Experiment:

Human Lung Model

Apparatus/Materials
Plastic bottle with screw top cap
● Straws x -3
● Rubber Bands x 2
● Tape
● Balloons x 3
● Plastic Wrap
● Scissors

Method:
Cut the Bottom Off Your Plastic Bottle
Carefully Cut/screw a Hole in Your Bottle Cap
Cut Your Straws to Be Your Windpipe
Once you have the point use your scissors and put one blade inside the staw and
cut about 1 to 1.5 inch up. Repeat for the other side.
You should now have a slit to place the smaller straw pieces into. Make sure the
smaller pieces fit the way you want and that air can be blown through one and go
out of both ends.
Attach Your Lungs to Your Windpipe
Put Your Lungs Into Your Bottle
Prepare Your Plastic Wrap to Be Your Diaphragm

Cut a square of plastic wrap large enough to cover the bottom of your bottle.
Then, using your rubber bands, secure the plastic wrap around your bottle. I used
two rubber bands, one when to initially secure and the other to secure the excess
plastic.

Bottle was cut at the bottom.

A hole was bored in the center of the cork.
Straw was

Method-

 Take a bell jar. Towards its rounded end, fix a 'Y' shaped glass tube and on
the open ends of the two branches tie a balloon each.
 On its open end, tie a thin rubber sheet. The cavity of the bell jar acts as the
thoracic cavity, the "Y" shaped tube as the trachea that branches into
bronchi and the rubber sheet as the diaphragm.
 With this setup the demonstration of breathing is done.
In our model this plastic wrap represents the diaphragm. Our diaphragm tightness
and flattens allowing us to suck air into our lungs. To breath out, or exhale, our
diaphragm and rib cage muscles relax, letting the air out of our lungs.
7?
What is the role of diaphragm in breathing explain with the help of an experiment
Class
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle underneath the lungs. When it
contracts, oxygen rich air is pulled inside the lungs and when it relaxes, carbon
dioxide is pumped out from the lungs.

In our model this plastic wrap represents the diaphragm. Our diaphragm tightness
and flattens allowing us to suck air into our lungs. To breath out, or exhale, our
diaphragm and rib cage muscles relax, letting the air out of our lungs.
How does the bell jar model demonstrate breathing?
The bell jar model

As the rubber sheet is pulled down the volume of the jar increases, the pressure
therefore decreases and air is drawn in through the glass tube inflating the
balloons, which represent the lungs.
What is the motion of the diaphragm during respiration?
When you breathe in, your diaphragm contracts (tightens) and flattens, moving
down towards your abdomen. This movement creates a vacuum in your chest,
allowing your chest to expand (get bigger) and pull in air. When you breathe out,
your diaphragm relaxes and curves back up as your lungs push the air out.

What happens when the plastic diaphragm is pushed in and out?

When you breathe out your diaphragm moves up and your ribs move back in,
and the air gets pushed out. The model works in a similar way: When you pull
down on the rubber, the space inside the bottle gets bigger and the air spreads
out.

definition

Difference between breathing and respiration

Breathing Respiration
It is process of exchange of gases i.e., It is process of oxidation of food in
inspiration and breathing. the living cells.
It is biophysical process. It is biochemical process.
It occurs at cellular level, e.g.
It occurs at organ level, e.g., lungs.
mitochondria.
ATPs are utilized. ATPs are produced.

law
Breathing rate
The number of times a person breathes in a minute is termed as the breathing
rate. Inhalation is the process of intake of oxygen while exhalation is giving out
the carbon dioxide. A breath is a combination of inhalation and exhalation.
definition
Mechanism of breathing
The Mechanism of breathing is the process by which Oxygen-rich Gas is inhaled
and the Carbon Dioxide is exhaled. During Inspiration ribs move up and outwards
and the Diaphragm moves down.This movement increases space in our chest
cavity and air rushes into the Lungs. During Expiration, ribs move down and
inwards, while diaphragm moves up to its former position. This reduces the size
of the chest cavity and the air is pushed out of the lungs.

Mechanics of breathing is where Air moves in and out of the lungs in response to
change in the pressure inside the lungs.
The respiratory system in humans

Respiration is a chemical reaction which releases energy from food. The

respiratory system exchanges the gases which are involved in respiration.

