Respiratory Quotient and respirometer

Question 1

what is the definition of respiratory quotient?

Answer 1

-the volume of carbon dioxide released divided by the amount of oxygen consumed

Question 2

what is the respiratory quotient for carbohydrates, proteins and fats?

Answer 2

-carbohydrates-1
-proteins-0.9
-fats-0.7

Question 3

why is the actual RQ for mammals likely to fall between 0.7-1?

Answer 3

-this is because a mixture of respiratory substrates are used

Question 4

what is the usual RQ value in humans and what two substrates are most commonly respired?

Answer 4

-around 0.85 with carbohydrates and lipids being most commonly respiredhatr

Question 5

what does a RQ value of more than 1 tell us?

Answer 5

-it suggests that anaerobic respiration is occurring
-usually aerobic and anaerobic respiration occur at the same time

Question 6

why and how does the involvement of anaerobic respiration cause the RQ value to rise above one, particularly in plant ?

Answer 6

-the aerobic respiration will give a value of between 0.7-1
-with the addition of anaerobic respiration CO2 is created without the input of oxygen, meaning if enough anaerobic respiration is taking place the value will increase to above 1