RESPIRATION

Respiration: It is a chemical reaction that break down nutrient molecules (specifically

glucose) in living cells to release energy.

Examples Of Energy Consuming Processes:

1. Muscle contraction: Contraction of muscle cells leads to movement (locomotion),
peristalsis (a process that moves food along the alimentary canal),contraction of uterus
wall during childbirth
2. Protein synthesis: It is the building up of proteins from amino acids
3. Cell division: The process of cell division produces more cells to replace damaged or
worn out cells. Cell division also produces reproductive
4. Active transport: Cells need food materials for energy as well as building up their cell
structures. They also need mineral ions and water, which play a part in chemical
reactions in the cell. Finally, they need to get rid of waste substances like carbon dioxide
which can affect some of the chemical reactions and even poison the cell if they build
up. Substances may pass through the cell membrane either passively by diffusion or
actively by active transport (Movement of molecules across a cell membrane)
5. Growth: Growth occurs through the formation of new cells which leads to increase in
size and weight
6. Passage of nerve impulses.
7. Maintenance of constant body temperature: Energy is required for maintaining a
constant body temperature in warm-blooded animals (Homeostasis: It is the
maintenance of a constant internal environment)

Aerobic Respiration
Aerobic respiration is defined as chemical reactions in cells that use oxygen to break
down nutrient molecules to release energy.

Anaerobic Respiration: Anaerobic respiration is defined as chemical reactions in cells

that break down nutrient molecules to release energy without oxygen. Anaerobic
respiration releases less energy per glucose than aerobic respiration, so it is less
efficient. The equation for anaerobic respiration in muscles and yeast are not the same

In muscles (vigorous exercise):

 In yeast (single-cell fungi):

Disadvantages of Anaerobic Respiration:

1. Produces less amount of the energy per glucose molecule
2. Produces poisonous lactic acid

Comparison of Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration

Aerobic Anaerobic
Oxygen Needed Not needed
Breakdown of Glucose Complete Incomplete
Products Carbon Dioxide and Humans: Lactic acid. Yeast: Carbon Dioxide
Water and Ethanol
Amount of Energy Released More Less

Oxygen Debt
During vigorous exercise, lactic acid may build up in a muscle. In this case it is removed
in the bloodstream. The blood needs to move more quickly during and after exercise to
maintain this lactic acid removal process, so the heart rate is rapid. On reaching the liver,
some of the lactic acid is oxidised to carbon dioxide and water, using up oxygen in the
process. After exercise has stopped, a high level of oxygen consumption may persist
until the excess of lactic acid has been oxidised. This is characterised by deeper
breathing (an athlete pants for breath). The build-up of lactic acid that is oxidised later is
said to create an oxygen debt. Accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles results in
muscular fatigue, leading to cramp.

Athletes and climbers who are used to working at low altitude (normal air pressure) have
problems if they then perform at high altitude (low air pressure). High-altitude air has a
lower percentage of oxygen, so an oxygen debt can be experienced much more easily
than at low altitude. The problem can be resolved if the person spends time at high
altitude before performing to allow the body to acclimatise (making more red blood cells
and increasing blood volume).

Alternative Description Of Oxygen Debt

During vigorous exercise muscles may not be receiving oxygen quick enough for aerobic
respiration. In such instances, anaerobic respiration occurs in order to supply the
muscles with energy despite the lack of oxygen.
Oxygen is required to remove lactic acid once the exercise stops, and therefore we call
this ‘oxygen debt’ i.e. the body ‘borrowed’ oxygen during anaerobic respiration, and must
pay it back to remove the lactic acid.

Lactic Acid Removal

Lactic acid is aerobically respired in the liver. Even after exercise stops, the heart rate
remains quick and the breathing rate remains deep. Fast heart rate allows lactic acid to
be transported quickly from the muscles to the liver. Deep breathing rate allows sufficient
supply of oxygen to aerobically respire/remove the lactic acid

Planning Investigations
Independent Variable (IV): The variable which is changed during an investigation
Dependent Variable (DV): The variable measured during an investigation
Control Variable (CV): Variables that are kept the same.

Effect of Temperature on Respiration in Yeast

An indicator, Methylene Blue, can be used to investigate the effect of temperature on
yeast cells.
Yeast can respire both aerobically and anaerobically, though, in this experiment, their
aerobic respiration rate is being investigated.
The time taken for the methylene blue to lose its colour measures the respiration rate of
the yeast cells in the suspension.
The faster the dye changes from blue to colourless, the faster the respiration rate.
Independent Variable (IV): Effect of Temperature
Dependent Variable (DV): Rate of Respiration (recording the time taken for methylene
blue dye to change from blue to colourless)

Figure 1

Trial Question
Figure 2 shows the apparatus that was used to investigate the activity of yeast in
a glucose solution.
Fig 2

The number of bubbles released in one minute was counted. This was repeated
another four times.

