GENERAL BIOLOGY 2

4th Quarter (Week 5-

6)
Feedback Mechanisms: The Need To Respire and
Exchange Essential Gases

Learning Objectives
 Explain how some organisms maintain steady internal
conditions that possesses various structures and processes.
 Describe examples of homeostasis (example: temperature
regulation, osmotic balance and glucose levels) and the major
features of feedback loops that produce such homeostasis.
 A. Multiple Choice. Encircle the letter that corresponds to the
Pre-Test
correct answer.

1. Insects have small air tubes that facilitate the exchange of air into its body called.
a. alveoli
b. bronchi
c. spiracles
d. trachea
2. One of the major physiological challenges of multicellular animals is obtaining
sufficient oxygen and expelling excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in a process called
________.
a. ventilation
b. respiration
c. gas exchange
d. breathing

3. Earthworms use their entire outer skin to exchange gases. This is known as
_______.
a. ventilation
b. cutaneous respiration
c. integumentary exchange
d. both b and c

4. ________ Are found in more advanced marine invertebrates and vertebrates.

a. spiracles
b. gills
c. tracheae
d. tracheoles

5. The process involved in the bringing of oxygenated water or air into contact with
respiratory organs is called ___________.

a. ventilation
b. respiration
c. gas exchange
d. breathing

6. The energy-releasing process that is fueled by Oxygen is called __________.

a. Homoestasis
b. cellular respiration
c. ventilation
d. respiration

7. The tracheae branch of further into smaller tubes called ________.

a. spiracles
b. gills
c. tracheae
d. tracheoles
8. Their lungs was Designed as a sac with convoluted internal membrane that opens up
to a certain cavity. And they can also breathe through their skin.

a. reptiles
b. mammals
c. amphibians
d. none of these
9. They being more active than amphibians, cannot rely on their skin to breathe and
have evolved dry, scaly skin that is watertight to avoid moisture loss.
a. reptiles
b. mammals
c. amphibians
d. none of these
10. They have a set of feather-like internal gills found on each side of its head that flap
open and close with the exchange of gases.
a. reptiles
b. mammals
c. amphibians
d. fishes
 DEEPEN

Lesson 1: The Need To Respire and Exchange Essential Gases

Almost all organisms in the planet need oxygen to survive. The oxygen comes
from the atmosphere, which contains a mixture of gases that blankets the planet. The
air that you breathe is composed of 21 percent oxygen, 78 percent nitrogen, about one
percent carbon dioxide, and minute proportions of other gases. Your body constantly
needs oxygen and nutrients, and gets rid of wastes to function properly and keep you
alive. The respiratory and circulatory systems work cooperatively to maintain this
homeostasis. The circulatory system moves blood to all parts of the body to bring vital
supplies to the cells and take away the wastes.

Gas Exchange in Animals

One of the major physiological challenges of multicellular animals is obtaining
sufficient oxygen and expelling excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in a process called
respiration. You may recall that oxygen is needed by the cells to harness energy from
food through cellular respiration, while carbon dioxide is produced as a waste product.
In addition, gas exchange requires an aqueous environment. Cells are in stable
condition because their plasma membrane is surrounded by water molecules. In fact,
when terrestrial vertebrates breathe in, oxygen from air dissolves in a thin layer of fuid
that cover the respiratory surfaces. Specifically, oxygen diffuses into the epithelial cells
that line the respiratory organs.
 In animals, there are four major types of gas exchange systems that allow them
to obtain oxygen from the environment: body surface, gills, tracheae, or lungs. The
process involved in the bringing of oxygenated water or air into contact with respiratory
organs is called ventilation. Gas exchange in unicellular organisms, such as protists
and in primitive phyla of animals, takes place in the cells in the organism's surtace in
which the plasma membrane is moist all the time. Single-celled protists, being small in
size, can easily diffuse essential gases and thus will not require complex respiratory
organs.
Invertebrates such as cnidarians, sponges, and worms can easily exchange oxygen and
carbon dioxide by diffusion also because their skin is only a few layers thick. Earthworms use
their entire outer skin to exchange gases. This is known as integumentary exchange or
cutaneous respiration. Amphibians, in addition to the usage of their lungs, breathe through
their skin as a gas exchange surface, and that is why they have to be moist all the time.
Amphibians rely heavily on their lungs and cannot breathe air when they are underwater. When
completely submerged in water, oxygen diffuses into a dense net of thin-walled capillaries
beneath their skin, which allows them to spend prolonged time underwater.

