John Hay
John Hay Biomedical
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Physical exam listening library

Hear it. Describe it. Explain it.

Today's Lesson · Wed 10/14 · Wk8 · The physical exam, part one: Look (45-minute class)

Open today's complete lesson in Schoology (opens in a new tab)

Follow that lesson for today's required work and what to turn in. Use the downloads below when its steps ask you to analyze sounds.

Download the named heart, lung and blood-pressure sounds, then use the illustrated guide to connect what you hear to its source in the body and what a physician would investigate. These 25 synthesized teaching simulations have not been clinically validated. They support comparison practice and cannot establish a diagnosis.

Download all heart, lung and blood-pressure sounds (ZIP) Download the illustrated listening guide (PDF)

For today's Look lesson: this is a preview for the listening lesson. Continue today's observation task; the library adds no new submission.

Listen at a comfortable volume with headphones if available. Replay the same example before comparing it. Describe timing, pitch and sound quality before interpreting it. If the classroom stethoscope gives a faint or unclear sound, record "not clearly heard" and use the simulation for the assigned comparison. Do not invent an observation.

Open all 25 named MP3s: preview or download

Lung sounds

Heart sounds

Blood-pressure sounds

Earlier portal reference material (before the class was repaced)

Use the Schoology lesson above for today's required work; this older reference follows an earlier schedule.

Period 1-2 calendar
I am in Period 6A-7B, show me this day

Analyze vital signs

This page has four parts, in the order you use them. Part 1 is what you need to know. Part 2 says what to do, in plain English. Part 3 shows the work done once on a case that is not yours. Part 4 is your own work and where to turn it in.

Open your materials, follow the steps, then turn in your work.

Interpret collected vital signs against normal ranges with a CER and assess limitations.

Need help getting started?Help: worked exampleMissed class?
Print or open for todayActivity 2.1.2 Vital Signs
Student sheet: Vital Signs, day 2Body mass index, a heart rate counted from video, a breathing rate from audio, then this visit against last year. Decide what deserves a second look.PDF · 4 pages · 200 KBOpen

Check you have the right sheet: the top of it prints today's portal day, Analyze vital signs. The PLTW activity itself is in myPLTW and is not posted here.

Unit 4 extra creditNine items open when we finish Unit 2. Read the cover sheet now so you know what is coming.Cover sheet (6 pages)See all nine
Optional: listen or watch a unit review▸
Optional unit study notebook
Vital signs and the physical exam: normal ranges, blood pressure categories, BMI, and Look, Listen, and Test, with a WebXam-style practice quiz.
Open the notebook
Optional review video
Audio overviewVideo overviewMind mapSlide deckFlashcardsQuizData tableInfographicInteractive report
Part 1 of 4 · Background and definitions▸

💡 Big idea: One vital-sign reading is only a snapshot of , so it cannot separate a transient response from a chronic condition, which is why clinicians rely on repeated measurements to reveal a real trend.

Know by the end
  • • A outside the indicates that a homeostatic mechanism may be failing or responding to a stressor.
  • • Two variables that commonly skew vital-sign readings are recent physical activity (elevates and ) and anxiety or white-coat effect (elevates ).
  • • A single-time-point measurement cannot distinguish a transient response from a chronic condition; clinical interpretation always considers context and trends.
Carry forward

Accurate documentation depends on -correct technique, so that a single measurement error does not become a permanent chart value that drives the wrong treatment.

Daily take-home

One vital-sign reading is only a snapshot of , so it cannot separate a transient response from a chronic condition, which is why clinicians rely on repeated measurements to reveal a real trend.

Read this first

Driving question: Your partner's read high during the lab. Does that mean they have high blood pressure, or that they were nervous being measured in class? One reading cannot tell you which.

What you already know: Accurate documentation depends on -correct technique, so that a single measurement error does not become a permanent chart value that drives the wrong treatment.

New idea: One vital-sign reading is only a snapshot of , so it cannot separate a transient response from a chronic condition, which is why clinicians rely on repeated measurements to reveal a real trend.

Visual or model: No figure is attached to this lesson. The readings, the worked example and E1 to E3 carry the evidence.

  1. Observe or measure the relevant feature in analyze vital signs.
  2. Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
  3. Apply this rule: detects a change and produces a response that reduces that change.
  4. Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.

Real biomedical example: Your partner's read high during the lab. Does that mean they have high blood pressure, or that they were nervous being measured in class? One reading cannot tell you which.

What the evidence supports: E1 to E3 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.

