Heart Rate Investigation for Kids

The heart is a muscle that functions as a very powerful pump to transport blood around the body. It beats between 60 and 100 times a minute but can beat even faster than that if needed. The blood transports nutrients and oxygen to cells in the body, and waste products are removed. The right side of the heart receives blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs, while the left pumps it to the rest of the body.

Just before each beat, the heart fills with blood. It then contracts, which squeezes the blood along.

When you need more energy, such as when running, the heart beats faster to pump more oxygen around the body. When your heart beats, it sends a wave of pressure through all your veins. You can feel this pressure in some areas of the body (such as when a vein passes over a piece of bone). We call this your pulse. One place to feel your pulse is on your wrist in a straight line at the base of your thumb.

If you count your pulse for 1 minute, that gives you your pulse rate. You can do it for shorter periods, but you must remember to convert it to beats per minute. So, if you time it for 30 seconds, you would have to double your pulse count to get the number of beats per minute.

When the heart beats faster, the pulse rate is higher.