Some animals have a skin surface that is not adequate to allow gas exchange all over its
body. That is why certain parts of their bodies evolved as highly branched large respiratory
surfaces in the form of tracheal systems among insects, gills in fishes so they could exchange
gases in water environments, and lungs in land animals. Arthropods, such as insects and
spiders, have a tracheal system that consists of branched internal tubes that extend throughout
the body. On the surface of the insects body are tiny openings called spiracles. Arising from
these spiracles are sturdy tubes known as tracheae. The tracheal system uses these fine air-
conducting tubules to carry out gas exchange. The tracheae branch of further into smaller tubes
called tracheoles that can become smaller enough, with tips that reach all its cells. The tips of
the tracheoles are filled with small amounts of an aqueous substance where oxygen can be
dissolved from air, whereas carbon dioxide diffuses in the opposite direction.

Gills are found in more advanced marine invertebrates and vertebrates. Gills are
thin sheets of tissue that wave through the water, increasing the surface area available
for diffusion. Marine invertebrates, such as mollusks and echinoderms, have external
gills that are often in the form of extensive projections. These gills are highly folded,
thin- walled vascularized epidermis that project outward of the organism's body.
Organisms that use this gas exchange mechanism ventilate by waving these gills back
and forth through the water, an action that is important for sessile invertebrates that rely
on water currents for ventilation. Despite having this adaption, external gills have some
limitations-they are susceptible to damage from the environment as they are exposed, a
considerable amount of energy is needed to move them continually through the water,
 and their appearance and motion make the animal susceptible to predators by drawing
attention to it.

Fishes, on the other hand, have a set of feather-like internal gills found on each
side of its head that flap open and close with the exchange of gases. The gills are
covered by a bony plate called operculum. The gills are supported by gill arches that
contain gill filaments composed of numerous plate-like structures called lamellae.
Dissolved oxygen from the water that enters the mouth diffuses across the gill surfaces
into the capillaries, with carbon dioxide diffusing in the opposite direction to the outside
environment. This mechanism is called countercurrent exchange, which is highly
efficient in extracting oxygen dissolved in water where oxygen content is lower than in
air. Different fishes can ventilate in three possible ways: actively drawing water in
through their mouth and out of their operculum, swimming while their mouth is open so
that water can continuously flow across the gills, and resting near a water current while
keeping their mouth open. Through this flow-through system, it allows the fish to
constantly be in contact with fresh oxygenated water, making the water move in one
direction, and thus improving gas exchange.

Higher forms of terrestrial

vertebrates have evolved lungs that are
internally lined with moist epithelium. Air-
breathing vertebrates have their lungs
located inside the chest or thoracic cavity,
and are protected by the rib cage.
Amphibian lungs are designed as a sac
with convoluted internal membrane that
opens up to a certain cavity. As mentioned
earlier, amphibians can also breathe
through their skin. Reptiles, being more
active than amphibians, cannot rely on their
skin to breathe and have evolved dry, scaly
skin that is watertight to avoid moisture
loss. Their lungs are similar in structure with
amphibians but with, wider surface area
and many small air chambers, thus
increasing the surface for more oxygen
diffusion.
 Birds, on the other hand, have a
different level of activity and metabolic needs
due to their flight abilities. They have a
respiratory demand far greater than the
capacity of the lungs of an active mammal.
Due to the intense beating of their wings
during fight, the wing muscles must
continuously contract, using up most of their
energy and requiring a large amount of
oxygen.

