Your heart does a very important job in your body!
Its job is to pump oxygen and nutrient rich blood through your body to keep you healthy.
Explore how the heart pumps blood and how blood clots impact the heart’s function with this hands-on inquiry!
Parts of the Heart
Did you know that your heart doesn’t look exactly like the heart shaped icon you use for valentines? Instead, it’s really shaped like an oval and is divided into four sections, the top two sections are called the atriums and the bottom two sections are called the ventricles.
Before we dive into building our model heart and exploring how it works, let’s learn about key parts of your heart.
Ventricle
The bottom two chambers of a heart are the ventricles, which are responsible for receiving blood from one of the atriums and either sending it to the lungs and intestines or sending it to other parts of the body.
Atrium
The top two chambers of a heart are the atriums, which are responsible for receiving blood back from the lungs and intestines or from the rest of the body, then sending blood down to the ventricles.
Valve
The human heart has four valves, which open to let blood move forward through the heart. They close quickly to stop any blood from moving back to other sections. Two of the valves (mitral and tricuspid) let the blood flow from the atrium to the ventricles. The other two (aortic and pulmonary) control the flow as the blood is leaving the heart
Materials
- 3 plastic bottles
- 4 plastic flexible straws
- Red food colouring
- 2 bottle caps
- Tape
- Water
- Pitcher
- Nail
- Hammer
- Playdough or sticky tack
- Scissors
- Optional: Sprinkles or glitter to stimulate different parts of blood.
How to Make a Model Heart
Step 1
Fill a pitcher with water and add a few drops of red food colouring, mix until your water is a nice bright red colour. Fill two of the three water bottles with your red water. Leave the third bottle empty.
Step 2
With the help of a parent/guardian create holes in the bottle caps by using the nail and the hammer. Put one straw-sized hole in one cap and two straw-sized holes in the second cap. Do this by putting the nail near the edge of the bottle cap and lightly tap it with the hammer to form a small hole.
Step 3
Line up the three water bottles, placing the empty water bottle in line last. Place the bottle cap with one hole on the first water-filled bottle and the cap with two holes on the second water-filled bottle.
The first water-filled bottle represents the atrium, the second water-filled bottle represents the ventricle, and the third empty bottle represents the body.
Step 4
Bend each of your straws, then attach two of the straws together by pushing one into the other. Repeat with the other two straws, forming two U-shaped straws. Secure the straws where they are attached with tape. Cut off a corner of each end of the straws, creating a point.
The straw between the two filled bottles represents the valves between the atriums and the ventricles, the other straw represents the valves between the ventricles and the body. The heart has valves to keep the blood moving through the sections in your heart and stops blood from trying to move backwards.
Step 5
Place your U-shaped straws into the holes in the bottles and through the open cap in the third to connect all three bottles. Put Playdough around the holes and straws to create a seal around each.
Step 6
Make a prediction! What will happen if you pinch the straw between the two filled bottles and squeeze the middle bottle then let them go?
Now pinch the straw between the two filled bottles and squeeze the middle bottle then let them go.
What happened?
The water from the middle bottle should have started to fill the third bottle and the first bottle should have started to fill the middle bottle! This represents the blood flowing through the heart and out around the body.
Step 7
Reset your bottles so that the first two are filled with water and the third one is empty. Roll a few small balls of playdough. Remove your U-shaped straws and place the playdough balls at the end of the straws, making sure there is still some space open at the bottom of the straws. Reinsert the straws.
Step 8
Make a prediction! What do you think will happen this time when you pinch the straw between the first two bottles and squeeze the second bottle?
Now pinch the straw between the two filled bottles and squeeze the middle bottle then let them go.
What happened?
Just like in step 6, your water should have started to move between each bottle. This time, however, not as much water should have transferred. The small playdough balls blocked some of the water flow. This demonstrates how a blood vessel blockage, such as cholesterol, can occur.
Why Are Blocked Blood Vessels Bad?
Blood vessel blockage is bad because it hinders the ability of the heart to send the blood. This can either cause the heart to fail or the blood and the nutrients it carries for the rest of the body won’t be able to get to the parts of the body it needs to get to.
Learn How Blood Works in this Experiment
Now that you’ve built your own model heart and learned about how it works, you may be curious about blood. What is it made of and how does it work?
This activity will answer all of your questions about blood!
Blood is Made of Four Components
Plasma
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Red Blood Cells
Red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs to tissues in the human body. Red blood cells contain a special protein, called hemoglobin, that carries oxygen. Did you know hemoglobin is what makes your blood red?
White Blood Cells
White blood cells are very important because they attack bacteria and foreign bodies that invade the body. They help to keep us healthy!
Platelets
Platelets help your body form clots! They help stop wounds from bleeding!
Materials
- Small clear cup or container
- Corn syrup or water (plasma)
- Red sprinkles (red blood cells)
- White sprinkles (preferably larger in size (white blood cells))
- White sprinkles or uncooked rice (platelets)
How to Make a Model of Blood
Step 1
Fill your small cup about ¾ full of “plasma” aka corn syrup.
Corn syrup has the same yellowish colour and thick consistency as plasma!
Step 2
Add red blood cells (red sprinkles)to the plasma.
Keep in mind that red blood cells make up about 45% of blood!
Step 3
Time to add the white blood cells, represented by your white sprinkles!
There is about 1 white blood cell for every 700 red blood cells, so you should only add a couple!
Step 4
Lastly, add your platelets, represented by uncooked rice or more white sprinkles!
There are lots of these in the blood so add a bunch!
What States of Matter is Blood Made Of?
Blood itself is made of liquids (plasma) and solids (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets).
Oxygen and carbon dioxide (gas) are also present as blood transports oxygen to the tissues throughout the body and filters out carbon dioxide.
How Does Our Blood Flow?
Blood in the human body is constantly pumped through our heart. The heart is the “heart” of the cardiovascular system. Without the heart, blood would not be able to travel throughout our whole body!
What Carries Blood?
Arteries and veins are the two types of blood vessels that lead blood through the human body. Arteries carry blood from the heart and veins carry blood to the heart!