The temperature in the water bath was then raised to 35 °C and five more counts
were made.

Table 1a
number of bubbles released in one minute
25 °C 35 °C
1 11 17
2 12 19
3 14 20
4 13 16
5 10 18
Total
mean (average)

a. Complete Table 1.a to show the totals and mean numbers of bubbles released at
each temperature.
b. Name the physiological process in yeast which is investigated in this
experiment
…………………………………………………………………..

c. State the effect of raising the temperature on the activity of yeast.

………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
d. Name the gas present in the bubbles.
………………………………………………………………………………
e. Describe a test you could use to identify this gas.

………………………………………………………………………………

……………….

f. Explain why it is better to leave the apparatus for a few minutes at each
temperature before beginning to count the bubbles.
………………………………………………………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………......
Excretion In Humans
Excretion is defined as the removal of toxic materials, the waste products of metabolism,
and substances in excess of requirements in the body.

The Need For Excretion: Some of the compounds made in reactions in the body are
potentially toxic (poisonous) if their concentrations build up. Carbon dioxide dissolves in fluids
such as tissue fluid and blood plasma to form carbonic acid. This increase in acidity can affect
the actions of enzymes and can be fatal. Ammonia is made in the liver when excess amino
acids are broken down. However, ammonia is very alkaline and toxic. It is converted to urea
which is much less poisonous, making it a safe way of excreting excess nitrogen.

Metabolism: All the chemical changes taking place inside a cell or a living organism are
called its metabolism.

Basal Metabolism: The minimum amount of energy needed just to keep an organism alive,
without movement or growth. Our basal metabolism maintains vital processes like breathing,
heartbeat, digestion and excretion.

Catabolism: The processes that break substances down. Respiration is an example of

catabolism in which carbohydrates are broken down to carbon dioxide and water.

Anabolism: Chemical reactions that build up substances. One example of anabolism is

building up a protein from amino acids.

Excretory Organs
1. Liver: The role of the liver is in the assimilation of amino acids by converting them to
proteins. Urea is formed in the liver as a result of an excess of amino acids. Amino acids
cannot be stored in the body, unlike glucose and other nutrients, thus excess amino acids
that cannot be converted to proteins and used in the body are removed from the body in a
process called deamination. Deamination takes place in the liver and involves the removal
of the nitrogen-containing section of the amino acids. This forms urea, which is then filtered
from the blood by the kidney and excreted from the body as urine. Alcohol, drugs and
hormones are also broken down in the liver.

2. Lungs: The lungs supply the body with oxygen, but they are also excretory organs because
they get rid of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a waste product produced in cells during
respiration. Carbon dioxide exits cells and is dissolved in the blood, where it is carried to the
lungs to be excreted. They also lose a great deal of water vapour but this loss is unavoidable
and is not a method of controlling the water content of the body
3. Kidneys: Excess water, urea, drugs, hormones, nitrogenous waste and salt are filtered
from the blood by the kidney and excreted as urine.
Skin: Sweat consists of water, with sodium chloride and traces of urea dissolved in it. During
sweating, these substances are expelled from the body so, in one sense, they are being
excreted. However, sweating is a response to a rise in temperature and not to a change in
the blood composition. In this sense, therefore, skin is not an excretory organ like the lungs
and kidneys.
Excretory organ Excretory Products
Lungs Carbon dioxide
Kidney Urea, and other nitrogenous waste, water, ions, toxins, hormones, drugs

The Kidneys
The two kidneys are quite solid, oval structures. They are red-brown, enclosed in a
transparent membrane and attached to the back of the abdominal cavity. The renal artery
branches off from the aorta and brings oxygenated blood to them. The renal vein takes
deoxygenated blood away from the kidneys to the vena cava. A tube, called the ureter, runs
from each kidney to the bladder in the lower part of the abdomen.
Water Balance And Osmoregulation: The human body gains water from food and drink. It
loses water by evaporation, urination and defecation. Evaporation from the skin takes place
all the time but is particularly rapid when we sweat. Air from the lungs is saturated with water
vapour, which is lost to the atmosphere every time we exhale. Despite these gains and losses
of water, the concentration of body fluids is kept within very narrow limits by the kidneys,
which adjust the concentration of the blood flowing through them. If it is too dilute (i.e. has too
much water), less water is reabsorbed, leaving more to enter the bladder. After drinking a lot
of fluid, a large volume of dilute urine is produced. On a cold day, sweating decreases so
more water is removed from the blood by the kidneys, again increasing the volume of dilute
urine. If the blood is too concentrated, more water is absorbed back into the blood from the
kidney tubules. So, if the body is short of water, e.g. after sweating profusely on a hot day, or
through doing a lot of physical activity, or not having enough to drink, only a small quantity of
concentrated urine is produced