An avian lung has evolved into three components: a series of air sacs outside of
the lungs called the posterior and the anterior air sacs, and the air passageways
through the lungs known as parabronchi. Air passes through a bird's lungs and directly
to its posterior air sacs that act as holding tanks. During exhalation, the air flows from
the posterior air sacs in front of the lungs and to the lungs themselves, then on to
another set of anterior air sacs and out of its body.

This Complicated pathway has the advantage of creating a unidirectional airflow

through the lungs, which means that there is no dead volume. The air passing across
the bird's lungs is always fully oxygenated and the blood flow is a 90-degree angle
called crosscurrent flow. This is the reason why some birds can fly at an altitude of
6000 meters where the oxygen level is low, as compared to a mammal of the same size
that will probably have a hard time breathing and experience panting as it tries to reach
to high places. While fishes are the most efficient aquatic organisms in terms of their
gills, birds have evolved to have the most efficient atmospheric gas exchange
mechanisms. Mammals, in particular, use their lungs to obtain oxygen and expel carbon
dioxide by receiving deoxygenated blood from the heart and returning oxygenated blood
to the heart. Although less efficient than that of birds, mammals are well adapted to
terrestrial environments.

Factors Affecting Gas Exchange

As discussed previously, the respiratory surface or organ is the part of an
animal's body where gases in the form of oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged
with the environment. In order for gas exchange to happen, respiratory surfaces must
be moist, with a large surface area, and protected from drying up. Several other factors
affect the efficiency of gas exchange. Have you experienced the popping in your ears
when the plane descends during a flight? Then you have experienced air pressure in
your ears. Similarly, gases in the air exert pressure on the body surfaces of animals
when they breathe.

Air pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg), which is similar to

blood pressure. At sea level, atmospheric pressure is 760 mmHg and it decreases as
you ascend to high elevations because there are a few gas molecules in a given volume
of air. Atmospheric pressure refers to the sum total of the exerted pressures by each
gas mixed in the air, corresponding to the exact proportion of their amounts. Each
individual gas pressure is called partial pressure symbolized as P, and a subscript of
the gas. Therefore, oxygen's partial pressure symbol is Po2, Because oxygen's amount
in air is at 21 percent, the computation of the atmospheric pressure ot oxygern in sea
level is 0.21 x 760 mmHg = 160 mmHg. Although the percentage of oxygen and other
gases in the air is constant regardless of altitude, the lower the atmospheric pressure is,
the lower the partial pressure of oxygen in the air. It is the partial pressure of oxygen in
the air that provides a major force that could affect the diffusion from air or water
environment across the animal's respiratory surtace and into its blond.

As you have studied, all gases diffuse from a region of high pressure to a region
of lower pressure. The direction of Diffusion is driven by the concentration difference in
pressure Gradients. Because of this, the rate of oxygen diffusion into the blood of a
terrestrial animal decreases when the animal moves from sea level to a higher altitude
where the oxygen's partial pressure is lower (low Po). The rate of diffusion between
these two regions can be studied in a relationship known as Fick's Law of Diffusion.
Fick's law states that the diffusion rate is affected by the concentration difference and

