Unit 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection: Cardiovascular and respiratory systems, blood vessels, heart structure, EKG interpretation.
Your PLTW coursework: Human Body Systems ▸ Unit 3: Adventure Awaits ▸ Lesson 3.1 Cardiopulmonary Connection ▸ "Activity 3.1.1 Go With the Flow", "Activity 3.1.2 Cardiac Calculations"
What to do if absent- 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.
Week overview - Cardiopulmonary Connection: heart structure and reading an EKG
Trace blood flow through the four chambers of the heart and interpret the basic features of an EKG tracing across the .
- 1Label the atria, ventricles, and major vessels on a heart diagram or model.
- 2Define , vein, and and describe what each type of vessel does.
- 3Trace one drop of blood from the body through the heart, lungs, and back out to the body.
- 4Identify the parts of the and connect them to a heartbeat you can feel as a .
- 5Examine a sample EKG and locate the repeating pattern that marks each beat.
- 6Compare a normal EKG to an irregular one and describe one visible difference.
- • You will be able to trace blood flow through the four heart chambers.
- • You will be able to distinguish arteries, veins, and capillaries by function.
- • You will be able to identify the repeating pattern in an EKG tracing.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
Written ranking of transplant allocation criteria with a one-sentence justification for the top criterion and acknowledgment of one tradeoff.
Annotated heart diagram with blood path traced from right through the pulmonary and systemic circuits, labeled with chamber names, major vessels, and phases.
Annotated EKG trace with P, QRS, and T waves labeled and linked to phases, plus a recording resting and with units.
Written CER comparing EKG and blood-pressure data to normal reference ranges: specific claim, two measurement evidence entries, mechanism-based reasoning, and one factor that could alter readings.
Completed weekly progress tracker showing submission status for the blood-path diagram, EKG trace, and CER, plus a written reflection naming one mastered concept and one to revisit.
Quick intro to the week
- Hook: your heart beats about 100,000 times a day, and an EKG lets a clinician read every one of those beats.
- Today's goal: trace blood through the heart and read the basic shape of an EKG.
- This week's Monday bioethics debate: who should get priority for a heart transplant when organs are scarce?
- Reminder: your graded cardiovascular data check lives in the PLTW course shell, not on loose paper.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance the PLTW Cardiopulmonary Connection benchmark by completing the online evidence on heart structure and EKG interpretation in the course shell.
- • Blood flows through the heart in a fixed path between atria, ventricles, lungs, and body.
- • Arteries, veins, and capillaries each play a distinct role in circulation.
- • An EKG records the electrical activity of the as a repeating pattern.
- • Trace blood flow through the chambers of the heart.
- • Identify the basic features of a normal EKG tracing.
📋 PLTW evidence due: cardiovascular data check tracing heart blood flow and labeling EKG features, submitted on the class site.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment: this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mon, Apr 19 | Heart transplant allocation debate | Written ranking of transplant allocation criteria with a one-sentence justification for the top criterion and acknowledgment of one tradeoff. |
| Wednesday | Wed, Apr 21 | Heart structure and cycle | Annotated heart diagram with blood path traced from right atrium through the pulmonary and systemic circuits, labeled with chamber names, major vessels, and cardiac cycle phases. |
| Thursday | Thu, Apr 22 | Heart model and EKG | 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. |
| Thursday | - | Cardiac data CER analysis | Written CER comparing EKG and blood-pressure data to normal reference ranges: specific claim, two measurement evidence entries, mechanism-based reasoning, and one factor that could alter readings. |
| Friday | - | Submit tracker and evidence | Completed weekly progress tracker showing submission status for the blood-path diagram, EKG trace, and CER, plus a written reflection naming one mastered concept and one to revisit. |
- M: Philosophy for Kids / John Carroll bioethical debate
- T: teacher background notes + PLTW launch task
- W: lab / data or model work
- Th: analysis / CER or design revision
- F: submit tracker + weekly evidence
Due by week's end: Cardiovascular data check.
5 panels from the illustrated semester.
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.
Lab day: what to bring & watch
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol: watch it before lab.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework: and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Clever, then myPLTWHow to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.
You can't do those from home: do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: Khan: circulatory system; EKG basics teacher-selected.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan: complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
MedlinePlus: Electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG)Vocabulary
Virtual resources
Resources & readings
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).