Microscopic Structure Of The Kidneys

The kidney tissue consists of many capillaries and tiny tubes, called renal tubules, held
together with connective tissue. If the kidney is cut down its length (sectioned), it is seen to
have a dark, outer region called the cortex and a lighter, inner zone, the medulla. Where the
ureter joins the kidney there is a space called the pelvis
The renal artery divides up into a great many arterioles and capillaries, mostly in the cortex.
Each arteriole leads to a glomerulus. This is a capillary repeatedly divided and coiled, making
a knot of vessels. Each glomerulus is almost entirely surrounded by a cup shaped organ
called a renal capsule, which leads to a coiled renal tubule. This tubule, after a series of coils
and loops, joins a collecting duct, which passes through the medulla to open into the pelvis.
There are thousands of glomeruli in the kidney cortex and the total surface area of their
capillaries is very great. A nephron is a single glomerulus with its renal capsule, renal tubule
and blood capillaries
Function Of The Kidneys
The blood pressure in a glomerulus causes part of the blood plasma to leak through the
capillary walls.
The red blood cells and the plasma proteins are too big to pass out of the capillary, so the
fluid that does filter through is plasma without the protein, i.e. similar to tissue fluid. The fluid
thus consists mainly of water with dissolved salts, glucose, urea and uric acid. The process
by which the fluid is filtered out of the blood by the glomerulus is called ultrafiltration. The
filtrate from the glomerulus collects in the renal capsule and trickles down the renal tubule.
As it does so, the capillaries that surround the tubule absorb back into the blood those
substances which the body needs. First, all the glucose is reabsorbed, with much of the water.
Then some of the salts are taken back to keep the correct concentration in the blood.
The process of absorbing back the substances needed by the body is called selective
reabsorption.

Salts not needed by the body are left to pass on down the kidney tubule together with the
urea and uric acid. So, these nitrogenous waste products, excess salts and water continue
down the renal tube into the pelvis of the kidney. From here the fluid, now called urine, passes
down the ureter to the bladder. The composition of the urine varies a great deal according to
the diet, activity, temperature and intake of liquid.
The bladder can expand to hold about 400cm3 of urine. The urine cannot escape from the
bladder because a band of circular muscle, called a sphincter, is contracted, so shutting off
the exit. When this sphincter muscle relaxes, the muscular walls of the bladder expel the urine
through the urethra. Adults can control this sphincter muscle and relax it only when they want
to urinate. In babies, the sphincter muscle relaxes by a reflex action, set off by pressure in
the bladder. By three years old, most children can control the sphincter muscle voluntarily.

Dialysis machines and kidney transplants

When the kidneys are not working, the body cannot maintain the amounts of salts and glucose
in the blood or remove urea. If the blood is not filtered correctly, urea builds up in the body,
which is toxic and can eventually be fatal if a dialysis machine is not used or the kidney
repaired or replaced.
During dialysis, blood is taken from the arm and travels through the dialysis machine. Inside,
the blood flows past a solution called dialysis fluid, containing glucose and ions. The blood
and fluid are separated by a partially permeable membrane, allowing diffusion between the
blood and fluid. As the fluid contains no urea, there is a high concentration gradient and urea
exits the blood into the dialysis fluid by diffusion.
The levels of glucose and ions in the dialysis fluid are similar to that of the blood, thus there
is usually no net diffusion of ions or glucose across the membrane, unless the blood is lacking
in ions, in which case ions will diffuse into the blood from the dialysis fluid. Clean blood then
exits the machine and re-enters the patient's arm.
Dialysis machines must be used regularly, however, to keep the blood clean. Patients
typically undergo dialysis 3 times a week for hours at a time, making it difficult to work and
carry out a normal lifestyle as a large amount of time is spent travelling and undergoing
dialysis. This lowers quality of life.
Kidney transplants are an alternative to constant dialysis. Although this comes with the risks
associated with major surgery, as well as the risk of rejection to the organ, a successful kidney
transplant can raise the quality of life of the patient and patients are not required to undergo
hours of dialysis. Most humans are born with two kidneys, although they can survive with one,
thus kidney transplants are from family members, as there is less chance of rejection.

The advantages and disadvantages of kidney transplants, compared with dialysis

Advantages
• The patient can return to a normal lifestyle: Dialysis may require a lengthy session in
hospital, three times a week, leaving the patient very tired after each session.
•The dialysis machine will be available for other patients to use
• Dialysis machines are expensive to buy and maintain.

Disadvantages
• Transplants require a suitable donor: With a good tissue match. The donor may be from a
dead person, or from a close living relative who is prepared to donate a healthy kidney
• The operation is very expensive.
• There is a risk of rejection of the donated kidney: Immunosuppressive drugs have to be
used.
• Transplants are not accepted by some religions