Organisms exchange substances with their environment Flashcards
Do smaller or larger organisms have a larger surface area to volume ratio? Why?
Smaller organisms
As size increases, volume increases disproportionately compared to surface area
Why is transport across a small organisms body surface more sufficient?
- distances are short (less than 0.5mm)
- surface area to volume ratio is relatively large
Why can’t large active organisms rely upon their body surface for exchange?
- distances are too great
- surface area relative to volume is insufficient
- nutrients and waste removal for cells is larger
What two systems are needed for a large active organism?
- a specialised exchange surface
- an transport system to deliver materials to and from the exchange surface
Features of a specialised exchange surface:
- a large surface area
- thin barrier to reduce diffusion distance
- large concentration gradient
-fresh supply of molecules on one side
-removal of molecules on the other side
What is the tracheal system?
Series of tubes that deliver oxygen directly to the cells. this process is diffusion (simple)
What are the function of the spiracles?
The way air enters the tracheal system
Spiracles can be opened and closed - this helps to reduce water loss
How can the delivery of oxygen be maximised in the tracheal systemin an insect?
- cells using oxygen generates an oxygen concentration gradient
- pumping of the abdomen ventilates the tracheal system, maintains gradient
- production of metabolites during respiration reduces water potential of cells
How does water leave the tracheoles
Via osmosis
how is oxygen transported directly to tissues undergoing respiration in insects?
from spiracles, trachea or tracheoles, supply it with gases to the body. Gases move in and out through diffusion, mass transport of muscle contraction and water volume change in the tracheoles
Structure of fish gills:
- two rows of filaments
- filaments covered with folds called lamella (increases SA)
- extensive network of blood capillaries (conc. gradient)
Where does gas exchange in a fish take place and why?
Lamella
Distance between water and the blood cells is 5um (short diffusion path)
What is counter current flow?
Blood flows in an opposite direction to water, maintains a favourable concentration gradient, across the entire exchange surface
Why would parallel flow not be efficient in a gill of a fish
Concentration gradient will decrease as blood flows along the lamella preventing any further uptake of oxygen by diffusion
how is ventilation maintained in a fish?
mouth opens and lowers floor of buccal cavity. water flows in. fish closes its mouth, the buccal cavity raises, increases pressure. water is forced over gill filaments by the pressure difference. The operculum acts as a valve, lets water out and in.
how have plants adapted to increase gas exchange in their leaves
- small holes called stomata (in mesophyll) which allow gases to enter and exit the leaves. Large no. of these means cells are close to the stomata, reducing the diffusion distance.
- air spaces allow gases to come in contact with photosynthesising mesophyll cells.
how alveoli have adapted to maximize gas exchange:
- alveoli are one cell thick. These are surrounded by capillaries. This reduces the diffusion pathway for gases.
- constant blood supply by capillaries, creates a steep concentration gradient.
- large number of alveoli (~300 million)
how does the trachea, bronchi and bronchioles play its role in keeping the airway clear
- air enters through the nose, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles
- airway has rings of cartilage, in trachea allows passage of food down the oesophagus
- gas exchange takes place in the walls of alveoli
trachea and bronchi structure
- bronchi are narrower.
- layers make up a thick wall. wall is composed of cartilage, as incomplete C rings
- inside surface of the cartilage is glandular tissue, elastic fibres, smooth muscle and blood vessels
structure of bronchioles
- are narrower than the bronchi.
- larger bronchioles contain cartilage.
- wall is made out of smooth muscle and elastic fibres
- alveoli clusters at the ends
what is pulmonary fibrosis
scarring of the lung, tissue in lungs thicken difficulty to absorb o2 into the bloodstream (loose elasticity)
how dos pulmonary fibrosis effect gas exchange
- fall in lung volume. loss of elasticity, leads to decreased ventilation, leads to a lower tidal volume, due to lack of expansion
- increase diffusion distance
what is asthma?
occurs due to an obstruction in the airways, inflammation and bronchoconstriction, caused by an allergic reaction, so they narrow producing mucus
effect of asthma on gas exchange
- bronchoconstriction disrupt breathing, restriction of ventilation, deprives body of o2
- impaired exchange of o2 between air sacs in and blood in the lungs.
- air trapped in lungs
what is emphysema
involves gradual damage of lung tissue, destructs alveoli
effect of emphysema on gas exchange
- breaks down elastin. stops alveoli stretching and recoiling, breaks down alveoli
- alveoli fuse, decrease sa:v
- lung tissue dilates and thickens, diffusion path increase, traps air
what is COPD
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
build up of pollutants in the lining of lungs, trachea, airways inflaming, caused by pollution & tobacco
what is ventilation
flow of air in & out the alveoli. there are two stages; inspiration and expiration. The process occurs with the intercostal muscles and diaphragm.
what happens during inspiration?
- external intercostal muscles contract
- internal muscles relax
- ribs raise upwards
- diaphragm contracts and flattens
- increase the volume inside the thorax, lowering the pressure. pressure difference between lungs and atmosphere creates a gradient, air is forced into the lungs.
what happens during expiration
- internal intercostal muscles contract
- external muscles relax
- lowering the rib cage
- diaphragm relaxes and raises upwards.
