

Breathing

HintThe other one is a chemical reaction.

WhyBreathing is a physical movement of the ribs and diaphragm. Respiration is the reaction in cells that uses the oxygen which breathing brings in.

4 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0016

Why does the body need a constant supply of oxygen?

Cells use it in respiration to release energy

HintThink about what has to happen to the glucose from your food.

WhyWithout oxygen, cells cannot get enough energy from glucose. Brain cells begin to be damaged within minutes.

5 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0017

A person holds their breath for 20 seconds. Does respiration in their cells stop?

No — it carries on

HintThe blood still holds a store of oxygen.

WhyCells respire all the time, awake or asleep. Holding your breath stops fresh air arriving, but the reaction continues with the oxygen already in the blood.

6 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0018

What does a pulse rate measure?

The number of heartbeats per minute

HintYou can feel it at your wrist or neck.

WhyEach beat of the heart pushes a surge of blood along the arteries, and you can feel that surge wherever an artery runs near the skin.

7 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0019

A pupil counts 18 beats in 15 seconds. What is their heart rate in beats per minute? (number only)

72

HintThere are four lots of 15 seconds in a minute.

Why18 × 4 = 72. Counting for a quarter of a minute and multiplying up is quicker than counting for the full minute.

8 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0020

Why does your heart rate rise during exercise?

Muscles need more oxygen and glucose

HintThink about what the cells doing the work are running short of.

WhyHarder-working muscles respire faster. The heart beats more often so that blood delivers supplies and removes carbon dioxide more quickly.

9 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0021

After exercise stops, what happens to the heart rate over the next few minutes?

It falls back to its resting rate

HintThe demand for oxygen has dropped again.

WhyOnce the muscles need less, the heart slows. The time this takes is called the recovery time, and it is shorter in fitter people.

10 KS3-BIOL-HUM-0022

In a heart-rate investigation, why is the pulse taken before the exercise as well as after it?

To give a resting value to compare with

HintWithout it you cannot tell how much changed.

WhyThe effect of the exercise is the difference between the two readings. One reading alone says nothing about the change.

Keep what you learn

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