How Does the Heart Work?
Are you looking for an easy way to teach your child about the human body? We’ve put together a set of free materials that parents and teachers can use right away. In this lesson, your child will dive into the fascinating world of how the heart works.
We’ll explore the path of blood through the four chambers of the heart. Explore science in a more engaging way with captivating 3D videos and interactive quizzes. Download our app to get started!
Table of Contents
What You Will Learn from This Lesson
- The heart has four parts: the right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle, and left ventricle.
- The heart’s job is to pump blood through the body.
What Are the Heart’s Four Chambers?
The heart has two sides, the right side and the left side, and they work together. It consists of four separate chambers. The right side contains the right atrium and the right ventricle. The left side houses the left atrium and the left ventricle. The heart’s four chambers work together to move blood in a continuous, fast cycle called circulation.
How Does Blood Flow Through the Body?
The circulation process happens quickly and repeats thousands of times every day. The journey follows a specific cycle:
- The Right Side: Blood from the veins gathers in the right atrium and flows into the right ventricle when the valve between them opens. The valve closes to prevent backflow as the right ventricle contracts to force blood into the lungs.
- The Lungs: Red blood cells drop off carbon dioxide and pick up oxygen while in the lungs.
- The Left Side: Oxygenated blood travels from the lungs into the left atrium and passes into the left ventricle. The left ventricle contracts to pump the blood out to the arteries and the entire body.
- Transport and Speed: Plasma helps transport nutrients and red blood cells during this process. The blood completes this full journey in under a minute.
Fun Fact
- The entire journey of the blood through the circulatory system and heart can be completed in under a minute.
- Thousands of times every day, the heart performs its critical work, pumping blood to the lungs and body.
- The powerful heart is like a pump that pushes blood all over your body to keep you going.
Vocabulary
- Atrium: One of the two upper chambers of the heart that first receives blood (either from the veins or the lungs).
- Ventricle: One of the two lower, larger chambers of the heart responsible for forcefully pumping blood out (either to the lungs or the body).
- Valve: A structure within the heart that opens to allow blood flow between the atrium and ventricle and then closes to stop blood from flowing backward.
- Arteries: Blood vessels that carry blood pumped from the heart out to the entire body.
- Veins: Blood vessels that carry blood from the body back into the heart’s right atrium.