CH.

10 RESPIRATION IN ORGANISMS

TO GET OXYGEN , WE NEED TO –

 Breathe fresh air rich in oxygen

 Transport the inhaled oxygen from respiratory organs to every cell in
the body .

RESPIRATION – The process of taking oxygen into the cells , using it for
producing energy and removing the gaseous waste products ( carbon dioxide
and water vapour ). It occurs in the living cells .

Respiration involves two processes –

 BREATHING OR EXTERNAL RESPIRATION – The

process of inhaling fresh air and exhaling the used air .
During breathing , oxygen is taken in and carbon
dioxide and water vapour are thrown out of the body
through respiratory organs .
 CELLULAR RESPIRATION – It takes place inside the
cells . In this process , glucose obtained during the
digestion of food is oxidized by the inhaled oxygen to
carbon dioxide and water , and energy is released .

C6H12O6 + O2 ( g ) = 6CO2 ( g ) + 6H2O ( g ) + energy

TYPES OF RESPIRATION –

 AEROBIC RESPIRATION – Respiration in the presence of oxygen .

During aerobic respiration , glucose is oxidized to carbon dioxide and
water .
Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy

( in the cell ) ( in the inhaled air )

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 ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION – Respiration that takes place in the
absence of air . This is also known as fermentation . During anaerobic
respiration , glucose is converted into ethyl alcohol ( C2H5OH ) and
carbon dioxide .
Glucose = Ethyl alcohol + Carbon dioxide + Enegy
( in the cell )
 Yeast , some bacteria and parasitic flatworms show anaerobic
respiration .
 Aerobic respiration produces more energy than anaerobic
reaction . In the case of animals and humans , anaerobic
respiration takes place in muscles during physical activities
such as running , exercising etc., but only for a short time ,
when there is a temporary deficiency of oxygen .
During such anaerobic respiration glucose is converted to
lactic acid ( CH3-CHOH-COOH ) and energy is given out .
Glucose = Lactic acid + Energy
( in muscles )

CRAMPS IN MUSCLES OCCUR DUE TO –

 Accumulation of lactic acid in muscles .

TO GET RELIEF FROM CRAMPS –

 Take hot water bath or massage .This is because hot water bath or
massage , improves blood circulation . As a result , supply of oxygen to
the muscles improves . This increased oxygen supply causes the
breakdown of lactic acid into carbon dioxide and water .

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC
RESPIRATION –
AEROBIC RESPIRATION
 Occurs in the presence of
oxygen/air .
 Glucose gets completely
oxidised to carbon dioxide and
water .
 Occurs in most plants and
animals .
 More energy is produced .
ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION
 Occurs in the absence of
oxygen/air .
 Glucose is oxidised to ethyl
alcohol and carbon dioxide ( in
cells ) or lactic acid ( in
muscles ) .
 Occurs in yeast , bacteria and
parasitic worms .
 Energy released is lesser than
that produced during aerobic
respiration .

BREATHING – The process during which air rich in oxygen is taken in

and air rich in carbon dioxide and water vapour is given out .

 The taking in of air rich in oxygen is called inhalation .

 The giving out of the air rich in carbon dioxide is called exhalation.

BREATHING RATE – The number of times a person breathes in one minute .

Normal breathing rate is 16-18 times per minute . During running fast or
heavy exercise , the rate of breathing may go up to 25 times per minute .

DURING INHALATION –

 The ribs move up and outwards .

 The diaphragm moves down .

THESE MOVEMENTS DOES WHAT ?

 Increases the volume of the chest cavity and the lungs expand . As a
result , pressure inside the lungs decreases and fresh air rushes into
the lungs . During inhalation the chest expands .

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DURING EXHALATION –

 The ribs move down and inwards .

 The diaphragm moves up .

THESE MOVEMENTS DOES WHAT ?

 Decreases the volume of the chest cavity and the lungs contract . As
a result , pressure inside the lungs increases and the air is pushed out
of the lungs .

WHAT DO WE BREATHE OUT ?

 The exhaled air contains carbon dioxide and water vapour ( in

addition to nitrogen and unused oxygen ) .
 Inhaled air –
Oxygen : 21 %
Carbon dioxide : 0.03 %
 Exhaled air –
Oxygen : 16.4 %
Carbon dioxide : 4.4 %

SNEEZING – The sudden expulsion of air from the nose ( without our control
over it ) due to the irritation of nasal passage .We often sneeze when we
inhale air containing dust , smoke or pollen , etc .

YAWNING –The action of opening one’s mouth wide while taking a long
and deep breath of air ( without any control over it ) . A person yawns when
he is tired , bored , stressed , over – worked , feeling sleepy or drowsy .
Yawning is caused by insufficient oxygen in the body .

SMOKING –This habit is the biggest enemy of our lungs . Smoking tobacco
in the form of beedi , cigarette or cigar damages our lungs gradually and
causes ill health . Smoking sends tobacco smoke inside the body . The
chemicals present in tobacco smoke damage the lungs in many ways .

