Illuminations: The Beat of Your Heart

The Beat of Your Heart


These activities emphasize the connections between science and mathematics by using a performance, or authentic, assessment format. Students have the opportunity to explore applications involving their own heart. These lessons were adapted from "Ideas: The Beat of Your Heart," by Lisa M. Passarello and Francis (Skip) Fennell, which originally appeared in The Arithmetic Teacher Vol. 39, No. 6 (February 1992) pp. 32‑39.

Math Content

In "Every Beat of Your Heart," students will:

  • collect, organize, and interpret data, including making predictions, involving the heart rate at rest and after exercise.

In "What’s the Beat?," students will:

  • determine how many times the adult heart beats during specified lengths of time.
  • predict how many times the adult heart would beat during other lengths of time.
  • draw conclusions on the basis of information about the human heart rate and that of other animals.

Individual Lessons

Lesson 1 - Every Beat Of Your Heart

This activity involves taking a pulse, collecting and interpreting data, making predictions, and drawing conclusions. Its focus is the collection and analysis of data.

Lesson 2 - What's the Beat?

In this activity, students use the average adult's number of heartbeats per minute to predict how many times the heart would beat during various lengths of time. The students also draw conclusions on the basis of information about the human heart rate and that of other animals

NCTM Resources

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Thinkfinity Verizon Foundation
© 2000 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
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