Introduction
Many of us have grown up with the idea that the heart is symmetric, completely red and perfectly shaped as it is seen in Valentine's cards. Furthermore, some biology books show diagrams and models with a multicolored picture where the deoxygenated blood is blue. However, these approaches are for didactic purposes only. When we take a closer look at a real human heart, we can see that it is not symmetric, but it has a tendency to be symmetric; it does not have the "Valentine's" shape; it is not completely red, and it does not have the blue colored sections as cartoons on the books show.
In this unit, I present a mathematical analysis of some aspects of heart function. These concepts can be combined with the use of colored diagrams as well as hands-on activities, in order to provide a more complete level of learning. Using only abstract concepts or only hands-on activities may create a situation where "one leg grows larger than the other one."
This curriculum unit will be taught in Algebra-1 and Algebra-2 classes. Students review concepts of word problems, ratio, proportions, percent and equations. One aspect of the unit will include conversion of units and the comparison between the metric and the English systems to understand concepts of flow, pressure and speed within the cardiovascular system. Changing from one type of unit to another one is an excellent skill to have that will be used in science as well as in math. In addition, geometric concepts will be explored, such as the calculation of the surface area of a heart and graphing of a cardioid. Graph reading skills will also be studied, using the data obtained from heart diseases.
I believe that illustrating the physiology of a heart in a set of math lessons is a good way to enhance understanding of the function of our organs. It is important as well to analyze the function of the components of the cardiovascular system such as the ventricles, atriums, valves, veins, arteries, blood and its composition/function.
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