Vocabulary:
  • • : The main symptom or reason, stated in the patient's own words, that brings a person to seek medical care.
  • • symptom: A subjective feeling of illness that a patient reports, such as pain or fatigue, which cannot be directly measured by an observer.
  • • : A basic measurement of body function, such as temperature, , breathing rate, and , used to assess a patient's health.
  • • : The rhythmic expansion of an you can feel as the heart pumps blood, used to measure how many times the heart beats per minute.
  • • : The force of blood pushing against walls, written as systolic over diastolic, with a normal adult reading below 120 over 80 mmHg.
  • • : The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the body and air, and the cellular process that uses oxygen to release energy from nutrients.
  • • : A U.S. law that protects the privacy and security of patients' health information and limits who may see or share it.
  • • : The body's ongoing process of keeping internal conditions like temperature, blood sugar, and pH steady despite changes in the outside environment.

Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice. This is thinking practice for the one turn-in named under Turn in, not a second submission.

Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.

Evidence set and decision
E1 · Source fact

Cardiovascular structure, pressure, electrical activity, and blood flow are related, so measurements must be interpreted in the context of the system and the limits of the instrument.

Limit: A classroom tracing, model, , or single measurement cannot diagnose a cardiovascular condition.

E2 · Teaching model

detects a change and produces a response that reduces that change.

Limit: Body systems use many interacting signals and delays, not one simple thermostat wire.

E3 · Task criterion

You can interpret vital signs against normal ranges.

Limit: E3 defines the classroom product or success criterion. It is not independent scientific evidence and cannot justify a clinical or causal claim.

Today's decision · Simulated classroom evidence scenario

Your role: biomedical investigator

Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from analyze vital signs supports before submitting the claim-evidence-reasoning response named on today's page.

  • • Take repeat readings on calm days first, because nerves in class can raise a pressure that is normally fine.
  • • Report the number as above the while saying clearly that one time-point cannot name a condition.
  • • Conclude your partner has high , since the reading landed outside the during the lab.

Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Use it inside the one turn-in named under Turn in; it is not a separate submission.

Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about analyze vital signs. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.

Composite case file

Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from analyze vital signs supports before submitting the claim-evidence-reasoning response named on today's page.

Context: A single vital-sign reading is a snapshot of at one moment, but only repeated measurements over time can separate a passing response from a real, ongoing condition.

Timeline:
  • • T1: Compare each recorded to its .
  • • T2: Write a CER: do the readings suggest is maintained?
  • • T3: Explain how a value outside range relates to a feedback mechanism.
  • • T4: Identify two variables that could skew a vital-sign reading.
  • • T5: State one limitation of a single-time-point measurement.
Evidence records:
  • • E1: Cardiovascular structure, pressure, electrical activity, and blood flow are related, so measurements must be interpreted in the context of the system and the limits of the instrument.
  • • E2: detects a change and produces a response that reduces that change.
  • • E3: You can interpret vital signs against normal ranges.

Measurements: Use only the measurements, units, graph, or counts supplied in today's task. No additional patient measurement is implied.

Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.

Watch the trap

Students often think one reading outside the is enough to conclude something is wrong with the person. The trap: a single time-point cannot tell a transient response (nerves, running to class) from a chronic condition, so clinical interpretation always weighs context and looks for a trend across repeated readings before concluding anything.

Portal terms
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.
This unit's vocabulary
(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)/hoh-mee-oh-STAY-sis/

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.

Build your vocabulary · optional, for extra credit

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 Analyze vital signs. 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.

chief complaint
symptom
vital sign
pulse
blood pressure
respiration

Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.

Part 2 of 4 · Directions in plain English▸

2.2 Start the work

Compare each recorded vital sign to its normal range.

Show all 5 required steps
  1. Compare each recorded vital sign to its normal range.
  2. Write a CER: do the readings suggest homeostasis is maintained?
  3. Explain how a value outside range relates to a feedback mechanism.
  4. Identify two variables that could skew a vital-sign reading.
  5. State one limitation of a single-time-point measurement.

Lost your place? You should have each vital sign compared to its normal range (step 1) and a CER on whether homeostasis is maintained (step 2). If those are done, name two variables that could skew a reading (step 4) and state one limitation of a single measurement (step 5).