Some of the harmful effects of smoking –

 Destroys the lung tissue gradually due to which breathing

becomes very difficult .
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  Causes lung cancer .
 Causes heart diseases .
 Damages the health of non-smokers who inhale the air
containing tobacco smoke .

Smoking kills . Many people die every year from diseases caused by
smoking. The bad habit of smoking must be avoided to lead a healthy life .

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESPIRATION AND BREATHING –

BREATHING
 Breathing is a physical process
involving exchange of oxygen
and carbon dioxide .
 It occurs outside the cell .
 No enzyme is involved in the
process .
 No energy is evolved or
absorbed .
RESPIRATION
 Respiration is a biochemical
process involving the complete
breakdown of the food we eat
to produce carbon dioxide ,
water and energy .
 It occurs inside the cell .
 Enzymes are involved at
certain stages of respiration .
 Energy is released in a
controlled and stepwise
manner.

BREATHING IN OTHER ANIMALS –

ANIMAL Fish Birds , Insects Amphibians
Mammals (Grasshopper,
Frog ( on Cockroach )
land )
RESPIRATORY Gills Lungs Trachea , Skin , Lungs
ORGAN Spiracles

COCKROACH –They breathe through their air holes and air tubes . They
have a respiratory system , consisting of a network of branched air tubes
called tracheae . These air tubes have openings called spiracles on the body
surface .

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 PROCESS –The spiracles open and close to allow the gases to

move in and out . Oxygen-rich air enters the tracheal

tubes through spiracles and diffuses into the body tissue

and reaches every cell of the body .

In the same way , carbon dioxide from

the cells goes into tracheal tubes and

move out through spiracles .

EARTHWORM –They breathe through their skin . Their skin has large
number of blood capillaries .

PROCESS –They absorb oxygen from the air in their blood through

their moist skin .

 Frogs can also breathe through their skin when in water .

FISH –They have special respiratory organ called gills .

PROCESS –Gills are made up of a large number of fine capillaries

containing blood vessels . These blood vessels absorb

dissolved oxygen present in water and carry it to the body

tissues .

The blood vessels also bring back carbon dioxide

from the cells to the gills . Gills pass this carbon

dioxide to the surrounding water .

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PLANTS –Respiration in plants occur in mitochondria . During respiration ,
plants take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide . It takes place from various
parts such as roots , stems and leaves .

ROOTS –The outer surface of the roots has a thin layer of cells

called epiblema . The air trapped in the soil diffuses in

through these cells .

LEAVES –Leaves and young green stems take in the air ( oxygen )

and release carbon dioxide through the tiny pores called

stoma . Stoma with nearby cells is known as stomatal

apparatus .

STEMS –Woody stems take in air through the openings called

lenticels .

 During the day , both respiration and photosynthesis occur in the

plants . At night , only respiration takes place . So , the plants take in
oxygen and give out carbon dioxide at night .

STOMATAL APPARATUS –It is a stomatal opening surrounded with two

guard cells and several subsidiary cells .

The process of opening and closing of stoma is

controlled by the expansion and contraction of the guard cells . The
expansion contraction of the guard cells is due to the flow of water from
the subsidiary cells .

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RESPIRATION AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS –
RESPIRATION
 During respiration , products of
digestion such as glucose react
with oxygen to form carbon
dioxide , water and energy is
released .
 Chemical energy is converted
into heat energy .
 Oxygen is absorbed and carbon
dioxide is released .
 It takes place inside the body
of human/animal in the
presence of enzymes .
 It takes place both during the
day and the night .
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PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 During photosynthesis , green
plants prepare glucose from
carbon dioxide and water in
the presence of sunlight and
chlorophyll .
 Light energy is converted into
chemical energy .
 Carbon dioxide is absorbed and
oxygen is given out .
 It takes place in green leaves
only in the presence of sunlight
and chlorophyll .
 It takes place only during the
day time ( in the presence of
sunlight ) .
♥ Respiration is the fundamental process of energy release in our body .
♥ The organisms that can survive in the absence of oxygen/air are
called anaerobes. For example –yeast is an anaerobe . Yeast is used in
the manufacture of ethyl alcohol from molasses .
♥ Parasitic flatworms live in alimentary canal and respire anaerobically
because there is no oxygen in the alimentary canal .
♥ Breathing is also called external respiration .
♥ The inner lining of the nose secrets mucus . This mucus makes the
inner lining of the nose moist .
♥ Lungs contain 300 million alveoli . An adult inhales about 6 L of air
per minute .
♥ Amoeba and Paramecium take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide
by diffusion through their cell membrane .
♥ Sponge , Hydra exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide through their
skin.
♥ Whales and dolphins live in water but they are mammals . Like other
mammals they too have lungs . To inhale and exhale air , they come to
the surface .
♥ The exchange of gases in plants is not as fast as in animals .
♥ Insects have blood but no RBC . So , oxygen cannot be carried by the
blood and distributed to all the cells . Thus the tracheal system gets
finely divided to reach every part of the body .