B9.

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Anaerobic respiration
Specification references
 B4.2.1 Aerobic and anaerobic respiration

Aims
Many organisms can respire without oxygen. This is known as anaerobic
respiration. Animals, plants and fungi carry this out in different ways with different
end products. This exercise will reinforce your knowledge of these reactions.

Learning outcomes
After completing this worksheet, you should be able to:
 describe anaerobic respiration in animals and give the equation for the reaction
 describe anaerobic respiration in plants and fungi and give the equation for the reaction.

Task
Your teacher will ask for volunteers to take part in this exercise activity. All
volunteers to squat with their legs and knees bent at right angles, with their backs
against the wall for as long as possible. Get a peer to time how long you can
manage before giving up.
The volunteers should describe how their legs felt at the end of the exercise.
Record the maximum time in the class and a description of how if felt.

Maximum time = seconds.

1 a Ask the volunteers to describe how their legs felt during the squats.

b Did the volunteers have to breathe hard after they had completed the
exercise?

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This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 1
 B9.3
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Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

2 Complete the passage using the following words.

breathe muscles oxygen lactic oxygen

anaerobic respiration aerobic respiration break down

During exercise your muscles can begin to hurt. This is due to the MUSCLES

running out of OXYGEN for AEROBIC RESPIRATION. The body has to

convert to using ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION which leads to the build-up of

LACTIC acid in your legs.

When you have stopped exercising, you still have to BREATHE hard for a

while. This is so you can get oxygen to BREAK DOWN the lactic acid. This is

known as OXYGEN debt. (8 marks)

Questions
1 a Write the word equation for aerobic respiration in animals

OXYGEN + GLUCOSE → CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER (2 marks)

b Write the word equation for anaerobic respiration in animals.

GLUCOSE → LACTIC ACID (1 mark)

c Which type of respiration transfers the most energy.
AEROBIC RESPIRATION (1 mark)
d Explain why the type of respiration given in part c transfers more energy.

AEROBIC RESPIRATION TRANSFERS MORE ENERGY THAN ANAEROBIC BECAUSE

DURING ANAEROBIC THERE IS NO OXYGEN IN THE REACTION, THIS CAUSES THE
GLUCOSE MOLECULE TO NOT BREAK DOWN COMPLETELY. WHEREAS IN AEROBIC
RESPIRATION THE OXYGEN BREAKS DOWN THE GLUCOSE MOLECULE COMPLETELY
THEREFORE RELEASES MORE ATP. (2 marks)
2 In fermentation, yeast converts sugar to ethanol (alcohol) and carbon dioxide gas.
Write down the word equation for anaerobic respiration in plants and fungi.

GLUCOSE → ETHANOL + CARBON DIOXIDE

© Oxford University Press 2017 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 2