Spirometry lab
Safety gate · before any work
- Use a fresh disposable mouthpiece; never share mouthpieces between students.
- Inform the teacher before participating if you have asthma, a respiratory condition, or recent respiratory illness.
- Do not force-exhale to the point of dizziness; stop and rest if you feel lightheaded.
Do now
Students will measure lung volumes with a spirometer and record oxygen saturation.
- Hand in
- Completed spirometry data table: tidal volume (3 trials, average), vital capacity (3 trials, best), oxygen saturation, resting heart rate, and predicted vs. measured comparison.
- 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.
Your own lungs move about half a liter in a quiet breath. When you exhale as hard as you can, how many liters come out, and how does that number compare to what someone your height and age is predicted to reach?
Students will measure lung volumes with a spirometer and record .
- • and are both recorded.
- • is logged and compared to normal.
- About how many liters of air do you think you move in one normal, relaxed breath? Write your guess before you measure.
- A oximeter reads 96 percent on a healthy classmate. What do you think that number is measuring?
- 1Review safe and hygienic spirometer use.
- 2Measure during normal breathing.
- 3Measure with a full forced exhale.
- 4Record with a oximeter.
- 5Tabulate your volumes and compare to predicted values.
What did this day actually feel like?
Spirometry lab
LAB Measuring our own lung volumes. Tidal volume across three trials, then vital capacity.
My first vital capacity was much lower than my second and third, because I did not fully exhale before inhaling.
The technique is part of the measurement, and averaging three trials is what surfaces that a first trial was wrong.
Turned in: spirometry data table → Data Tables 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.
Measuring our own lung volumes. Tidal volume across three trials, then vital capacity.
ME
I did not fully exhale first. That is why trial one was low, not my lungs.
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: Because a spirometer turns breathing into measured liters, lung structure becomes numerical data, so a clinician can compare your value to your predicted value and catch disease you cannot feel yet.
- 0-10 and hygiene review: mouthpiece handling, nose clip use, spirometer care
- 10-20Demo: teacher demonstrates correct tidal-volume and vital-capacity technique
- 20-40Students measure (3 trials, average) and (3 trials, best)
- 40-50Record with oximeter; note resting heart rate
- 50-65Look up predicted values using height/age table; tabulate measured vs. predicted
- 65-80Cleanup; submit completed
- • Pulmonologists use every day to diagnose asthma, COPD, and other lung diseases.
- • Today you will collect your own lung-volume data and compare it to predicted values based on your height and age.
- • Every measurement must include units; a number without units is scientifically meaningless.
- • You will leave with a complete ready for tomorrow's CER.
- • (TV) is approximately 0.5 L at rest; (VC) varies by height, age, and sex.
- • (SpO2) of 95-100% is normal; below 90% indicates hypoxemia.
- • is a diagnostic tool used to distinguish obstructive from restrictive lung diseases.
Unit 3.1 Gas Exchange: Respiratory anatomy, sheep pluck or virtual alternative, lung volumes, spirometry, expedition clearance. · lab
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 lab check-in or data-entry prompt in Lesson 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection on myPLTW that accompanies today's lung-volume measurements.
Mark the lab check-in complete in myPLTW after submitting your .
Gas-exchange task is done; today the lab check-in should show complete alongside your data.
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 Gas Exchange: Respiratory anatomy, sheep pluck or virtual alternative, lung volumes, spirometry, expedition clearance. · Spirometry lab
Complete any lab check-in or data-entry prompt in Lesson 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection on myPLTW that accompanies today's lung-volume measurements.
Gas-exchange task is done; today the lab check-in should show complete alongside your data.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Students will measure lung volumes with a spirometer and record .
- Review safe and hygienic spirometer use.
- Measure during normal breathing.
- Measure with a full forced exhale.
- Record with a oximeter.
- Tabulate your volumes and compare to predicted values.
Data table: Completed : (3 trials, average), (3 trials, best), , resting heart rate, and predicted vs. measured comparison.
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 |
|---|---|
| Review safe and hygienic spirometer use. | _______ |
| Measure during normal breathing. | _______ |
| Measure with a full forced exhale. | _______ |
| Record with a oximeter. | _______ |
| Tabulate your volumes and compare to predicted values. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- and are both recorded.
- is logged and compared to normal.
- 1Do thisStudents will measure lung volumes with a spirometer and record oxygen saturation.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisData table: Completed spirometry data table: tidal volume (3 trials, average), vital capacity (3 trials, best), oxygen saturation, resting heart rate, and predicted vs. measured comparison.
- 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 Gas Exchange: Respiratory anatomy, sheep pluck or virtual alternative, lung volumes, spirometry, expedition clearance. › Data tableOpen 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.
Because life-support machines are finite, hospitals must set explicit priority rules in advance, so that who receives care is decided by defended criteria rather than by chance or bias.
Because a spirometer turns breathing into measured liters, lung structure becomes numerical data, so a clinician can compare your value to your predicted value and catch disease you cannot feel yet.
A mechanic studies a tool whose shape allows one job but limits another.
- Which feature makes the tool work?
- What changes if that feature bends or breaks?
- Which observation shows function rather than appearance?
Structure creates possibilities and limits for function.
Living tissues adapt and interact with other systems; a metal tool does not.
- • Tool shape maps to .
- • The job maps to physiological function.
- • Damage maps to a predicted functional change.
Driving question: Your own lungs move about half a liter in a quiet breath. When you exhale as hard as you can, how many liters come out, and how does that number compare to what someone your height and age is predicted to reach?
