Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Physical Education (1PE0) · Spec C1 1.2.1, C1 1.2.2, C1 1.2.3, C1 1.2.4 and C1 1.2.5
The cardiovascular system and blood
Read the notes, then try the questions. Each one is marked the moment you press Check, and shows the right answer and why.
Key ideas
- The heart has four chambers. The atria receive blood. The ventricles pump it out. The septum keeps the left and right sides apart.
- Blood path round the body: left ventricle, aorta, arteries, capillaries at the muscles, veins, vena cava, right atrium. It then goes to the lungs and comes back along the pulmonary vein.
- Arteries carry blood away from the heart. Veins carry it back and have valves to stop backflow. Capillaries are one cell thick, so gases and nutrients pass through.
- Blood has four parts: red blood cells carry oxygen on haemoglobin, white blood cells fight infection, platelets clot wounds and plasma carries nutrients and carbon dioxide.
- In exercise, vascular shunting sends more blood to the working muscles. Vessels to muscles dilate and vessels to the digestive system constrict.
Key terms
- Septum
- The wall between the left and right sides of the heart.
- Haemoglobin
- The substance in red blood cells that joins with oxygen.
- Vasodilation
- Widening of blood vessels.
- Vasoconstriction
- Narrowing of blood vessels.
- Vascular shunting
- Redirecting blood flow to where it is needed, such as the working muscles.
- Vena cava
- The vein that brings deoxygenated blood from the body into the right atrium.
Common mistakes
- Saying 'pumps blood' is a function of the cardiovascular system. The functions are things like transport, clotting and temperature control.
- Saying clotting stops you getting ill later. It stops blood loss from a wound.
- Thinking all arteries carry oxygenated blood. The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood.
Exam tip
Do not stop at 'more oxygen to the muscles'. 'Explain' needs a link: more oxygen reaches the muscles, so they can work aerobically for longer, so the performer keeps going without tiring.
Free practice questions
7 questions, 10 marks. Answer, then press Check. The marking guide explains how the marks are worked out. Nothing is saved.
- Question 1 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which structure separates the left ventricle from the right ventricle?
- Question 2 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which vessel carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium?
- Question 3 · True or false[1 mark]
True or false: the vena cava carries deoxygenated blood into the right atrium.
- Question 4 · Fill the gaps[1 mark]
Blood leaves the left ventricle through the ___.
Word bank: pulmonary vein · vena cava · aorta · septum
- Question 5 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which substance in red blood cells joins with oxygen so it can be carried?
- Question 6 · Matching[4 marks]
Match each blood component to its role.
- Question 7 · Put in order[1 mark]
Put these in the order that blood travels from the left ventricle round the body and back to the right atrium.
Use the arrows to put these in the right order, first at the top.
- 1Left ventricle
- 2Capillaries in the muscles
- 3Aorta
- 4Right atrium
- 5Vena cava