  1. 0:00Return the EMR entries from your collection day; review class-wide distribution of readings (anonymized)
  2. 0:10For each : compare to and note whether it is within, above, or below
  3. 0:22For any out-of-range reading: identify the feedback mechanism and a plausible cause
  4. 0:36CER writing: claim ( maintained or not), evidence (specific readings vs. ranges), reasoning (feedback mechanism connection)
  5. 0:56List two variables that could skew a vital-sign reading; state the limitation of a single-time-point measurement
  6. 1:10Pair-share CERs; preview the submission
Mr. Mendoza's 5-minute intro
  • • You have four vital-sign readings from your collection day. Now you interpret them. The question is not just 'is the number in range?' The question is: what does it mean if it is not?
  • • Every is connected to a homeostatic . If is high, the body is doing something: responding to exercise, fever, blood loss, stress, or something else. Your job as a clinician is to figure out which.
  • • We will also talk about the limitation of a single reading. One reading does not make hypertension. One elevated temperature does not make a diagnosis. Context and trends matter.
  • • Your CER today argues whether your partner's vital signs suggest is maintained, and what could explain any reading outside the .

PLTW connection and today's work

In myPLTW, go back to Activity 2.1.2 Vital Signs in Lesson 2.1 Talk to Your Doc and finish it.

Today's stopping point: You collected vital signs on your collection day. By the end of today your CER and range-comparison annotations should both be done.

PLTW activity titles identify the course connection. If your account will not open, use the posted materials for today and tell Mr. Mendoza. Do not mark an online activity complete unless you completed it.

Course connection

  • Activity 2.1.2 Vital Signs
Open Activity 2.1.2 Vital Signs in myPLTW

Use the turn-in directions in Part 4 of this page. Do not create a second submission unless your teacher asks for one.

Show another explanation or a smaller first step

Need help? Choose a starting point

Need a running start
Warm up by restating the ranges: what counts as normal for pulse, respiration, temperature, and blood pressure? You need those to judge whether your data is inside or outside range.
On track
Compare each reading to its range and write a CER on whether homeostasis is maintained, tying any out-of-range value to a feedback mechanism and naming variables that could skew it.
Stuck? Get unstuck
If the CER feels hard, start with one number: pick your most out-of-range reading, name one everyday reason it could be high or low, and build your claim from there.
Push me further
Design the follow-up: describe exactly how you would re-measure to tell a transient spike from a chronic condition, including how many readings and under what conditions.
Part 3 of 4 · Worked example▸

This is a parallel case, not your own. Read it for the order of the work, then do your own in Part 4.

Worked example · a parallel case (guides, does not reveal)
Worked CER on a parallel case (single blood glucose reading)
Completes: A claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph, structurally identical to the vital-signs task, arguing whether one fingerstick blood glucose reading suggests homeostasis is maintained, citing the recorded value against its normal range, connecting it to a feedback mechanism, and naming the limitation of a single reading.

Claim: Patient B's single blood glucose reading suggests homeostasis is being maintained.

Evidence: The fingerstick taken during morning lab read 92 mg/dL. A fasting blood glucose in a healthy person is generally about 70 to 99 mg/dL, and Patient B reported eating breakfast about two hours earlier, which normally keeps a reading below 140 mg/dL. The recorded value of 92 mg/dL sits inside both of those ranges.

Reasoning: A glucose value inside its normal range means the body's negative feedback loop for blood sugar is working. After a meal, rising glucose signals the pancreas to release insulin, which moves sugar into cells and brings the level back down; if that loop were failing, the reading would drift high and stay there. So a value near 92 mg/dL is what you would expect when insulin and glucagon are balancing each other. A limitation is that this is a single-time-point reading, so it shows a snapshot, not a trend. The exact timing of the last meal, recent exercise, or stress could each shift a one-time number, so a firm conclusion would need repeated readings across the day rather than one measurement.

Why this matters

This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: A claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph, structurally identical to the vital-signs task, arguing whether one fingerstick blood glucose reading suggests homeostasis is maintained, citing the recorded value against its normal range, connecting it to a feedback mechanism, and naming the limitation of a single reading.

Build yours step by step
  1. Write one defensible claim.
  2. Choose specific evidence that supports the claim.
  3. Explain the scientific rule that connects the evidence to the claim.
Change it for a new task

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 CER as one PDF to Schoology assignment for this lesson in Schoology. The sheet's chart-patient CER (BMI, the heart-rate video, the breathing audio) needs resources in myPLTW; if they will not open, this CER on your own readings is the turn-in.

See the full worked example
Inspect the analogy

A thermostat compares a room reading with a set point and changes the heater.

  1. What is measured?
  2. What is the target?
  3. What response reduces the difference?
Rule

detects a change and produces a response that reduces that change.

Where it breaks

Body systems use many interacting signals and delays, not one simple thermostat wire.