Breathing

In humans air enters the body through the nasal cavity and flows into the
following structures which are found in the human thorax:

 trachea
 bronchi (left and right bronchus)
 bronchioles
 alveoli

Ventilation (the process of moving air into and out of the lungs) also requires the
following structures:

 ribs
 intercostal muscles
 diaphragm

The air that enters the nasal cavity flows down the trachea. The trachea has a
number of adaptations:

 cartilage rings in the walls of the trachea help to keep it open

 ciliated epithelium and goblet cells to clean the air before it reaches the
lungs
Goblet cells produce mucus which traps dust, dirt and bacteria to prevent them
entering the lungs.

Cilia are small hairs which beat to push the mucus back up the trachea so it can be
swallowed and destroyed in the stomach.

Clean air then enters the two bronchi, one bronchus going to each lung. The
bronchi in the lungs split into smaller and smaller tubes called bronchioles. These
end in microscopic air sacs called alveoli.

Breathing in (inspiration)

When you inhale:

 the intercostal muscles contract, pulling the ribcage upwards and outwards
 the diaphragm contracts, pulling downwards
 volume of the thorax increases and the pressure inside decreases
 air is drawn into the lungs down a pressure gradient

Breathing out (expiration)

When you exhale:

 the intercostal muscles relax pulling the ribcage downwards and inwards
 the diaphragm relaxes, doming upwards
 volume of the thorax decreases and the pressure inside increases
 air is pushed out of the lungs
Ventilation

The elements involved in breathing

The bell jar model

The process of ventilation as a series of changes in pressure within the thorax can
be modelled using the bell jar model. Parts of the model represent different parts
of the respiratory system as shown here.

The model, which is air tight, represents the thorax, and air is only able to enter
via the glass tube which represents the trachea.

As the rubber sheet is pulled down the volume of the jar increases, the pressure
therefore decreases and air is drawn in through the glass tube inflating the
balloons, which represent the lungs.
There are a number of similarities and differences between the model and the
actual respiratory system.

Structure Similarities Differences

Allows air to pass
Glass is rigid and inflexible unlike the
Glass tube/trachea through, splits into
cartilage bound trachea
two
Unable to move, the ribs can move up
Bell jar/chest cavity Air tight and out to increase the volume of the
thorax
Can inflate and The balloons are large open spaces
Balloons/lungs deflate, are elastic like whereas the lungs are made up of
the alveoli millions of individual elastic alveoli
Can be domed up to The diaphragm only flattens, it is not
Rubber
decrease the volume pulled downwards like the rubber
sheet/diaphragm
in the jar sheet

The respiratory system in humans

Respiration is a chemical reaction which releases energy from food. The

respiratory system exchanges the gases which are involved in respiration.

Gas exchange

Inhaled and exhaled air

Compared to atmospheric air, exhaled air contains:

 less oxygen
 more carbon dioxide
 more water vapour
The composition of inhaled air differs to exhaled air, this is because of gas
exchange in the alveoli.

Gas exchange in the lungs

Gas exchange in the lungs happens in the alveoli. Some of the features of alveoli
include:

 thin walls (just one cell thick) to reduce the diffusion distance
 large surface area for maximum exchange of gases
 moist surface for the dissolving of gases in alveolar air so that they can
diffuse across the alveolar walls
 rich blood supply to remove diffused gases and maintain a concentration
gradient for further diffusion

The respiratory system in humans

Respiration is a chemical reaction which releases energy from food. The
respiratory system exchanges the gases which are involved in respiration.

Investigating respiration

Respiration by living organisms can be investigated by carrying out experiments to

show the production of carbon dioxide and heat.

Limewater can be used to detect carbon dioxide.

If carbon dioxide is bubbled through limewater then it turns from clear to

cloudy/milky in colour. This is why limewater used in a simple respirometer can
show that more carbon dioxide is present in exhaled air compared to inhaled air.
Breathing in through the mouthpiece draws air from the atmosphere in through
tube A. Breathing out through the mouthpiece bubbles exhaled air through tube
B. After a few breaths the limewater in tube B will turn cloudy as the exhaled air
contains more carbon dioxide.

Question

If inhaled air contains 0.04% carbon dioxide and exhaled air 4%, how many
times more carbon dioxide do you breathe out than you breathe in?

100 times more.

Investigating heat production

The release of heat can be shown by carrying out an experiment using

germinating seeds. Two vacuum flasks are used.

Aerobic respiration is investigated through an experiment which looks at heat loss

in germinating peas as they respire.

