How does my heart work?

  Primary | Health | Views: 770

You will Need:

• A small glass or jar
• Straws
• Balloons
• Water
• Sellotape
• Red food colouring (optional)

What to Do:

1. Add water to fill your glass or jar halfway. You can also add red food colouring to represent blood.
2. Cut a balloon and stretch the round part tightly over the top of the glass or jar.
3. Create two small holes 2-3cm apart on the top of the stretched balloon, using a toothpick or scissors.
4. Push a straw into each hole created in the balloon.
5. Cover the opening of one of the straws using the neck of the balloon that you cut.
6. Place your heart model in a sink or dish to catch any splashing water.
7. Push on the stretched balloon, between the straws. This will create a pumping action on your heart model. The ‘blood’ will be pumped and leave the heart, to travel to other parts of the body!

How does it work?

• When you push the balloon, this demonstrated how the heart pumps blood around our bodies.
• The straw that is closed by the balloon represents a valve – it opens and closes when the heart is pumping.
• This model represents one chamber of the heart, but in total there are four chambers that pump blood to different parts of our bodies and keep us alive!

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