CENTRE FOR FOUNDATION STUDIES

FOUNDATION IN SCIENCE

FHSB1214 BIOLOGY I
ARTICLE WRITING

Members Name & ID Chai Wan Xin (1704080)

Estee Chong Ke Qian (1704689)

Practical Group P18

Article Title Respiration
Word count 467 words
Date of Submission 01.08.2017
Practical Lecturer Ms.Gurpreet Kaur d/o Prithviraj Singh
Marks Focus
Organization
Content
Grammar & Writing Mechanics
Format
References
TOTAL /20
Respiration
Respiration is an important living process carried out by all living organism.
Respiration can be divided into two stages: external respiration and internal
respiration.

External respiration
External respiration or breathing is a mechanical
process that maintains a continuous exchange of
gases between the respiratory surfaces of an
organism and its environment. For most organisms,
the exchange of gases occur through a specialized
structure called respiratory structure.

Internal respiration
Internal respiration or cellular respiration is the
biochemical process in which energy is made
available to all living cells. This process involves the
oxidation of organic molecules to release the
chemical energy stored within these molecules. The
energy that is released during this process is used to
synthesis energy-carrying molecules called
adenosine triphosphates (ATP). The main substrate for cellular respiration is glucose.
There are two types of cellular respiration: aerobic respiration and anaerobic
respiration.

Aerobic respiration
Aerobic respiration requires a continuous supply of oxygen from the air or water
surrounding the organism. Oxygen that is taken in is delivered by the blood
circulatory system to body cells. In the cells, glucose molecules are oxidized by
oxygen to release energy. Aerobic respiration involves the oxidation of glucose in the
presence of oxygen to carbon dioxide, water and energy. Aerobic respiration
releases all the available energy stored within the glucose molecules. The entire
process does not involve only a single chemical reaction but it also driven by a
sequence of complex biochemical reactions which are catalyzed by respiratory
enzymes. Only a small portion of the energy is lost in maintaining the body
temperature. A larger portion of the energy is used to synthesis adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate.
Aerobic respiration generates 38 molecules of ATP. Each ATP molecule consists of
three phosphate groups and the phosphate bonds can be easily broken down to
release energy.
Anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration is a process that breaks down glucose when there is very little
or no more oxygen. Unlike aerobic respiration which occurs in the mitochondria,
anaerobic respiration occurs in the cytoplasm. During anaerobic respiration, the
glucose molecules break down partially into an intermediate substance called lactic
acid instead of carbon dioxide and water. Because glucose is not completely broken
down, the energy released during anaerobic respiration is much less than the energy
released during aerobic respiration. In fact, for every molecule of glucose, anaerobic
respiration releases only two molecules of ATP. Much of the energy is still trapped
within the molecules of lactic acid. The accumulation of lactic acid can reach a high
level of concentration which can cause muscle cramps and fatigue. The person
needs to breathe in deeply and rapidly in order to inhale more oxygen. The excess
oxygen is used by the body to oxidise the accumulated lactic acid to carbon dioxide
and water.

Reference :

Gan, W.Y. (2015), The Respiratory Process in Energy Production.

Success Biology. Retrieved from page 207-208.

Roisen, P. (2015), Aerobic Respiration. Retrieved from

https://www.brightstorm.com/science/biology/cell-functions-and-
processes/aerobic-respiration/

Roisen, P. (2015), Anaerobic Respiration. Retrieved from

https://www.brightstorm.com/science/biology/cell-functions-and-
processes/anaerobic-respiration/