Heart model and EKG
Safety gate · before any work
- Do not apply EKG electrodes over broken skin, rashes, or wounds; inform the teacher if this applies to you.
- Blood-pressure cuffs should not be inflated above the recommended maximum; follow teacher instructions.
- Students with known cardiac conditions should check with the teacher before participating in EKG recording.
Do now
Students will build a heart-flow model and record an EKG and pulse to relate structure to function.
- Hand in
- Annotated EKG trace with P, QRS, and T waves labeled and linked to cardiac cycle phases, plus a data table recording resting pulse and blood pressure with units.
- Where
- Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
You just recorded your own resting EKG. Which bump on the trace is your ventricles firing, and how does that bump line up with the moment your spikes?
Students will build a heart-flow model and record an EKG and to relate structure to function.
- • Model correctly shows one-way flow through valves.
- • EKG waves are linked to phases.
- On an EKG the tall spike is called the QRS complex. Do you think it lines up with the heart filling or the heart squeezing out blood?
- is written as one number over another, like 120/80. Which number do you think happens while the is contracting, the top or the bottom?
- 1Assemble or label a working heart model.
- 2Demonstrate blood flow through chambers and valves.
- 3Record a resting EKG trace and identify the heartbeat waves.
- 4Measure and estimate .
- 5Connect the EKG pattern to the phases.
What did this day actually feel like?
Heart model and EKG
LAB Real EKG traces, labeling P, QRS and T, and linking each to what the heart is physically doing at that instant.
The QRS is enormous compared to the P wave because the ventricles are so much more muscle. You can read the anatomy off the electrical trace. That is the most satisfying thing I have learned all semester.
Turned in: annotated EKG trace → Lab Reports folder
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
The same day, drawn.
Real EKG traces, labeling P, QRS and T, and linking each to what the heart is physically doing at that instant.
ME
The right side goes to the lungs. The left side has to reach your foot. That is why the wall is thicker.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
🛠 Get unstuck · pick your level
Lab day: Tier 1 is the whole class at the bench. No extension today.
🔑 Today's words · 5
Tap a word in the lesson for a plain meaning and one example. Recycled into next week's Do-Now.
Do the work · 80-minute blockfirst 5 min = hook▸
💡 Big idea: An electrical wave triggers each heartbeat, so the P, QRS, and T waves on an EKG map directly onto the chamber-and-valve sequence, letting you read the from outside the body.
- 0-10 and equipment orientation: EKG leads, blood-pressure cuff, oximeter
- 10-22Assemble or label heart model; demonstrate one-way valve flow
- 22-42Record resting EKG trace; identify and label P, QRS, and T waves
- 42-55Measure resting and ; record with units
- 55-68Connect EKG wave sequence to phases in notebook diagram
- 68-80Cleanup; submit annotated EKG trace and
- • Today you will connect the you mapped yesterday to real electrical and mechanical data from your own body.
- • An EKG is not just a squiggly line; each peak maps onto a specific event in the .
- • You will also measure and , the two most commonly recorded vital signs in clinical settings.
- • Record all measurements carefully; you will use them in your CER tomorrow.
- • The P wave represents atrial depolarization; the QRS complex represents ventricular depolarization; the T wave represents ventricular repolarization.
- • is expressed as systolic ( contracting) over diastolic (ventricle relaxing) in mmHg.
- • Heart rate and are vital signs that clinicians use to assess cardiovascular health.
Unit 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection: Cardiovascular and respiratory systems, blood vessels, heart structure, EKG interpretation. · Heart model and EKG
Day 3 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (find it in Clever, Microsoft sign-in), then do the work below.
Do this: Complete any EKG or heart-model lab check-in prompt in Lesson 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection on myPLTW that accompanies today's lab; finish it after labeling your EKG waves.
Mark the lab check-in complete in myPLTW after submitting your labeled EKG trace and blood-pressure readings.
Cardiac-cycle task is done; today the lab check-in should show complete.
Note or screenshot of completion status for your tracker.
The official PLTW activity stays inside myPLTW. If myPLTW will not open, use F1 and E1-E3 on this page to complete today's local evidence decision, then make up the official activity when access returns. Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible through the submission route shown below.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Unit 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection: Cardiovascular and respiratory systems, blood vessels, heart structure, EKG interpretation. · Heart model and EKG
Complete any EKG or heart-model lab check-in prompt in Lesson 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection on myPLTW that accompanies today's lab; finish it after labeling your EKG waves.
Cardiac-cycle task is done; today the lab check-in should show complete.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Students will build a heart-flow model and record an EKG and to relate structure to function.
- Assemble or label a working heart model.
- Demonstrate blood flow through chambers and valves.
- Record a resting EKG trace and identify the heartbeat waves.
- Measure and estimate .
- Connect the EKG pattern to the phases.
Lab report: Annotated EKG trace with P, QRS, and T waves labeled and linked to phases, plus a recording resting and with units.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Use the checklist just below and upload by 11:29 PM for full credit. Absent with an excused absence? You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Assemble or label a working heart model. | _______ |
| Demonstrate blood flow through chambers and valves. | _______ |
| Record a resting EKG trace and identify the heartbeat waves. | _______ |
| Measure and estimate . | _______ |
| Connect the EKG pattern to the phases. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- Model correctly shows one-way flow through valves.
