Chapter 1

Healthy Living
Respiration, Breathing & Circulation
 Respiration

What is Respiration?
Every living cell needs energy to carry out life processes. Our cells use
as their energy source. Glucose comes from the food we have digested.

Respiration is a chemical reaction that takes place inside cells. Respiration in our cells also uses
. Glucose and oxygen are brought to cells by blood circulating round your
body.

Our cells break down glucose using oxygen to release energy. and
are made. During this process energy is released.

We can write the process of respiration as a word equation:

Respiration that uses oxygen to release energy from nutrients is called:

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |2

 Breathing
Breathing is the processes by which we take in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. The body system
responsible for breathing is called the .

The Respiratory System

1.

2.
5.

3.

6.
4.

7.

8.
10.

9.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |3

Name of part of the
Job
respiratory system
We breathe in through the nose. Fine hairs in the nose filter out
dust and other harmful substances from the air.
This is the moist warm space behind the nose. It connects the
nose to the rest of the respiratory system.
These two spongy, elastic organs are the main organs of the
respiratory system. In the lungs, air comes close to the blood in
the body and it is here the gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide)
move into and out of the blood.
This is a tube that allows air to pass from the nose down
into the chest. The trachea stays open all the time, even when
you sleep. It is held open by rings of hard tissue called cartilage.
The inside of the trachea has a mucous membrane which helps
to further clean the air we breathe in.
These are two tubes which branch from the end of the trachea
and connect it to the lungs.
The bronchi divide into a number of smaller tubes called
bronchioles inside the lungs.
Each bronchiole ends in a tiny air sac called an alveolus. Each
alveolus is about the size of a grain of sand. They are covered
with a fine network of capillaries, so gases can move from the
alveoli into the blood and back.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |4

Alveoli – the air sacs of the lungs
Each of tour lungs is made up of millions of tiny air sacs called:
These make the lungs look like a sponge.

The alveoli have very thin walls so that the air and the blood are as close to each other as possible.
Oxygen goes from the air into the blood and carbon dioxide goes from the blood into the air to be
breathed out. This is called .
It occurs all the time, not just when you breathe in.

Breathing
Put your hands on your chest. Observe carefully what is happening to your chest as you:

Breath in:

Breath out:

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |5

Breathing IN is called:
Breathing OUT is called:

When you breathe you move air in and out of your lungs. This is:

The Muscles involved in breathing

Muscles between
Breathing… The ribs… Diaphragm… Air…
the ribs…

Inhaling

Exhaling

Note: During exercise the breathing is harder in order to get more air in the lungs and exhale extra
carbon dioxide that the muscles are making. Muscles need more oxygen to get more energy.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |6

Keeping the Lungs Clean
Your nose, trachea (wind pipe) and the air tubes inside the lungs are lined with special cleaning cells
and a thick, sticky liquid called mucus. This traps dirt and germs in the air you breathe. The lining cells
have tiny hairs called cilia on their surface. These hairs beat up and down and the dirty mucus goes
up to your throat where it is swallowed. Any germs are then killed by the acid in the stomach.

Smoking
Smoking weakens the walls of the alveoli and, when smokers cough, some alveoli are destroyed.
When the alveoli break down, the smoker gets a serious lung disease called

When alveoli are damaged the person has difficulty breathing and is short of breath. Also, the heart
must work harder to circulate blood around the body. These changes result in less oxygen available
to the body.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |7

Cigarette smoke contains around 4000 poisonous chemicals. The following are the main poisons.

1. 2.

› Is a poison.
› Irritate the lungs.
› It makes the arteries narrower. Your heart then
› You cough more, and
must pump harder to push blood along.
more germs get into your
› Smokers may feel that they need nicotine. They
lungs.
have become addicted.

3.

› This gas is quickly picked up by the blood.

› It prevents the blood from picking up oxygen, and so you must breathe faster, and your
heart must beat faster.

Athsma
During asthma the trachea (air passageways) swell and there is a reduced amount of air entering
the lungs leading to wheezing.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |8

 The Circulatory System
The Job of the Cirulatory System

Your cells need a constant supply of glucose and oxygen and other substances. Cells make products
as well as waste materials such as carbon dioxide that need to be removed. Your blood transports
dissolved chemicals to and from cells.