The respiratory system in humans

Respiration is a chemical reaction which releases energy from food. The

respiratory system exchanges the gases which are involved in respiration.

Aerobic respiration

All living things carry out the seven life processes:

 movement
 respiration
 sensitivity
 growth
 reproduction
 excretion
 nutrition

The process of respiration provides the energy required for these processes. It
also provides energy for:

 muscle contraction, required for movement

 nerve impulses, required for sensitivity and responding
 cell division and protein synthesis, required for growth
The process of respiration also releases energy in the form of heat. The heat is
used to maintain the relatively high body temperature of mammals and birds.

Energy is needed for muscle contraction and the transmission of nerve impulses

Respiration involves chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in

living cells to release energy.

Aerobicrespiration needs oxygen. It is the release of a relatively large amount of

energy in cells by the breakdown of food substances in the presence of oxygen.

It can be summarised by this equation.

Adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) – Higher tier

If the energy stored in glucose were released all at once it would be very difficult
to contain. Therefore, the energy stored in the glucose molecule is released
gradually during respiration and used to form ATP. ATP is the energy currency of
the cell. It temporarily stores the energy in a high energy bond, and when this
bond is broken, small amounts of energy are released and used by the body.

Mitochondria

Aerobic respiration happens all the time in animals and plants.

Note that respiration is different to breathing (ventilation). The oxygen dependent
reactions involved in aerobic respiration happen inside mitochondria in cells.

The inner membrane is folded inwards, providing a large surface area for the
attachment of enzymes which catalyse the process of respiration.

The respiratory system in humans

Respiration is a chemical reaction which releases energy from food. The

respiratory system exchanges the gases which are involved in respiration.

Anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration does not need oxygen (unlike aerobic respiration). It is the
release of a relatively small amount of energy in cells by the breakdown of food
substances in the absence of oxygen.

Anaerobic respiration in muscles

Anaerobic respiration happens in muscles during hard exercise.

Glucose is not completely broken down, so less energy is released than during
aerobic respiration.

There is a build-up of lactic acid in the muscles during vigorous exercise. The lactic
acid needs to be oxidised to carbon dioxide and water later.

The creation of lactic acid (which needs oxygen to be broken down) generates an
oxygen
debt
that
needs to
be repaid
after the
exercise
stops.
This is
why we keep on breathing deeply for a few minutes after we have finished
exercising.

A short intense burst of exercise such as sprinting will generate energy

anaerobically so an oxygen debt will be generated. This is because your body will
have released energy without the oxygen it would normally have used performing
low intensity exercise like slow, steady running.

The difference between the oxygen the body needs during the sudden sprint and
what it actually managed to take in is called oxygen deficit.

Aerobic respiration vs anaerobic respiration

The table summarises some differences between the two types of respiration.
Question

Aerobic respiration produces 38 molecules of ATP, but anaerobic

respiration produces only two molecules of ATP. In comparison to aerobic
respiration, what percentage of ATP is produced by anaerobic respiration?

2 ÷ 38 × 100 = 5%

The respiratory system in humans

Respiration is a chemical reaction which releases energy from food. The

respiratory system exchanges the gases which are involved in respiration.

Smoking

Effects of smoking

Warnings such as ‘Smoking kills’ are used to deter people from smoking

Smoking can cause lung disease, heart disease and certain cancers.

Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco. It quickly reaches the brain and
creates a dependency so that smokers become addicted.

Effects on the air passages

Sticky mucus in the lungs traps pathogens. The mucus is normally swept out of
the lungs by the cilia on the epithelial cells lining the trachea, bronchi and
bronchioles. However, cigarette smoke contains harmful chemicals that paralyse
these cilia, leading to a build-up of mucus and a smoker’s cough. Smoke irritates
the bronchi, causing bronchitis.
Effects on the alveoli

Smoke damages the walls of the alveoli. The alveoli walls break down and join
together, forming larger air spaces than normal. This reduces the ability of the
blood to carry oxygen, putting a strain on the heart which increases the risk of
developing coronary heart disease or strokes.

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide, CO, combines with the haemoglobin in red blood cells. This
reduces the ability of the blood to carry oxygen, putting a strain on the heart,
which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease or strokes.

Lung cancer

Tobacco smoke contains many carcinogens, including tar. Smoking increases the
risk of lung cancer, and cancer of the mouth, throat and oesophagus.

Section through a healthy lung (left) and section through a smoker’s lung, with tar
deposits visible