Finding Your Pulse

Questions and Answers

On the inside of your wrist under your thumb (correct)

Behind your ear

On the outside of your ankle

On top of your shoulder

It flows back into your veins

It gets stored for later use

It is pushed out quickly into your arteries (correct)

It stays still and does not move

Because your heart is beating too fast

Because your arteries are too elastic

Because the force of the blood rushing through the arteries causes the elastic walls to stretch (correct)

Because your muscles are too strong

To check if your heart is working properly Signup and view all the answers

The toothpaste would squirt out of the tube Signup and view all the answers

A toothpaste tube Signup and view all the answers

It fills with blood Signup and view all the answers

Pulse Signup and view all the answers

Once every heartbeat Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

To take your pulse, place your left hand out in front of you and press the first two fingers of your right hand on the inside of your wrist, just under your thumb.
You should feel a "thump, thump, thumping" sensation under your fingers, which is your pulse.

Your pulse is the movement of your arteries as your blood rushes through them.
You can feel your pulse by pressing down anywhere a large artery is near your skin, such as on your wrist, neck, or behind your knee.
Each thump you feel is actually one heartbeat.

The heart is a muscle that contracts to move blood around your body.
Before every beat, the heart fills with blood, and then it beats.
During the beat, the sides of the heart squeeze together, pushing blood out quickly into your arteries.
The push from the heart causes the thumping of your pulse.

The walls of the arteries are thin and elastic, like a rubber band.
The force of the blood rushing through the arteries causes the elastic walls to stretch, which you can feel when you take your pulse.

Your pulse can tell you a lot about how hard your heart is working.
When you're at rest, your heart beats between 60 and 100 times a minute.
You can figure out your heart rate by measuring your pulse and counting how many thumps you feel in one minute.
If you're exercising, your heart has to beat faster to keep up, and it can beat up to 200 times in one minute.