Breathing is the process in which air moves in and out of the lungs.

The lungs are a pair of organs found in humans and some other animals.

Cellular respiration is a chemical process in cells, which uses sugar as a fuel to provide energy for life processes.

Subcellular structures, called mitochondria, use sugar and oxygen for cellular respiration.

The process of oxygen diffusing from the lungs to the blood and carbon dioxide diffusing from the blood to the lungs is called gas exchange.

Breathing, respiration and gas exchange

Science

The human gas exchange system and breathing

Estimating lung volume

Adaptations of the human lungs for gas exchange

Cellular respiration

Aerobic cellular respiration

Anaerobic cellular respiration in humans

Anaerobic cellular respiration and fermentation in microorganisms

Pupils will learn how producers make glucose using photosynthesis, which is used to make biomass and as a fuel for cellular respiration.

Pupils learned how food is broken down to release useful substances such as sugar.

This unit explores the human gas exchange system, breathing mechanisms, and adaptations for function. It covers aerobic and anaerobic respiration, including fermentation, and compares their processes and implications. Focus is on accuracy, reliable measurements, and SI units.

Breathing and respiration

The human gas exchange system is a group of organs that work together to enable us to breathe.

The molecules of a gas in a container collide with the walls of the container and this creates pressure.

The volume of a gas is the amount of 3D space it fills.

The amount of three-dimensional space occupied by a substance; usually measured in cm³.

The maximum volume of air that can be breathed out after breathing in fully.

The closer a measurement is to the true value, the more accurate it is said to be.

The surface of a liquid, which may appear curved.

An approximate (rough) value of a quantity (obtained without taking accurate measurements).

Alveoli are tiny air sacs in the lungs that carry out gas exchange.

A capillary is a narrow blood vessel that allows the exchange of substances between tissues and blood.

The movement of particles from a high concentration to a low concentration is known as diffusion.

Surface area is the total area of all the exposed surfaces of an object.

A cell is the smallest living building block of an organism.

Cellular respiration is a chemical process that uses glucose, from food, as a fuel to provide energy for life processes.

Glucose is a sugar that our cells use as fuel for cellular respiration.

Breathing is the process in which air is moved in and out of the lungs.

Mitochondria are cell organelles in which cellular respiration takes place in animals and plants.

Aerobic cellular respiration is a chemical process that uses oxygen from the air and glucose to provide energy for life processes.

Oxygen is an element found in the air that is a gas at room temperature and a reactant in aerobic cellular respiration.

Carbon dioxide is a compound made of carbon and oxygen that is a gas at room temperature and a product of aerobic cellular respiration.

Mitochondria are subcellular structures that use glucose and oxygen to carry out aerobic cellular respiration.

Cytoplasm is the jelly-like substance inside a cell where its chemical reactions take place.

Anaerobic cellular respiration is a type of cellular respiration that does not use oxygen and takes place in the cytoplasm of cells.

Lactic acid is a product of anaerobic cellular respiration in humans which causes muscle cramps.

The cytoplasm is the jelly-like substance inside a cell where chemical reactions of the cell take place.

Aerobic cellular respiration is a type of respiration that requires oxygen and takes place in the mitochondria and cytoplasm of cells.

A microorganism is a living organism made up of one or a small number of cells.

Anaerobic cellular respiration is a form of cellular respiration which occurs without oxygen.

Ethanol is a product of anaerobic cellular respiration in microorganisms.

Alcohols are a group of compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

The process of anaerobic respiration in microorganisms is called fermentation.

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