surface of the membrane area. Aside from

pressure, temperature and the presence of other
solutes influence the solubility of gases. Gases in
air can mix with freshwater, seawater, and body
fluids. In this case, oxygen can exert its biological
effects into the solution wherein gases dissolve
poorly in water due to the less oxygen
concentration in a given volume of water than in
air. In terms of temperature, more gas can dissolve
in a given volume of cold water than in warm
water. It is because at higher temperatures, there
is more thermal energy present in gases in
solution that can likely drive them to escape from
the liquid. Thus, animals living in warm waters will
have Less oxygen available than those living in
colder environments. The presence of ions and
other solutes also decreases the amount of as
dissolved in water. Oxygen dissolves less in warm,
salty water And in cold water. Animals in cold
freshwater environments may salty Since the
amount of dissolved oxygen in body And more
oxygen available to them than those that live in
warm, is not sufficient to sustain life, it must be
higher than the level that can be dissolved.
Through the presence of oxygen-binding proteins, the total amount of oxygen
can be increased in cells. Animals have evolved respiratory pigments contained inside
the red blood cells of vertebrates or in the hemolymph of invertebrates. These
respiratory pigments contain one or more metals that can bind with oxygen. In
invertebrates, hemocyanin is the copper-containing pigment that gives their blood a
bluish tint. In vertebrates, hemoglobin is the major iron-containing pigment that gives
blood its red color when oxygenated. Each hemoglobin contains four polypeptide
subunits, each containing an iron atom bounded by an oxygen molecule. Therefore, a
single hemoglobin can contain up to four molecules of oxygen. The oxygen's binding is
reversible, which is necessary so that oxygen can be unloaded when it reaches the
tissues. Hemoglobin in red blood cells circulates in the bloodstream like a ship bringing
its cargo. Oxygen binds to hemoglobin as the cells pass through the capillaries of the
lungs' alveoli. Oxygen-bearing hemoglobin releases oxygen at different parts of the
body.

While Red Blood Cells are unloading oxygen,they are also absorbing carbon
dioxide from the tissue. Carbon dioxide is converted to carbonic acid in the red blood
cells by an enzyme known as carbonic anhydrase, and then dissociates into hydrogen
(H+) and bicarbonate (HCO3-,) ions. The hydrogen ions bind to hemoglobin, and
bicarbonate is transported out of the red blood cells. Oxygen-poor blood is carried back
to the heart and pumped into the lungs. In the lungs, carbon dioxide diffuses outward
from the blood into the alveoli. The diffusion of carbon dioxide out of the red blood cells
causes the hemoglobin within the cells to release the CO, and take up oxygen instead.
In this step, the red blood cells with a new load of 0, will start the respiratory cycle
again.
Mammalian Respiratory System
You learned that oxygen is needed for the energy releasing chemical reactions
that take place inside the cells. As a result of this process, your cells are able to pertorm
all the various tasks that keep you alive. You know that fire burns only if there is enough
oxygen in the air. Similarly, each body cell burns up the food it gets from the blood and
releases energy locked within the food only if it gets enough oxygen. The energy-
releasing process that is fueled by Oxygen is called cellular respiration. In addition to
energy, carbon dioxide is also produced during respiration. Carbon dioxide, as a waste
product of aerobic respiration, it is toxic to cells and must be removed. The body system
that is responsible for performing the task of getting oxygen into the body and removing
carbon dioxide out of the body is the respiratory system. Gas exchange in animals
and humans happens in several phases- breathing, transport of gases by the circulatory
system, and exchange of gases in cells.

Breathing and respiration are related processes, but they are not the same.
Respiration is the overall exchange of gases (how the body gets oxygen and gets rid of
carbon dioxide) between the atmosphere, the blood, and the cells. In more complex
animals, breathing covers the first step of respiration in supplying the cells of your body
with oxygen. Breathing refers to the act of taking air in and out of the lungs. It is the
physical action of taking in oxygen into, and releasing the waste carbon dioxide out of
the lungs. These gases must be transported by the circulatory system and exchanged
at the cells. Breathing mechanisms also exist differently among vertebrates. Amphibians
ventilate their lungs by positive pressure breathing that forces air down their trachea.
Birds use a system of air sacs as blowers to keep air flowing in one direction. Mammals,
including humans, ventilate by negative pressure breathing, pulling the air into the lungs
with the aid of diaphragm contraction and expansion of rib muscles. Breathing is
controlled by the respiratory center located in the brain's medulla oblongata.

