Grade Five Science
You are now at the end of your holiday period. Tomorrow a new school year begins. A new term begins, the Christmas Term. It is a good time to reflect on your past year and plan your path to further success in this new school year. It is in this school year that you will write your National Grade Six Assessment. Be diligent, pay attention in class, be careful in your work, be focused, and you will certainly succeed.
We are now in the new month of September! In this month we celebrate education and the Amerindian heritage. Do you know the theme for each of them? If you don’t, find out.
Now let’s find out if you are ready for school. Tick to show you have:
- Textbooks labelled, papered and packed - Exercise books papered, labelled and packed - Pencils sharpened
- Erasers, sharpeners, rulers
- Book bag
- Lunch bag/kit
- Uniforms washed and pressed
- Socks and shoes/boots
- Hair
- Transportation
- Right attitude to learn
Great job!
Let’s get back to our discussions on the body systems.
We have had a good look at the Skeletal System in the past few weeks. We have looked at its parts and its functions. We’ve seen how important this body system is to the entire human body. Did you enjoy our work together? Now this week we will find out about another body system,
The Circulatory System.
Take a general look at the diagram above which shows the circulatory system. What do you see?
Let us first look at the heart. The heart is very important to the Circulatory System. It is a really vital organ. Under normal circumstances when it stops beating, you’re dead. Put your hand on the lower part of the middle of your chest. Do you feel the beating of your heart?
The heart is divided into four parts or chambers. (Not all hearts of animals are divided into four chambers.) The heart is often referred to as a pump. This pump works continuously – all day, all night, while you are awake, when you are sleeping, … until you die. This marvellous pump is responsible for pumping blood all around the body. The heart beats an average of 72 to 75 times per minute. At higher temperatures the general heartbeat can increase up to 200 beats per minute. This happens during exercise, too. The rate of heart beat is faster during fevers, when you are scared, and when you are excited. Can you think of other times when your heart beats faster than it usually does?
Does the heart of a child and that of an adult beat at the same rate? Find out.
What is the name given to the instrument that the doctor uses to check on his/her patient’s heart? Do ensure that you can spell that name.
Name the instrument being used in the diagram above.
From the diagram of the heart below, we can see the chambers. Count them. The walls of the heart are thick and muscular. They contract and relax all the time, pumping the blood. Blood is always entering and leaving the heart.
Can you guess how much the heart weighs? The heart weighs about 300g. Its size is about the size of a clenched fist. (Clench your fist to see the size of your heart.)
Blood and Circulation
Read this poem written specially for you
Do you know what moves and travels ‘Round and ‘round in many tiny vessels It never really does stand idle
I wonder, does it work with diesel?
Food, oxygen and carbon dioxide
Are only some of the things it transports inside It even helps us fight disease
A very necessary substance, if you please