How Your Blood Gets Around

Science · Organisms & Life Processes · ages 10-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

What is the heart's job?
- To digest food
- To pump blood around the body
- To store air
Which of these is a blood vessel that blood flows through?
- Artery
- Rib
- Lung
Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to your cells.
Circle one: True False
Why is the circulatory system described as a loop?
- Blood keeps leaving the heart and coming back to it
- Blood only travels once and then stops moving
- Blood travels in a straight line and never returns
Which blood vessels are so small and thin that oxygen and nutrients can pass through their walls into cells?
- Arteries
- Veins
- Capillaries
How many different types of blood vessels did you learn about: arteries, veins, and capillaries?
Answer: ______________
After a hard run, your muscle cells make extra carbon dioxide. How does your circulatory system deal with this?
- Blood picks up the carbon dioxide and carries it away from the cells
- The muscles store the carbon dioxide forever
- The digestive system removes the carbon dioxide
Priya says blood only carries oxygen and nothing else. What is wrong with her idea?
- Nothing, she is right
- Blood also carries nutrients and carries away waste like carbon dioxide
- Blood does not carry oxygen at all

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

To pump blood around the body · The heart is a muscular pump. It pushes blood in a loop around your whole body.
Artery · Arteries are blood vessels. Ribs and lungs are other body parts, not vessels.
True · That is one of blood's main jobs, along with carrying away waste like carbon dioxide.
Blood keeps leaving the heart and coming back to it · Blood leaves the heart, travels through the body, and returns to the heart again and again.
Capillaries · Capillaries are the tiniest blood vessels. Their thin walls let oxygen, nutrients, and waste pass through.
3 · Arteries, veins, and capillaries: three types in total.
Blood picks up the carbon dioxide and carries it away from the cells · Blood collects waste like carbon dioxide from cells and carries it away as part of its loop around the body.
Blood also carries nutrients and carries away waste like carbon dioxide · Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells, and it also picks up waste like carbon dioxide to carry away.