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Body Lab 3-5 / Week 05 / Friday
5/6
Week 05 · Lungs and Breathing

Friday

Breathing on the move
// Oxygen in, carbon dioxide out
⏱ about 15 min

Friday: Breathing on the Move

Rocket finishes a race across the playground. He is huffing and puffing. "Why am I breathing so fast?"

Raven sits down beside him. "What do you notice when you rest for a while?"

Nova circles them both. "Think back to the heart," she says. "What do your working muscles need?"

Rocket catches his breath. "Oxygen! So my lungs speed up too."

More moving, more breaths

When you are active, your muscles need more oxygen.

So you breathe more often. Your heart beats faster too.

Your body has sensors that send signals to your brain.

Your brain changes how fast you breathe to match what your body needs.

When you rest again, your breathing slows back down.

BREATHS CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
You are sitting and reading. Do you breathe faster or slower than when you run?
Which two things speed up when you run?
What part of your body changes how fast you breathe?

Counting breaths

Scientists count breaths the same way we counted pulse.

One breath in plus one breath out counts as one breath.

Here are made-up practice numbers for a pretend scientist named Leo.

Made-up practice data for LeoBreaths in 30 secondsBreaths in one minute
Resting1020
After 2 minutes of marching1836
In the practice data, Leo took how many breaths in one minute while resting?
How many more breaths per minute after marching? (36 - 20)
Leo counts 12 breaths in 30 seconds. How many is that in one minute?
WHY THIS EXERCISE12 times 2 is 24 breaths in one minute.
Safety first
Counting your own breaths is a choice. It is fine to skip it.
Breathe normally while you count. Do not try to breathe extra fast.
March in place in a clear space. Stop and rest any time.
Try it
Sit quietly. A grown-up times 30 seconds while you count breaths.
March in place for one minute.
Count your breaths for 30 seconds again. What do you notice?
StatementTrue or false?
You breathe more often when you are active.?
Your breathing stays fast forever after you run.?
Sensors in your body send signals to your brain.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEBreathing speeds up when you move and slows down when you rest.
HEART AND LUNGS TEAM
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Your breathing speeds up when you run. What else speeds up?
Where does blood pick up the extra oxygen?
READY FOR TOMORROW'S MODEL
  • Tomorrow we build a lung model.
  • Match each model part to the body part it stands for, in order.
1Bottle
2Balloon inside
3Balloon on the bottom

Super science, breath counter! Tomorrow is Body Lab Day: we build a working lung model.

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