The mammalian respiratory system consists of the lungs and various

passageways that allow the air to reach the lungs. Before the air reaches the lungs
during breathing inhaled air must first be filtered out and moistened through the nostrils
where coarse hairs coated with mucus trap dusts and other particles that may damage
your lung tissue. The processed air now moves through a muscular tube in your upper
throat known as the pharynx that soon divides into the passageway for food and water.
One passageway leads to the digestive system while the other leads air into the larynx
or voice box. Here, a flap of cartilage known as epiglottis directs the air down the
respiratory path while food and water are directed to the digestive tract. A tubelike
structure, made up of flexible rings of cartilage, called the trachea or windpipe
connects the larynx to the lungs. Here, the mucus lining traps dust particles and
bacteria that have passed the nose. The filtered air now travels to the main organs of
the respiratory system, which are the sponge-like lungs that are located in the chest
cavity bounded on the sides by the ribs and the diaphragm at the bottom. The
diaphragm is a powerful muscle that aids in breathing. The lungs are an asymmetrical
pair divided into sections called lobes.
 The second phase of gas exchange happens with the help of the
circulatory system. The oxygen diffuses into the blood and attaches itself to
the hemoglobin present in the blood. The blood vessels help transport the
oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the capillaries of body tissues and vice
versa. Although gas exchange mainly focuses on the respiratory system,
other body systems help make the respiration process possible. In figure 2-
13, several organ systems are involved in bringing in oxygen and
harnessing glucose from food. The circulatory system then carries both the
oxygen and glucose to your cells where respiration occurs.

The third phase, known as internal

respiration, involves the body cells that
take up oxygen from the blood and
release carbon dioxide to the blood.
Internal respiration is gas exchange at the
level of body cells. It is responsible for
bringing oxygen from your lungs to all the
other tissues in your body, and taking out
carbon dioxide from the tissues back to
your lungs as a waste product.

Inside the lungs, the air reaches the trachea that branches into two
tubes called the left and right bronchi (singular: bronchus). The left
bronchus enters the left lung whereas the right bronchus enters the right
lung. They continue to divide into narrower and narrower passages until
they become tubes like the size of twigs called bronchioles. At the end of
these tiny tubes are hundreds of grapelike air sacs called alveoli that
inflate during inhalation and deflate during exhalation. These air sacs are
gateways for oxygen into the body. Each of about 600 million alveoli is
surrounded by tiny blood vessels or capillaries where gas exchange
happens. As the wall of the alveoli and the blood vessel share a fused
basement, oxygen and carbon dioxide can easily diffuse between the
alveoli and the bloodstream. Due to this, oxygen can easily seep into the
thin walls of the alveoli and into the capillaries. As blood slowly moves into
the capillaries, it picks up oxygen and carries it to the cells throughout the
body. At the same time, the blood picks up carbon dioxide produced by the
cells during cellular respiration and returns it to the alveoli to be moved out
of the body during the next exhalation.
Name: _______________________________________________ Date:

Year/Strand : __________________________________________ Score:

Activity 1-Critical Thinking

Direction: Answer the following items. Use additional sheets of paper if

necessary.

1. Why is breathing through your mouth not possible while you are
swallowing your food?

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

2. How do gas exchange systems facilitate the exchange of gases between

the environment and the cells of organisms?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________

3. How do plants respire by the use of their roots?

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
 TRANSFER

Gas Exchange in Plants

Plants do not have breathing organs such as gills and
lungs to exchange gases with the environment. Plants do
the reverse of respiration by taking in carbon dioxide and
expelling out oxygen through is process of photosynthesis.
The process highlights the leaves as the primary organ for
photosynthesis. However, it is important to note as well
that plants respire constantly, too, and that it must also
absorb oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. During the
day, both respiration and photosynthesis Occur
simultaneously in the leaf. The leaf's surface is covered by
a thin waterproof coating or cuticle. In order for the
exchange of gases to happen, the cuticle is perforated
with pores known as stomata. Stomata are found in
numerous amounts at the lower surface of plant leaves.
The exchange of gases in plants takes place mainly in the
stomata of the leaves and young stems. Each of the
stoma contains a pore at the center surrounded by two
bean-shaped cells, called guard cells that control the
exchange of gases and prevent the plant from losing too
much water. When the stomata are open, the exchange of
gases could take place between the atmosphere and the
interior of the leaf. The leaf cells, which are mostly close to
each other, have moist surfaces that permit the gaseous
exchange through the process of diffusion.
 During the process of photosynthesis, oxygen is released into the of intracellular air
space where cells can be reused for respiration. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, is released
by respiring leaf cells and enters the intracellular air space where it can easily be used by cells
for photosynthesis. More oxygen gets inside the cells from the external environment via the
stomata, whereas
excess carbon dioxide
exits out through the
same route.

