Subject Area	Biology/Anatomy/Physiology
Age/Grade Level	Freshmen or Sophomores
Estimated Length	1 50-minute class period
Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills	Students should know about the cardiovascular system and what the heart pulse rate represents.  Also, the students should know what the normal pulse and temperature range is for a healthy human being.
Description of New Content	This lesson introduces the concepts of pulse rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.  The students learn how to measure these physical attributes and how variations in these attributes outside the normal, healthy ranges can be an indication of disease.
Goals	Students will learn how to measure body temperature and heart rate or blood pressure using a thermometer and sphygmomanometer, respectively.  Students will record measurements from their classmates to determine a healthy range for these attributes.  Students will then see how these measurements are affected by drinking caffeinated beverages.
Materials Needed	Sphygmomanometers, Thermometers, stethoscopes, caffeinated beverages, alcohol swabs, plastic coverings for the thermometers, graph paper
Procedure	Questions to Begin With 1.  When you go to the doctor, what do they normally do first to you? Try and lead the students to the answer of taking your temperature and blood pressure. 2.  Why do you think they take these measurements?  What can these measurements tell the doctor or nurse about you? 3.  What sorts of things do you think might affect these measurements? Heart Rate with Sphygmomanometer Show students how to use the sphymomanometer.  The student being measured should be sitting at a desk with his or her left arm resting on the table, approximately at the level of his or her heart.  Set up the sphygmomanometer on the student's arm in the proper manner, about an inch above the elbow on the arm.  The stethoscope end can be used there as well to hear the pulse.  Close the knob on the bulb by turning it clockwise. Then pump up the bulb until the gauge reads about 180 mm Hg.  DO NOT OVERPUMP the bulb.  Gently and slowly turn the knob counterclockwise to release the pressure.  Do this so that the gauge hand drops about 2 mm Hg per second.  Continue this until you hear the pulse rate (which should occur below somewhere below 120 mm Hg for a healthy person).  Record the gauge reading when you hear the pulse--this is the systolic blood pressure.  Continue releasing the pressure until the noise stops.  Record the value when the noise stops.  This is the diastolic blood pressure.  Clean the ear tips of the stethoscope with the alcohol swabs and allow the students to take their own measurements. Temperature Reading with the Thermometers Digital thermometers can be purchased from CVS for roughly $7.  Put the plastic cover over the tip of the thermometer and put the thermometer under the students' tongue.  Keep it there until it beeps.  Record the value of the temperature. Throw out the plastic cover. Measuring the Effects of Caffeinated Beverages on Heart Rate and Temperature Have the students bring in caffeinated drinks that day.  A can of soda would work perfectly for this activity.  Have the student drink the soda (roughly half the can to the whole can will do).  Then repeat the measurements above and record the results. Graphing the Results The students should create a graph where the plot the measurements they took.  Have them decide which type of graph they think is appropriate.  Have them plot the results of the entire class on their graphs.
Evaluation	Questions to Answer The normal temperaure for a human being is around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  The normal systolic blood pressure is < 120 mm Hg, while the normal diastolic blood pressure is <80 mm Hg.  Answer the following questions: 1.  Is your blood pressure and temperature roughly within the normal healthy range? 2.  Did you notice any changes in these measurements after you drank the caffeinated beverages? 3.  Did everyone respond in the same manner to the caffeinated beverages?  In other words, did everyone's measurements behave in the same way?  If not, why might there be differences in the way a person responds to a caffeinated beverage? 4.  Alan comes into the hospital complaining of chest pains.  You think he might be having a heart attack.  Would you expect his blood pressure to be within the normal range?  If not, do you think it will be higher or lower than normal?
Extensions	This lesson could lead into a lesson on hospital triage, where the students have to decide which patients they should treat first based on the measurements of blood pressure and temperature.