These actions decrease the volume in the thorax, increasing the pressure, forcing the air out of the lungs.
what’s a spirometer?
device that measures lung volume. they breathe in and out of the airtight chamber, moving it up and down, leaving a trace on a graph which is interpreted.
what is vital capacity?
what does it vary on?
maximum volume of air that can be inhaled/exhaled in a single breath.
gender, age, size, height.
what is tidal volume
volume of air we breathe in and out at each breath at rest
what is the breathing rate?
number of breaths per minute, calculated from spirometer trace by counting the number of peaks in a minute
what is the residual volume
The volume of air which is always present in the lungs
what is the expiratory reserve volume
additional volume of air that can be exhaled on top of the tidal volume.
what is pulmonary ventilation? and the calculation?
total volume of air that is moved into lungs in one minute. dm3min-1
tidal vol x ventilation rate
what happens during digestion
large insoluble biological molecules are hydrolysed to smaller molecules that can be absorbed/ assimilated across cell membranes
what is the site of absorption of nutrients
lining of the alimentary canal, ileum of the small intestine
what enzymes break down carbs
- Amylases in the saliva and pancreas hydrolyse glycosidic bonds of starch to form maltose,
- maltases in the ileum hydrolyse maltose to alpha glucose
- sucrases and lactases break down the disaccharides sucrose and lactose
what enzymes break down lipids
lipase hydrolyses the ester bond between the monoglycerides and fatty acid. Before being broken down in the ileum, lipids are emulsified into micelles by bile salts released by the liver. Emulsification increases the surface area and speeds up the chemical reaction.
function of bile
- neutralise stomach aicid which ensure correct pH for enzymes released into the ileum
- digestion of fats
where are bile salts produced
in the liver and stored by the gall bladder
digestion of fats via bile
- triglycerides aren’t water soluble
- fats must be emulsified by bile salts
- triglycerides are split up from large globules into micelles
- surface area increase for enzymes to work on
what do membrane-bound dipeptidases do?
hydrolyse dipeptides into individual amino acids
where are proteins digested
in the ileum and stomach
how is rate of digestion maximised in the ileum:
- villi- increase surface area
- microvilli - increase surface area
- good blood supply (capillaries), maintains a conc gradient
- thin walls, minimise diffusion distance
absorption of triglyceride
- non-polar glycerol & fatty acids move to epithelial cells in micelles. diffuse across the epithelial cell membrane
- er & Golgi body, triglyceride are resynthesized & combined with proteins & cholesterol to from vesicles called chylomicrons
absorption of triglyceride
what happens after chylomicrons are formed?
- chylomicrons ,move into lacteals by exocytosis
- carried through the lymphatic system enter the bloodstream at the vena cava & carried to parts of the body
- triglycerides are hydrolysed by enzyme in the endothelium of the capillaries and then diffuse into cells
co-transport in the epithelial cell
- Na+ & glucose molecules are transported into the epithelial cells lining the small intestine by facilitated diffusion
- Na+ & glucose enter the cells via co-transport proteins
- Na+ are actively transported from epithelial cells into the blood
absorption of amino acids form the lumen of the small intestine into the blood capillary
- amino acid & Na+ bind to carrier protein
- Na+ diffuse into the cell, amino acids are carried to
- amino acids diffuse to the other end of the cell
- then transferred to capillaries via facilitated diffusion
Where is respiratory gases move in and out of the tracheal system in insects?
- mass transport
- along a diffusion gradient
- Via the end of the tracheoles filled with water
- Gas enters and leaves through spiracles
- Spiracles closed to minimise H2O loss
Mass transport in gas exchange of insects?
Contraction of muscles, squeeze the trachea, enabling movement of air in and out
how is a diffusion gradient in insects created?
- oxygen used up, concentration towards the end of tracheoles fall
- Concentration gradient is created
- Oxygen diffuses from the atmosphere, trachea, tracheoles, cells
- Carbon dioxide is produced by cells
- Diffusion gradient is in the opposite direction
- Carbon dioxide diffuses from cells to tracheoles, trachea, atmosphere 
Tracheoles filled up with water in insects during gas exchange
- lactic acid decreases water potential of muscle cells
- Water moves into the cells, via osmosis
- Water in the tracheole ends decreases in volume, so more can be drawn further into them
How rapid diffusion occurs in gas exchange in plants:
- stomata, short diffusion pathway
- air spaces - gas comes in contact with mesophyll cells
-Large surface area
Limiting water loss in insects:
- small surface area to volume ratio
- Waterproof coverings
- Spiracles closing
Modifications to reduce water loss, in plants:
- thick cuticle - waterproof barrier, less water can escape
- Rolling of leaves- no water potential gradient between inside and outside of a leaf so no water loss
- Hairy leaves - traps moist air. This decreases wp gradient between inside and outside of leaf, less water is lost by evaporation
- Reduce sa:v of leaves
- stomata
why does the vol of O2 that has to be absorbed & the vol of CO2 that has to be removed are large in mammals
- have a large volume of cells
- maintains high body temp is related to them having a high metabolic and respiratory rate
why are lungs (site of gas exchange) located inside the body?
- air isn’t dense enough to protect them
- body would lose water & dry out
what is the ileum?
long muscular tube, inner walls (villi) contain micro villi on them which increase surface area. absorbs products of digestion
what is hydrolysis
splitting up of molecules by adding water to the chemical bonds
types of digestion
- mechanical (physical)
- chemical