Plants that have either a flexible stem or a thick, old woody stem such as hard wood trees
contain small pores. The flexible stems of grasses and other non-woody plants also contain
stomata. Like in the leaves, stomata in the stems are used for gas exchange. In woody stems,
such as in trees, a layer of waterproof cork tissue develops beneath the epidermal layer of the
stems. The layer is waterproof and lined with parenchyma cells, called lenticels, the tiny
openings in the stem. Through the small pores on the bark, oxygen is able to diffuse into
intercellular spaces to reach the cells in stems. Inside the plant, the oxygen dissolves in
water from the moist cell membrane and then diffuses across the cell membrane into
the cell. Carbon dioxide flows in the opposite direction, diffusing from the cell membrane
into the cellular air space and out into the atmosphere via the openings.

Plants also respire through their roots. The

roots are covered by tiny outgrowths called root
hairs, which increase the surface absorptive capacity
of the roots and provide a moist surface area for gas
exchange. In soil that is constantly aerated and
watered, oxygenated air can easily flow from the air
into the spaces between soil particles. The oxygen
diffuses into the root hairs of the plant and into the
other cells of the root. During the plant's cellular
respiration, oxygen is used and carbon dioxide is
produced, which is then released through the same
root hairs. Although the rate of diffusion is low, its
rate is enough to meet the gas exchange
requirement of the roots. Some plants evolve root
adaptations in the environment where they live. In a
mangrove environment where oxygen is poor and
unstable, mangrove plants develop lateral breathing
roots called pneumatophores. These roots grow
upward (negative geotropism) as an extension of the
Name: _______________________________________________ Date:__________

Year/Strand : __________________________________________ Score:_________

Activity 2
The Respiratory system and Breathing Mechanism of Animals
Name: ___________________________________________________ Date:

Year/Strand : ______________________________________________ Score:

Activity 3

Human Respiratory System

 A. Multiple Choice. Encircle the letter that corresponds to the
Pre-Test
correct answer.

1. Insects have small air tubes that facilitate the exchange of air into its body called.
a. alveoli
b. bronchi
c. spiracles
d. trachea
2. One of the major physiological challenges of multicellular animals is obtaining
sufficient oxygen and expelling excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in a process called
________.
a. ventilation
b. respiration
c. gas exchange d. breathing
3. Earthworms use their entire outer skin to exchange gases. This is known as
_______.
a. ventilation
b. cutaneous respiration
c. integumentary exchange
d. both b and c
4. ________ Are found in more advanced marine invertebrates and vertebrates.

a. spiracles
b. gills
c. tracheae
d. tracheoles
5. The process involved in the bringing of oxygenated water or air into contact with
respiratory organs is called ___________.
a. ventilation
b. respiration
c. gas exchange
d. breathing

6. The energy-releasing process that is fueled by Oxygen is called __________.

a. Homoestasis
b. cellular respiration
c. ventilation
d. respiration
7. The tracheae branch of further into smaller tubes called ________.

a. spiracles
b. gills
c. tracheae
d. tracheoles

8. Their lungs was Designed as a sac with convoluted internal membrane that opens up
to a certain cavity. And they can also breathe through their skin.

a. reptiles
b. mammals
 c. amphibians
d. none of these

9. They being more active than amphibians, cannot rely on their skin to breathe and
have evolved dry, scaly skin that is watertight to avoid moisture loss.
a. reptiles
b. mammals
c. amphibians
d. none of these
10. They have a set of feather-like internal gills found on each side of its head that flap
open and close with the exchange of gases.
a. reptiles
b. mammals
c. amphibians
d. fishes