What you already know: Because life-support machines are finite, hospitals must set explicit priority rules in advance, so that who receives care is decided by defended criteria rather than by chance or bias.
New idea: Because a spirometer turns breathing into measured liters, lung structure becomes numerical data, so a clinician can compare your value to your predicted value and catch disease you cannot feel yet.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for Spirometry lab. 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 lab.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: Structure creates possibilities and limits for function.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: Your own lungs move about half a liter in a quiet breath. When you exhale as hard as you can, how many liters come out, and how does that number compare to what someone your height and age is predicted to reach?
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 tiny air sac at the end of an airway in the lung where oxygen enters the blood and carbon dioxide leaves it across a thin wall.
- • : The swapping of oxygen and carbon dioxide between air in the lungs and blood in the capillaries, driven by differences in gas concentration.
- • : The amount of air moved in or out of the lungs in one normal breath at rest, about 500 milliliters in an average adult.
- • : The largest amount of air a person can breathe out after taking the deepest possible breath in, measured to assess lung function.
- • : A breathing test that measures how much air a person can move in and out of the lungs and how fast, used to assess lung function.
- • : The percentage of in the blood that is carrying oxygen, normally about 95 to 100 percent in healthy people.
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.
(TV) is approximately 0.5 L at rest; (VC) varies by height, age, and sex.
Limit: E1 supplies context or an observation; it does not by itself establish the explanation.
Because a spirometer turns breathing into measured liters, lung structure becomes numerical data, so a clinician can compare your value to your predicted value and catch disease you cannot feel yet.
Limit: E2 is a teaching statement or comparison and must be checked against the task evidence.
and are both recorded.
Limit: E3 supports only the result or product criterion named here; it cannot justify a broader clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-HAP-2027-04-27 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: anatomy and physiology consultant
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from lab supports before submitting the labeled and result claim named on the lesson page.
- • Proceed because the readiness evidence is complete.
- • Pause and correct the named setup or gap.
- • Repeat the measurement because quality controls are not acceptable.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the labeled and result claim.
Claim ceiling: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about lab. 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 lab supports before submitting the labeled and result claim named on the lesson page.
Context: A spirometer converts the physical act of breathing into measured volumes, so the same lung structure you studied becomes data that can flag disease before symptoms are obvious.
- • T1: Review safe and hygienic spirometer use.
- • T2: Measure during normal breathing.
- • T3: Measure with a full forced exhale.
- • T4: Record with a oximeter.
- • T5: Tabulate your volumes and compare to predicted values.
- • E1: (TV) is approximately 0.5 L at rest; (VC) varies by height, age, and sex.
- • E2: Because a spirometer turns breathing into measured liters, lung structure becomes numerical data, so a clinician can compare your value to your predicted value and catch disease you cannot feel yet.
- • E3: and are both recorded.
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 lab. 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.
Mean = sum of values / number of values. Median = middle ordered value. Range = maximum - minimum.
For 2, 4, 4, and 10: mean = 20 / 4 = 5, median = 4, and range = 10 - 2 = 8.
Mean, median, and range keep the measurement unit. Order the values before finding the median.
Calculate the requested summary for today's supplied values, then write what it reveals and what it hides.
Students often think Students often assume a lower always means weaker or less fit lungs, so a big athlete should always blow the highest number.. The trap: is predicted mainly by height, age, and sex, not by fitness, so a tall sedentary person can out-measure a shorter athlete. The trap is comparing your raw liters to a friend's raw liters; the meaningful comparison is your measured value against YOUR predicted value for your body, which is why the lab has you compute a predicted target.
I used the spirometer hygienically with a fresh disposable mouthpiece, measured each volume in three trials, and compared my results to the predicted values for my height, age, and sex. My SpO2 of 98% is in the normal 95 to 100% range.
| Measure | Trial avg/best | Predicted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tidal volume | 0.5 L (avg of 3) | 0.5 L | Normal, matches predicted |
| Vital capacity | 4.2 L (best of 3) | 4.4 L | Slightly below predicted |
| Oxygen saturation | 98% | 95-100% | Normal |
| Resting heart rate | 70 bpm | 60-100 bpm | Normal |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the spirometry lab target: a data table of tidal volume, vital capacity, oxygen saturation, and resting heart rate with a predicted-versus-measured comparison.
- Name the variables and include units.
- Enter observations without changing the raw values.
- Check labels, calculations, and patterns before interpreting the data.
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 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 Spirometry lab. 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 lab. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
A healthy resting classmate's pulse oximeter reads 97 percent. Is that normal, and at roughly what reading should someone be concerned about hypoxemia?
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: Use a fresh disposable mouthpiece; never share mouthpieces between students. My data table is ready before materials are handled.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • Use a fresh disposable mouthpiece; never share mouthpieces between students.
- • Inform the teacher before participating if you have asthma, a respiratory condition, or recent respiratory illness.
- • Do not force-exhale to the point of dizziness; stop and rest if you feel lightheaded.
- • Dispose of used mouthpieces in the designated waste container immediately after use.
- • Wash hands before and after handling shared equipment.
- 1Before materials are handled, identify the purpose, variables or comparison, controls, measurement units, and stop-work condition.
- 2Review safe and hygienic spirometer use.
- 3Measure tidal volume during normal breathing.
- 4Measure vital capacity with a full forced exhale.
- 5Record oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter.
- 6Tabulate your volumes and compare to predicted values.
- 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.
Use the spirometer to measure and , then record and compare to predicted values.
MedlinePlus: Lung DiseasesThen submit your Data table. 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: Pulmonary function testsYou'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.