- EKG waves are linked to phases.
- 1Do thisStudents will build a heart-flow model and record an EKG and pulse to relate structure to function.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisLab report: Annotated EKG trace with P, QRS, and T waves labeled and linked to cardiac cycle phases, plus a data table recording resting pulse and blood pressure with units.
- 4Submit it here
- 1Open the drop folder.
- 2Sign in with your district Microsoft account, not a personal one.
- 3Upload the file, named Lastname_Firstname__Assignment Title.
- 4Your own upload panel says Uploaded with a green check: that is your receipt.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Human Anatomy & Physiology (Human Body Systems) › Unit 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection: Cardiovascular and respiratory systems, blood vessels, heart structure, EKG interpretation. › Lab reportOpen the drop folder
Learn it · deck, reading, and vocabulary▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
Donor organs are scarce, so allocation systems must rank patients by competing criteria, which means every choice trades urgency, equity, and likelihood of success against one another.
An electrical wave triggers each heartbeat, so the P, QRS, and T waves on an EKG map directly onto the chamber-and-valve sequence, letting you read the from outside the body.
A bridge prototype is tested against a load limit, cost limit, and user need before revision.
- Which requirement is a criterion?
- Which limit is a constraint?
- What test result should trigger a redesign?
A design improves when evidence is compared with explicit criteria and constraints.
Biomedical designs also require , ethics, and biological validation beyond a physical prototype test.
- • Bridge requirements map to design criteria.
- • Load results map to E1-E3.
- • Revision maps to the next evidence-based iteration.
Driving question: You just recorded your own resting EKG. Which bump on the trace is your ventricles firing, and how does that bump line up with the moment your spikes?
What you already know: Donor organs are scarce, so allocation systems must rank patients by competing criteria, which means every choice trades urgency, equity, and likelihood of success against one another.
New idea: An electrical wave triggers each heartbeat, so the P, QRS, and T waves on an EKG map directly onto the chamber-and-valve sequence, letting you read the from outside the body.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for Heart model and EKG. Use it with E1-E3; it is a model or context image, not experimental or patient data. What to notice: Trace the labeled structure, movement, or system relationship that connects form to function.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in Heart model and EKG.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: A design improves when evidence is compared with explicit criteria and constraints.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: You just recorded your own resting EKG. Which bump on the trace is your ventricles firing, and how does that bump line up with the moment your spikes?
What the evidence supports: E1-E3 and F1 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
- • : A thick, muscular blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to the body, handling the high pressure of each heartbeat.
- • vein: A blood vessel that carries blood back toward the heart, usually at lower pressure and equipped with valves that keep blood from flowing backward.
- • : The smallest blood vessel, with walls one cell thick, where oxygen, nutrients, and wastes are exchanged between blood and body tissues.
- • : One of the two upper chambers of the heart that receives incoming blood and pushes it down into the below.
- • : A lower pumping chamber of the heart that pushes blood out to the lungs or to the rest of the body with each beat.
- • EKG: A recording of the heart's electrical activity over time, used to check rhythm and detect problems with how the heart beats.
- • : One complete heartbeat in which the chambers relax and fill with blood, then contract to pump it out to the lungs and body.
- • : The rhythmic expansion of an you can feel as the heart pumps blood, used to measure how many times the heart beats per minute.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
The P wave represents atrial depolarization; the QRS complex represents ventricular depolarization; the T wave represents ventricular repolarization.
Limit: E1 supplies context or an observation; it does not by itself establish the explanation.
An electrical wave triggers each heartbeat, so the P, QRS, and T waves on an EKG map directly onto the chamber-and-valve sequence, letting you read the from outside the body.
Limit: E2 is a teaching statement or comparison and must be checked against the task evidence.
Model correctly shows one-way flow through valves.
Limit: E3 supports only the result or product criterion named here; it cannot justify a broader clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-HAP-2027-04-21 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: anatomy and physiology consultant
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from Heart model and EKG supports before submitting the lab report named on the lesson page.
- • Keep the current design.
- • Revise the feature that misses a criterion.
- • Run one more fair test before choosing.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the lab report.
Claim ceiling: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Heart model and EKG. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from Heart model and EKG supports before submitting the lab report named on the lesson page.
Context: The heart's mechanical squeeze is triggered by an electrical wave, so a tracing of that electricity (the EKG) lets you see the hidden order of chambers and valves from outside the body.
- • T1: Assemble or label a working heart model.
- • T2: Demonstrate blood flow through chambers and valves.
- • T3: Record a resting EKG trace and identify the heartbeat waves.
- • T4: Measure and estimate .
- • T5: Connect the EKG pattern to the phases.
- • E1: The P wave represents atrial depolarization; the QRS complex represents ventricular depolarization; the T wave represents ventricular repolarization.
- • E2: An electrical wave triggers each heartbeat, so the P, QRS, and T waves on an EKG map directly onto the chamber-and-valve sequence, letting you read the from outside the body.
