B9 - Respiration Flashcards
What is respiration?
Respiration is the process of Transferring Energy From the breakdown of Glucose which goes on in every cell continously
What type of reaction is respiration?
It is exothermic - it transfers energy to the environment
Give 3 examples of how organisms use the energy transferred by respiration
- To build up larger molecules from smaller ones (like amino acids to protiens)
- In animals it’s used to allow the muscles to contract
- In mammals and birds the energy is used to keep their body temp steady in
colder surroundings
What is metabolism?
Metabolism is all the chemical reactions in a organism. For e.g. glucose joining
together to make starch or glucose getting broken down in respiration.
The sum of all of the reactions that happen in a cell or the body is called its metabolism
What is the respiration word equation and symbol equation?
Glucose + oxygen —-> carbon dioxide + water
C6H12O6 + 6O2 ——> 6CO2 + 6H2O
Where does respiration take place?
It takes place in the mitochondria
What happens when you exercise?
You start to respire more
What do muscles need energy from to contract during exercise?
Muscles need energy from respiration to contract.
What happens when your body does really vigorous exercise?
When you do really vigorous exercise your body can’t supply oxygen to your muscles quickly enough, so they start respiring anaerobically
Why is anaerobic respiration not the best way to transfer energy from glucose?
Because during anaerobic respiration lactic acid builds up in muscles, which gets painful
What happens over long periods of exercise?
Long periods of exercise cause muscle fatigue - the muscles get tired and then stop contracting efficiently.
What does anaerobic respiration lead to?
It leads to oxygen debt
What is oxygen debt?
An oxygen debt is the amount of extra oxygen your body needs to react with the build up of lactic acid and remove it from the cells. Oxygen reacts with the lactic acid to form harmless CO2 and water.
What other way can your body cope with high levels of lactic acid?
The blood that enters your muscles transports the lactic acid to the liver. In the liver, the lactic acid is converted back to glucose
How do you investigate the effect of exercise on the body?
Take your pulse after sitting down, walking, jogging, running for 5 mins and plot your results in a bar chart. Your pulse will increase the more intense the exercise is as your body needs to get more oxygen to the muscles and take more carbon dioxide away from the muscles.