The three main components of the circulatory system are:

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation |9

The Heart
Your heart never rests. It started to beat before you were born and it will
go on beating steadily throughout your life. Your heart is made of a special
type of muscle called the cardiac muscle and it gets bigger as you grow. It
is about the same size of your clenched fist. Surrounded by your lungs and
protected by your rib cage, your heart works like a powerful pump,
sending blood to every part of your body. Sometimes, your heart changes
its speed, by beating faster or slower, depending on how much oxygen
your body needs.

The Blood Vessles

Blood leaving your heart passes through arteries to reach
1. your organs. In general, arteries contain oxygen rich blood
– oxygenated blood.

Arteries branch into smaller and smaller blood vessels inside

2. your organs, taking blood to every part. The smallest blood
vessels are capillaries, which supply cells.

Once blood has passed through an organ it passes through

3. veins back to your heart. In general, veins contain carbon
dioxide rich blood – deoxygenated blood.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation | 10

The Blood
The heart pumps blood all around the body. Blood enters the heart full of carbon dioxide from the
veins. Then it travels to the lungs to be oxygenated and returns back to the heart through the arteries.
The heart pumps it out again at high pressure through the arteries which carry blood from the heart
to the cells.

Blood consists of a number of cells which have a specific role.

1. This is a pale-yellow liquid in which the blood cells float.

Special cells important to transport oxygen around the

2. body. These cells contain haemoglobin (important for the
carry oxygen) and do not have a nucleus. They have a
biconcave shape.

These cells do have a nucleus, and they fight against

3. germs that enter the blood. White blood cells are part of
the immune system and are involved in destroying
pathogens.

4. These are small pieces of cells. They help blood to clot if

the skin is cut.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation | 11

Keeping your Heart Healthy
Your circulatory system is also called your cardiovascular system. ‘Cardio’ means
heart and ‘vascular’ means vessels. When your heart and blood vessels do not
function properly, we say you have a cardiovascular disease. Common
cardiovascular diseases are:

The chances of developing a cardiovascular disease are increased by certain factors called risks. Some
of the risk factors that can lead to cardiovascular disease are:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation | 12

Name: Class: Date:

Pulse Rate
Question to investigate:

Does pulse rate ever change? Why?

Aim:
To measure pulse rate while carrying out different activities.

Information:
Your pulse is the rate at which your heart beats. Your pulse is usually called your heart
rate, which is the number of times your heart beats each minute. As your heart pumps
blood through your body, you can feel a pulsing in some of the blood vessels close to the
skin's surface, such as in your wrist, neck, or upper arm. Counting your pulse rate is a
simple way to find out how fast your heart is beating.

Hypothesis: Apparatus:
What do you think is going to
happen in the experiment?

Method:
1. Sit down comfortably and take 5 minutes to settle. Locate your pulse. Count the
number of pulses in one minute and record. This is called your resting heart rate.
2. Walk briskly for 2 minutes. Immediately measure your pulse rate (beats in 15
seconds and then multiply by 4 to find pulse rate in beats per minute). Record in
the table of results.
3. Run on the spot for 2 minutes. Immediately measure your pulse rate as above and
record in the table of results.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation | 13

Precautions:
What did you do during the experiment to make sure that the experiment was carried
out properly and that it was safe?

Results:
Activity Pulse Rate (beats per minute)
Sitting

After walking around the lab

After running along the corridor

Conclusion:

My pulse rate was lowest when _______________ and highest when _______________.
I think this happened because during exercise the muscle cells in the body need more
________________. This energy is made by the process of ________________. For
________________ to happen, ________________ and ________________ are needed.
These arrive to the muscles in the ________________. The heart beats
________________ to carry blood faster.

Mark:
Mark Max.

Participation 7

Report 5

Safety Issues 3

Experiment 2 15

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation | 14

The Pulse Rate

The pulse rate is the number of heart beats per minute. One can
measure the pulse rate on the inside of the wrist or under the chin bone
on either sides of the neck. When you exercise your heart beats faster.
The fitter you are the better your heart and blood vessels circulate
blood. Regular exercise can help to make you fitter. By measuring the
heart rate from the pulse you can make sure that exercise is effective
and safe. Training will improve also your breathing system. During exercise, breathing becomes
deeper and heavier because more oxygen is need for the production of more energy. A top athlete
can breathe a larger volume of air in and out of the lungs.

Respiration, Breathing and Circulation | 15