Map the analogy to biology
  • • Room reading maps to the measured variable.
  • • Set point maps to the regulated range.
  • • Heater response maps to an response.
Part 4 of 4 · Your work▸

Check your work before submitting

  • I can interpret vital signs against normal ranges.
  • I can connect a reading to homeostatic feedback.

4.1 Turn in your work

DueCheck the Schoology assignment for this day
Hand in
CER arguing whether your partner's vital signs suggest homeostasis is maintained, using today's EMR readings as evidence and connecting at least one reading to its homeostatic feedback mechanism in the reasoning.
How to submit and name your file

Submit your CER as one PDF to the Schoology assignment for this lesson in Schoology. The sheet's chart-patient CER (BMI, the heart-rate video, the breathing audio) needs resources in myPLTW; if they will not open, this CER on your own readings is the turn-in.

In Schoology, open your course and the assignment for this lesson. Attach your file, select Submit, and check that it appears in the submission.

PDF upload help

You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.

Open Schoology I was absent
Today's lesson is in Schoology

Each school day has one lesson page in Schoology that holds everything for the day: the goal, the story so far, every table and data value, the numbered steps, and what to turn in. Open it first and work from it. The other rows for this day, if any, are the score line for a paper quiz or test and the John Carroll debate item; they do not add work. Check Schoology for each deadline.

Link will not open? Open Schoology, choose your course and section, and find the title shown above.

How this is graded
For: CER: CER arguing whether your partner's vital signs suggest homeostasis is maintained, using today's EMR readings as evidence and connecting at least one reading to its homeostatic feedback mechanism in the reasoning.
  • Complete
    Every required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
  • Accurate
    The science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
  • Scientific reasoning
    You explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
  • Professional communication
    Clear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
  • Submitted
    Go to Schoology to turn this in. Submit one PDF. Schoology attaches your name to your upload; on the page itself, write your period and code. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf. If you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
How this lesson connects

Keep using what you learned last class: Accurate documentation depends on SOP-correct technique, so that a single measurement error does not become a permanent chart value that drives the wrong treatment. Today: One vital-sign reading is only a snapshot of homeostasis, so it cannot separate a transient response from a chronic condition, which is why clinicians rely on repeated measurements to reveal a real trend.

Practice: try a question, then check your answer▸

Claim ceiling for this check: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about analyze vital signs. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.

Quick self-check · commit, then reveal

A classmate's blood pressure reads above normal once, in class. Can you conclude they have high blood pressure? Explain using the idea of a single time-point.

How sure are you?

Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.

Cumulative WebXam review · flash practice

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.

Tap an answer to check it · nothing is recorded or graded
[Review: From Scene to Lab: designing evidence tests and meeting biomolecules] A researcher measures the zone of inhibition created by different mouthwashes. What is the dependent variable?
[Review: Master the Morgue: body systems, tissues, and toxicology evidence] Before handling a specimen under the microscope, which practice best maintains a contamination-free workspace?
[Review: Open Investigation: building the evidence board and the report] A company finds a drug lowers cholesterol. What must they do before selling it?
You obtain a temperature in the armpit. What is the correct way to record it?
Missed class or ready for more?▸
🔬 Practice simulation

Optional practice for this unit's lab skills. Nothing in it is due today.

What Does a Normal Reading Mean?
Open the simulation →
Where this leads: careers

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.

Forensic Science TechnicianCollect and analyze physical evidence to answer medical and legal questions.Medical ExaminerDetermine cause of death using autopsy, lab work, and case evidence.Clinical Laboratory TechnologistRun the lab tests that diagnose disease from blood and tissue samples.EpidemiologistTrack how diseases spread and design ways to stop outbreaks.
What to do if you were absent
This one was a team day

Message your group for what they decided and why, then write your own contribution: your position, your evidence, and where you disagree.

Back in class. If you cannot reach your group, tell Mr. Mendoza and he will place you before the next working session.

If MR. MENDOZA is absent

Class still runs. Complete today's work as this page describes (it is self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:

MedlinePlus: Vital Signs
Sources: slides, readings, and resources▸
Socratic teaching slide deck

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.

Download PPTX
Audio Resources

Play the cold open at the start of the unit to set the scene. Each recording is AI-generated and simulated (fictional callers, no real people or student data).

PBS U2 - Patient intake voicemailActivity 2.1.1 Building a Medical HistoryBlock 1 cold open
Resources & readings

Hand-picked readings and interactives for this lesson, from authoritative open organizations and PLTW's own public course outline.

Vital signs: what they are and normal rangesReadingMedlinePlus (NIH)Open

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