Cardiovascular System: The Heart and Blood Vessels
The cardiovascular system, the heart and blood vessels, pumps blood around the body. The heart has four chambers: the right atrium and right ventricle on the deoxygenated side, and the left atrium and left ventricle on the oxygenated side, separated by the septum.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Learn the four chambers of the heart in order and the direction blood flows through them, not just their names in isolation.
- Learn the names, locations and function of the four heart valves - preventing the backflow of blood between chambers or into the major vessels.
- Learn the full pathway of blood through the heart, lungs and body as a continuous double circulatory loop (pulmonary then systemic), able to state where blood is oxygenated and where it is deoxygenated at each stage.
- Learn the structural differences between arteries, veins and capillaries and link each structural feature to its function, e.g. thick muscular walls in arteries withstand high pressure.
- Learn the exception to 'arteries carry oxygenated blood': the pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the pulmonary vein carries oxygenated blood back to the heart.
- Learn the cardiac output formula, Q = SV x HR, and practise substituting given values and showing the working, including converting between millilitres and litres where the question requires it.
- For explain and extended questions, always link a cardiovascular fact to what it lets a performer do, e.g. deliver more oxygen, sustain higher intensity, or recover faster.
Worked example
An athlete has a resting stroke volume of 70 ml and a resting heart rate of 65 beats per minute. During exercise, their stroke volume rises to 110 ml and their heart rate rises to 170 beats per minute. Calculate the athlete's cardiac output at rest and during exercise, and calculate how many more litres per minute of blood the heart pumps during exercise than at rest.
- Write the formula: cardiac output (Q) = stroke volume (SV) x heart rate (HR).
- Calculate resting cardiac output: 70 x 65 = 4,550 ml/min.
- Convert to litres: 4,550 / 1,000 = 4.55 l/min at rest.
- Calculate exercise cardiac output: 110 x 170 = 18,700 ml/min.
- Convert to litres: 18,700 / 1,000 = 18.7 l/min during exercise.
- Find the difference: 18.7 - 4.55 = 14.15 l/min more blood pumped during exercise than at rest.
Practice questions
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Q1Name the four chambers of the heart.Show answer
Answer: The right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium and left ventricle.
Q2Which valve is found between the right atrium and the right ventricle?Show answer
Answer: The tricuspid valve.
Q3State the formula for cardiac output.Show answer
Answer: Cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate.
Q4A performer has a stroke volume of 80 ml and a heart rate of 150 beats per minute. Calculate their cardiac output in ml/min.Show answer
Answer: 80 x 150 = 12,000 ml/min.
Q5Name the blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart to the lungs.Show answer
Answer: The pulmonary artery.
Q6State one structural difference between an artery and a vein.Show answer
Answer: Arteries have thicker, more muscular walls than veins to withstand higher pressure; veins contain valves to prevent the backflow of blood, which arteries do not need.
Q7Which chamber of the heart pumps oxygenated blood into the aorta?Show answer
Answer: The left ventricle.
Q8Name the structure that separates the left and right sides of the heart.Show answer
Answer: The septum.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Physical Education exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Describe the pathway of blood through the heart, starting from the vena cava and ending at the aorta.
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Using the concept of cardiac output, analyse how the cardiovascular system responds to support performance in a named endurance event of your choice.
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See real GCSE Physical Education past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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