B2 - Respiration Flashcards
Where does respiration happen?
Inside the mitochondria of all cells
What is respiration?
The process of releasing energy from glucose which goes on in every cell
What is aerobic respiration and what is the chemical reaction?
Respiration using oxygen and glucose to get energy
Glucose + oxygen –> carbon dioxide + water (+ energy)
What are the 3 reasons for respiration in humans?
To build larger molecules from smaller ones (like protein from amino acids)
To allow muscles to contract so that we can move
To keep body temperature steady
Describe the effects on the body during exercise
Oxygen and glucose is used up in exercise in order to allow the muscles to contract
An increase in muscle activity requires more glucose and oxygen to be supplied to the muscle cells
Extra carbon dioxide also needs to be removed faster
All of these things increase your breathing rate and makes you breathe more deeply (oxygen enters and carbon dioxide leaves faster) and increase your heart rate (oxygen gets to muscles faster)
What is glycogen, why is it needed and where is it stored?
Some glucose from food is stored as glycogen
It is mainly stored in the liver but each muscle has its own store
During exercise, glycogen is converted to glucose to allow more respiration
What is anaerobic respiration?
Respiration without oxygen and only glucose
Glucose –> lactic acid (+ energy)
When is anaerobic respiration used?
When the body can’t supply enough oxygen to the muscles where it is needed during exercise
What are the 2 problems with anaerobic respiration?
Doesn’t release nearly as much energy as aerobic respiration because it is an incomplete process
Causes muscle fatigue which means that the muscles stop contracting efficiently
What is oxygen debt?
The time period after anaerobic respiration where the process is completed by the oxygen reacting with the lactic acid to produce carbon dioxide and water and release energy
What does the oxygen debt do the body?
You have to keep breathing hard to supply the oxygen needed and to remove the carbon dioxide
This happens because the brain detects the high levels of lactic acid and carbon dioxide