- • E3: Model correctly shows one-way flow through valves.
Measurements: Use only the measurements, units, graph, or counts supplied in today's task. No additional patient measurement is implied.
Figure finding: Teaching diagram for Heart model and EKG. Trace the labeled structure, movement, or system relationship that connects form to function. This is a teaching model, not patient or experimental data.
Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.
Rate or percent = part / comparison total x 100%. Percent change = (new - comparison) / comparison x 100%.
If 18 of 60 records meet a condition, the frequency is 18 / 60 x 100% = 30%.
Name the comparison total. A percent describes the supplied group and does not automatically predict an individual's outcome.
Use today's supplied counts to calculate one rate, risk, frequency, or percent change. Show the denominator and interpretation.
Students often think Students often think the EKG is a picture of blood moving or of the heart's sound, so they expect the spikes to be the actual squeeze or the thump they hear.. The trap: That is a trap: the EKG records electrical signals, not motion or sound, and the electrical wave comes an instant before the muscle actually contracts, because the electricity is the trigger that tells the muscle to squeeze. So the QRS fires just before the ventricles push blood out.
Wave labels and what each one means:
- P wave: atrial depolarization, the signal that makes the atria contract.
- QRS complex: ventricular depolarization, when the ventricles contract and pump (systole).
- T wave: ventricular repolarization, when the ventricles reset and relax (diastole).
Link to the cardiac cycle: the QRS lines up with ventricular systole (pumping), and the period after the T wave lines up with diastole (filling). My heart model shows the one-way valves keeping blood from flowing backward during each beat.
Vitals I recorded: resting pulse 72 bpm, blood pressure 118/76 mmHg. Both are inside normal resting ranges.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the structure-to-function lab target: an EKG trace with P, QRS, and T waves labeled and linked to cardiac cycle phases, plus a pulse and blood-pressure data table.
- State the question and method.
- Present the observations and data with units.
- Explain the result, limitations, and next investigation.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Submit your annotated EKG and data table on the class site, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in Heart model and EKG. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Hand-picked readings, videos, and interactives for this lesson, all free and from authoritative open organizations (NIH, CDC, OpenStax, Khan Academy, PhET, HHMI, and more).
A fillable, Cornell-style notebook for Unit 3: Adventure Awaits. Type your notes, cues, and summaries right in the PDF, or print it and write by hand. Each lesson page has a cue column, a notes column, and a summary box, plus dated lab-record pages you can turn in.
HBS Unit 3 notebook: Adventure Awaits Fillable PDFCornell notes + lab recordsOpenVetted readings and references for this unit. Use them to prepare, to catch up if you were absent, or to go deeper on today's target.
Check yourself · commit, then reveal▸
Claim ceiling for this check: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Heart model and EKG. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
On an EKG, what does the QRS complex represent, and does it happen just before or just after the ventricles physically contract? Explain the order.
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Fast retrieval with instant answers, not the commit-then-reveal check above. Try each from memory first: write what you remember about the earlier units, then check yourself here.
Go further and get help▸
I can name the procedure's purpose and the evidence I will record. I can identify each named hazard and the control that reduces it: Do not apply EKG electrodes over broken skin, rashes, or wounds; inform the teacher if this applies to you. My data table is ready before materials are handled.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • Do not apply EKG electrodes over broken skin, rashes, or wounds; inform the teacher if this applies to you.
- • Blood-pressure cuffs should not be inflated above the recommended maximum; follow teacher instructions.
- • Students with known cardiac conditions should check with the teacher before participating in EKG recording.
- • All electrode pads are single-use and personal; do not share between students.
- • Treat all equipment carefully; report any damage to the teacher immediately.
- 1Before materials are handled, identify the purpose, variables or comparison, controls, measurement units, and stop-work condition.
- 2Assemble or label a working heart model.
- 3Demonstrate blood flow through chambers and valves.
- 4Record a resting EKG trace and identify the heartbeat waves.
- 5Measure pulse and estimate blood pressure.
- 6Connect the EKG pattern to the cardiac cycle phases.
- 7Record each result in the prepared table before interpreting it. Mark missing, repeated, or invalid results truthfully.
- 8Complete the named cleanup and waste route, remove PPE safely, wash hands when required, and confirm the station is ready for the next group.
| Trial or sample ID | Independent condition | Measured result with units | Observation before interpretation | Quality-control note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before the procedure, predict the result and cite the rule behind the prediction.
After the procedure, compare the result with the prediction and name one limitation or source of uncertainty.
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
Record a resting EKG and , then label the heartbeat waves and tie them to chamber in your heart model.
MedlinePlus: Heart DiseasesThen submit your Lab report. Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
MedlinePlus: Electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG)You've passed Unit 2, so the optional extra-credit track is open. Complete reserved-unit work from home, including virtual labs, for extra credit. Each item shows its correct submission route.
Open the extra-credit track- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way, on the class site or handed to Mr. Mendoza in class, and confirmed. Not in Schoology: that is where the report-card grade appears later.
- Error analysis and method · counts doubleName a specific limit of the method and how it moved your result, and compare what you predicted to what happened. "Human error" does not count; say what about the procedure or instrument caused it.