The Cardiovascular System | OCR A-Level Physical Education (H555)
The Cardiovascular System
- 72 questions
- 5 subtopics
- Component 01: Physiological factors affecting performance
- Component 01
The Cardiovascular System is examined in Component 01, Physiological factors affecting performance.
It covers heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest, the cardiac cycle and conduction system, cardiac responses to exercise and recovery, the vascular shunt mechanism and venous return and heart rate regulation.
Sample questions from The Cardiovascular System
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest
Why does the left ventricle have a thicker wall than the right ventricle?
Show the answer
The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood through the aorta to the whole body. The thicker muscular wall generates the higher pressure this needs. -
Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest
Why is resting cardiac output about the same in trained and untrained performers?
Show the answer
Resting oxygen demand is similar for both. The trained performer's larger stroke volume is balanced by a lower resting heart rate. -
The cardiac cycle and conduction system
How is a 0.8-second cardiac cycle at rest divided between diastole and systole?
Show the answer
Diastole takes about 0.5 seconds and systole about 0.3 seconds at rest. The longer diastole gives the ventricles time to fill. -
The cardiac cycle and conduction system
What is the role of the bundle of His?
Show the answer
The bundle of His carries the impulse from the AV node down the septum. The bundle divides into left and right branches running towards the apex. -
Cardiac responses to exercise and recovery
Calculate the estimated maximum heart rate of a 17-year-old.
Show the answer
The estimated maximum heart rate is 203 bpm. Maximum heart rate = 220 − age = 220 − 17 = 203 bpm. -
Cardiac responses to exercise and recovery
During a hard run a performer has a heart rate of 180 bpm and a stroke volume of 120 ml. Calculate the cardiac output.
Show the answer
The cardiac output is 21.6 L/min. Stroke volume × heart rate = 120 ml × 180 bpm = 21,600 ml/min. -
The vascular shunt mechanism
Which receptors send information to the vasomotor centre during exercise?
Show the answer
Chemoreceptors detect rising carbon dioxide and lactic acid levels. Baroreceptors detect changes in the pressure in the arteries. -
The vascular shunt mechanism
Why does blood flow to the skin increase during prolonged exercise?
Show the answer
Active muscles produce heat that must be lost. Skin arterioles vasodilate so more blood reaches the surface to release heat.
The 5 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest | Resting heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output, the equation that links them, the thicker left ventricle, worked pulse and cardiac output calculations, and why trained and untrained performers share a resting cardiac output. | 13 |
| The cardiac cycle and conduction system | Diastole, atrial systole and ventricular systole, the timing of a 0.8-second cycle, the myogenic heart, the sinoatrial node, atrioventricular node, bundle of His and Purkinje fibres, and the valves that stop backflow. | 15 |
| Cardiac responses to exercise and recovery | The anticipatory rise, heart rate in submaximal and maximal exercise and recovery, estimated maximum heart rate, the stroke volume plateau, Starling's law, trained and untrained maximal cardiac output, and worked calculations for a runner and a cyclist. | 14 |
| The vascular shunt mechanism | Redistribution of cardiac output to skeletal muscle, the vasomotor centre and its receptors, sympathetic stimulation, arterioles and pre-capillary sphincters, blood flow to the brain and skin, and why a large meal before exercise is avoided. | 14 |
| Venous return and heart rate regulation | Venous return and the skeletal muscle pump, respiratory pump, pocket valves, smooth muscle and gravity, the dizzy rower, the cardiac control centre, sympathetic and parasympathetic control, chemoreceptors, baroreceptors, adrenaline and intrinsic factors. | 16 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Physical Education Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,133 questions with their answers.