1. Name: ______________________________Block: _________________ Date: _____________
Pulse & Blood Pressure Lab
1. Pulse at Rest
a. Place your first and second finger in the groove between the radius bone (on
thumb side) and the tendon at the wrist and press lightly.
b. Count the number of beats in 10 seconds.
c. Multiply this number by 6 to get the number of beats in 60 seconds (this is your
pulse).
d. After, use the automatic blood pressure/pulse monitor and record it’s reading
for your pulse.
Beats/10 sec. Pulse (beats/60 sec.)
Manual
Auto
2. Heart Sound at Rest
a. Place a stethoscope on your own chest. Find the place on your chest where the
sound is loudest.
b. Indicate where the sound is loudest on the diagram below:
3. Blood Pressure at Rest
a. Following the blood pressure cuff instructions, take and record your blood
pressure in the chart below:

2. Systolic Pressure Diastolic Pressure BP (Systole/Diastole)
4. Run up and down the stairs for 1 minute!
5. Pulse After Exercise
a. Repeat the Procedure for determining your Pulse and Record the Data Below:
Beats/10 sec. Pulse (beats/60 sec.)
Manual
Auto
6. Heart Sound After Exercise
a. Listen to your heart again after exercising. How is the sound different than
before? ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
7. Blood Pressure After Exercise
a. Repeat the Procedure for determining your Blood Pressure and record the data
below:
Systolic Pressure Diastolic Pressure BP (Systole/Diastole)
Questions
1) What was the effect of exercise on your pulse? _________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.

3. 2) Why can the heart beat be detected as a pulse? ________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
3) Would a heart beat be felt first as a pulse in your wrist or your neck? Explain._________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4) What was the effect of exercise on your blood pressure? _________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
5) How does the body benefit from these changes in pulse & blood pressure? ___________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
6) What is considered normal average adult pulse? _______________________________.
7) What is considered normal average adult blood pressure? ________________________.
8) How would the pulse and blood pressure of an anxious person visiting the doctor be
different than if the patient is calm? __________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
9) In arteriosclerosis, plaque builds up in the arteries and narrows the opening. How
would this affect blood pressure? Is this an example of hypertension or hypotension?
___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.