Activity 1.

1: Vital Signs
PLTW GATEWAY NOTEBOOK

You and your partner will record your vital sign results in your PLTW Gateway Notebooks .
Create a table to help organize your information .

Name Pulse Temperature Respiratory Rate Blood Pressure

Taksh Thakkar
80 98.6 20

Lincoln Sanchez 100 98.2 22

Part I: Collect Vital Signs as Medical Evidence

Compare your and your partner’s pulse data. Did you observe different readings?

If you did observe different pulse readings, why do you think that happened and what might
this mean?

What other ways can body temperature be taken?

Why do you think some methods for taking a patient’s temperature are more accurate than
others?

Why is it important to get a resting respiratory rate as a vital sign rather than a rate
while a person is active?
Compare your resting respiratory rate to your partner’s. What differences do you
notice? If you observed differences between your data, why do you think they differ?

How might a patient’s blood pressure be impacted if they’re nervous being in a

doctor’s office or emergency room? Why might it be good to check a patient’s blood
pressure more than once during their visit?

What other factors might impact or change a person’s blood pressure?

Part II: Analyze the Data

Compare your vital sign data with the normal ranges in the chart and then complete the
Reflection questions.

Vital Sign Average Low Average High

Pulse 60 beats per minute (bpm) 100 beats per minute (bpm)

Temperature 97.8 degrees F 99.1 degrees F

Respiratory Rate 12 breaths per minute 18 breaths per minute

Blood Pressure 90/60 mm Hg 120/80 mm Hg

What observations did you make when comparing your vital sign data with the normal
ranges?

What might you be able to do to lower or raise the results for one of your vital sign
measurements?
Part III: ER Doctors & Nurses
CAREER CONNECTIONS

What other careers or professionals do you think need to know how to check a
patient’s vital signs?

Conclusion Questions
Why is it necessary to check more than one vital sign on a patient ?

How might vital signs impact a medical professional’s decisions as they

investigate an illness?