Created on 3/25/2008 1:04:00 PM
Sounds of the Heart and Building a Stethescope
Sounds of the Heart
http://www.smm.org/heart/lessons/lesson4.htm
Objective
Key Questions
Students will investigate the
sounds of the heart, construct
a stethoscope, and investigate
the workings of valves.
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What is a stethoscope used for?
What sounds does the human heart make?
How does exercise change the sounds of the heart?
Materials
For each student
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one 20-ounce plastic bottle (pop bottle)
60 cm length of vinyl tubing
For every two students
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stethoscope
plastic cup with small amount of rubbing alcohol
cotton balls
For the class
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masking tape
paper
scissors
craft knife (for teacher's use only)
Advance Preparation
Collect one 20-ounce plastic bottle for each student. Using the craft knife, make a small starter
slit in the bottle about one-fourth of the way up from the bottom and parallel to the top.
Procedure
Part One: Make a simple stethoscope
1. Roll up a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" paper into a 1" tube. Place one end to your
ear and place the other end on a classmate's chest. Can you hear the heart?
2. Make a more modern version of a stethoscope.
Carefully cut off the top portion of a plastic bottle
beginning at the pre-cut slit to make a funnel shape. Place
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Sounds of the Heart and Building a Stethescope
a piece of vinyl tubing into the mouth of the "funnel" and secure it with masking tape. Have
students write their name on a piece of tape and attach it to the funnel.
3. Carefully hold the vinyl tubing to your ear and hold the "stethoscope" against various objects
in the classroom (aquarium, clock, wall). Listen to the sounds. Does the stethoscope help you
hear sounds better?
4. Listen to your own heartbeat. Move the stethoscope around and find the place where it is the
loudest. To hear your heart easier, get rid of any background noise, run in place, or do some
jumping jacks. Take your stethoscope home and listen to the heart beat of your family members
and pets.
The stethoscope's diaphragm is a thin, plastic disc. When the students listen to the tapping or
their heart with the stethoscope, the diaphragm vibrates. The vibrating diaphragm causes the air
molecules in the stethoscope tubes to vibrate, and the tubes carry the sound vibrations to the
listener's ear.
Web Links
Exercise and Heart Disease
http://www.jhbmc.jhu.edu/CARDIOLOGY/rehab/exercise.chd.html
Look here for information such as the benefits of regular exercise, guidelines for safe exercise,
and how to calculate your target heart rate.
McGill Virtual Stethoscope Project
Go to this link to listen to the body with a virtual stethoscope.
Habits of the Heart ©2000 Science Museum of Minnesota
http://www.smm.org/heart/lessons/lesson4.htm
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