Health and Science Focus: Blood

Blood... white cells, red cells...

So my son managed to fall quiet bad over the holidays, where he tried to ride a bicycle with a little holder at the back like a scooter. It tipped over and he was left with two bad fleshwounds on his foot. It took us the whole holidays to get these wounds healthy, science he kept scratching the wound and it got infected, but hey....

"This is just a boy thing."

So ok, little boy, you keep engaging my creative side with your little stunds and accidents.

Thank you!!

Today I decided to search for an interesting experiment to do with him, since, as always he has questions, and experiments are the best way to answer him. Today's experiment will focus on blood, after his bicycle accident.


Image by Medlineplus

What does blood consist off?


Image by KMBiology

Our blood is made up of liquid and solids, mainly out of three parts :

  1. Plasma (55%)
  2. White blood cells and platelets (<1%)
  3. Red blood cells (45%)

Liquid Part: Plasma

Plasma is the liquid part of our blood. It is mainly made out of water, salts and protein. Interesting to know is that over half of your blood (55%) is plasma.
https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7cf1dd31df3d360f71879154025f9b37-c
Image Source by qph.ec.quoracdn

Solid Part

Red blood cells

The red blood cells are responsible for delivering the oxygen from our lungs to our tissues and our organs. The red blood cells live about 120 days before new ones are generated.

Image by Polygon Medical

White blood cells

The white blood cells are our infection fighters. This means that they are part of our immune systems and helps to fight infections. Some white blood cells only live for a day, but some can live longer.

Image Source fi.edu

Platelets

The work of platelets is to help our blood clot when we have a cut. Platelets can live about 6 days before new ones are generated.

Image Source by cdn2

Science Experiment: What is blood made of?


Image Source by icanteachmychild.com

You will need the following:

  1. Large plastic container
  2. Redwater beads
  3. Ping-pong balls
  4. Water
  5. Red craft foam

Instructions

  1. Hydrate the water beads by following the instructions of the package. (Take note of the time it takes to hydrate the water beads before you continue with the other instructions.)
  2. Use the craft foam to cut it into small pieces to create platelets.
  3. Put the platelets, ping pong balls into the plastic container where the water beads are already.
  4. Let the children/learners play around.
  5. Ask them which ones are the platelets, the red blood cells, the white blood cells.
  6. Let them explore and tell you what they are feeling.

Video


Video Source

Sources

  1. Source 1
  2. Source 2
  3. Source 3
  4. Source 4


Created by Giphy'

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