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A practical exploration of how the cardio-respiratory systems work together

I can explain how my cardiovascular and respiratory systems work together to support performance in sport.

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Year 10
OCR

A practical exploration of how the cardio-respiratory systems work together

I can explain how my cardiovascular and respiratory systems work together to support performance in sport.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Gaseous exchange is when oxygen and carbon dioxide move or diffuse from high concentration to lower concentration.
  2. Oxygen is delivered to the circulatory system and then to the working muscles.
  3. The respiratory system gets oxygen into the body, then the circulatory system transports it to the body.

Keywords

  • Cardio-respiratory - the combined functions of the cardiovascular system or heart and blood vessels and the respiratory system or lungs and airways

  • Gaseous exchange - the process where oxygen and carbon dioxide are transferred between the alveoli in the lungs and the bloodstream via capillaries

  • Performance - the execution of an action or the ability to achieve a task effectively and efficiently

Common misconception

All of the oxygen we breathe in is used by the muscles.

The body only extracts a small percentage of the oxygen in each breath so it is important we keep breathing during and after exercise. You can only moves gases to an area of lower concentration so once that is equal diffusion stops.

This lesson is a nice (optional) practical exploration of the combined pathway of oxygen from the atmosphere right through to the working muscles and then carbon dioxide back out of the body. You might find it is worth saving it as a revision lesson in Year 11 and to give minimal explanation.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

mini whiteboards to capture and arrange the name/ function of different parts of the respiratory tract and circulatory system responsible for getting oxygen to the muscles and carbon dioxide out

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on

Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following terms refers to breathing out?
Correct answer: exhale
inhale
perspire
inspire
Q2.
What happens when we breathe out?
The ribs move up and out while the diaphragm flattens down.
The ribs move down and in while the diaphragm flattens down.
Correct answer: The ribs move down and in while the diaphragm moves up into a dome.
The ribs move up and out while the diaphragm moves into a dome.
Q3.
Another word for inspire is ...
Correct Answer: inhale, inhalation
Q4.
Which of the following does diastole refer to?
Correct answer: the heart relaxing
the ventricles contracting
the atria contracting
blood being ejected from the heart
Q5.
Match the following key terms and descriptions.
Correct Answer:cardiac cycle,the sequence of events in a heartbeat (contraction and relaxation)
tick

the sequence of events in a heartbeat (contraction and relaxation)

Correct Answer:heart rate,the number of times the heart beats per minute
tick

the number of times the heart beats per minute

Correct Answer:stroke volume,the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle per beat
tick

the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle per beat

Correct Answer:cardiac output,the amount of blood pumped out of the heart per minute
tick

the amount of blood pumped out of the heart per minute

Correct Answer:tidal volume,the amount of air breathed in or out per breath
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the amount of air breathed in or out per breath

Q6.
Gaseous is the process where gases move from high concentration to lower concentration.
Correct Answer: exchange

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following substances does the human body need to extract from the air to provide energy for movement?
nitrogen
Correct answer: oxygen
carbon dioxide
water
Q2.
A by-product of aerobic respiration is which is expelled from the body when we breathe out.
Correct Answer: carbon dioxide, CO2
Q3.
Arrange these components of the respiratory system in order from the atmosphere to the bloodstream.
1 - nose and mouth
2 - trachea
3 - bronchi
4 - bronchioles
5 - alveoli
6 - bloodstream
Q4.
Which of the following is incorrect?
Gaseous exchange happens at the alveoli.
Gaseous exchange happens at the muscle tissues.
Oxygen moves into the bloodstream at the alveoli.
Correct answer: Carbon dioxide moves into the bloodstream at the alveoli.
Q5.
Gaseous exchange occurs when oxygen or carbon dioxide move from areas of high to areas of lower via diffusion.
Correct Answer: concentration, percentage, pressure
Q6.
Arrange these components of the circulatory system in the correct order for the pathway of blood from the lungs to the working muscles and back to the lungs via the heart.
1 - pulmonary vein
2 - left atria
3 - left ventricle
4 - muscles
5 - right atria
6 - right ventricle
7 - pulmonary artery

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