NCERT

Biology Grade 11 Chapter 17 Breathing and exchange of gases

CBSE NCERT Solutions for Class 11 biology Chapter 17

Exercises

Q.1. Define vital capacity. What is its significance?

Solution: Vital capacity is defined as the maximum amount of the air that a person can inhale after a forceful
expiration. It is equal to the sum of inspiratory reserve volume, tidal volume, and expiratory reserve volume. It
varies from 5-6 litres in a normal individual.

Vital capacity determines the maximum amount of air that can be exchanged in the respiratory organs in single
respiration. The excess air which is inhaled can be used for the oxidation of food so that more energy can be
produced.

Q.2. What is the site of gaseous exchange in an insect?

Solution: Insects have a network of tubes to transport atmospheric air within the body. These tubes are called tracheal
tubes or tracheal system. These structures have openings called spiracles on the lateral sides of the abdominal
segments. The oxygen that enters the trachea is exchanged by diffusion with the tissues, and the carbon
dioxide is removed out of the body.

Q.3. Define the oxygen dissociation curve. Can you suggest any reason for its sigmoidal pattern?

Solution: A sigmoid curve is obtained when the percentage saturation of haemoglobin with O 2 is plotted against the
partial pressure of oxygen (pO2 ). This curve is called the oxygen dissociation curve.

The figure represents the oxygen dissociation curve.

The pO 2 is high in alveoli of lungs, due to which haemoglobin binds to oxygen and forms oxyhaemoglobin. In
tissues, the concentration of oxygen is low. Therefore, oxygen is released from oxyhaemoglobin to form
haemoglobin in tissues. The sigmoid shape of the dissociation curve is because of the binding of oxygen to
haemoglobin.

Q.4. Have you heard about hypoxia? Try to gather information about it, and discuss with your friends.

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NCERT Biology Grade 11 Chapter 17 Breathing and exchange of gases

Solution: Hypoxia is a condition when the demand of the body, for the oxygen, is not fulfilled. Thus this condition leads
to the appearance of the symptoms like shortness of breath, rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, anxiety and
confusion.

Hypoxia may be caused by different causative factors on the basis of which it can be categorised as:

Anaemic hypoxia –It is caused by the deficiency of haemoglobin.

Hypoxic hypoxia –It is caused due to insufficient oxygen in the atmosphere.
Stagnant hypoxia –It is caused by reduced pumping activity of the heart or heart failure.

Q.5. Distinguish between IRV and ERV.

Solution: Feature IRV ERV

The volume of air that a person The volume of air that a person
Explanation can inhale forcefully after a can exhale forcefully after a
normal inspiration. normal expiration.
Air volume It varies from 2500-3000ml. It varies from 1000-1100ml.

Q.6. Distinguish between inspiratory capacity and expiratory capacity.

Solution: Basis of
Inspiratory capacity Expiratory capacity
difference
It is the volume of air that can It is the amount of air a person
Meaning be inhaled after a normal can expire after a normal
expiration. inspiration.

Basis of
Inspiratory capacity Expiratory capacity
difference
It is equal to the sum of tidal It is equal to the sum of tidal
Features volume and inspiratory reserve volume and expiratory reserve
volume. volume.

Q.7. Distinguish between vital capacity and total lung capacity.

Solution: Feature Vital capacity Total lung capacity

It is the amount of air that a It is the volume of air
Explanation person can inhale after a accommodated in the lungs at
forceful expiration. the end of forced inspiration.

Feature Vital capacity Total lung capacity

The vital capacity is the
It is the sum of Residual Volume +
sum of Expiratory Reserve
Tidal volume + Expiratory Reserve
Volume + Tidal volume +
Volume Volume + Inspiratory Reserve Volume.
Inspiratory Reserve
The total lung capacity in the lungs of
Volume. It is about
humans is nearly 5000ml to 6000ml.
4000ml.

Q.8. What is tidal volume? Find out the tidal volume (approximate value) for a healthy human in an hour.

Solution: Tidal volume is the volume of air expired or inspired during the normal respiration.

For a normal healthy individual, the tidal volume is approximately 500 ml.
In a healthy individual, the respiratory rate is 15-16 breaths per minute.
Thus the tidal volume will be 500 ×16, which is equal to 7000-8000ml (7-8 L) per minute, and in one hour it
will be 4,80,000 ml (480 litres).

Q.9. State the volume of air remaining in the lungs after a normal breathing.

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NCERT Biology Grade 11 Chapter 17 Breathing and exchange of gases

Solution: The volume of air that remains in the lungs after a normal expiration is called the functional residual capacity
(FRC). It is the sum of both the expiratory reserve volume (ERV=1000ml) and residual volume (RV=1100ml).

FRC = ERV + RV

FRC = 1000 ml+1100 ml =2100 ml It is about 2100-2300 ml of air.

Q.10. Diffusion of gases occurs in the alveolar region only and not in the other parts of the respiratory system. Why?

Solution: For the diffusion of gases, the respiratory surface must have certain characteristics such as :

It must be thin, so they are permeable to respiratory gases.

It must have a large surface area.
It must be highly vascular.

Alveolar region regions have all these characters. They are made up of a layer of squamous epithelial cells for
respiratory gas exchange.

Q.11. What are the major transport mechanisms for CO2? Explain.

Solution: In blood, carbon dioxide is transported in three ways:

Carbon dioxide is the dissolved state -because of its high solubility, almost 7% of carbon dioxide of
the total volume of blood is dissolved in plasma and is transported to the lungs.

Carbon dioxide in the form of bicarbonate ions- The CO2 in the blood reacts with water to form
carbonic acid. This reaction is very fast in RBC due to the presence of enzyme carbonic anhydrase which
increases the rate of this reaction and thus, almost 70% of carbon dioxide is present in the form of
bicarbonate ions.

The reaction is as follows:

Carbon dioxide as carbamino-haemoglobin- In addition to reacting with water, carbon dioxide also
readily combines with amine radicals of haemoglobin to form an unstable compound the
carbaminohaemoglobin which forms almost 23% of the CO2.

HbO2 + CO2 ⇌ HbCO3 + H + + O 2

Q.12. What will be the pO2 and pCO2 in the atmospheric air compared to those in the alveolar air?
pO2 lesser, pCO2 higherpO2 higher, pCO2 lesser

Solution: Partial pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by each gas in a mixture of gases. The partial pressure of
atmospheric oxygen is higher than the alveolar air. This is the reason that oxygen permeates easily into the
lungs when the level of pO2 is higher in the atmosphere. Similarly, carbon dioxide can diffuse out of the body
easily if the pCO2 level is lower in the atmosphere.

pO2 higher, pCO2 higherpO2 lesser, pCO2 lesser

Q.13. Explain the process of inspiration under normal conditions.

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NCERT Biology Grade 11 Chapter 17 Breathing and exchange of gases

Solution: The process by which fresh air enters into the lungs when we breathe is known as inspiration. When the partial
pressure in the lungs is lesser than the atmospheric pressure, inspiration takes place. It is carried out by the
muscles of the diaphragm, external intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles. Thus, these are referred to as
the inspiratory muscles.

The dome-shaped diaphragm contracts and it gets flattened which results in an increase in the thoracic cavity in
the anteroposterior direction. The contraction of the external intercostal muscles lifts up the ribs and the
sternum resulting in the expansion of the thoracic chamber, in a dorsoventral orientation.

Thus, the volume of lungs increases, and the partial pressure of gases decreased, which stimulates the
pneumotaxic centre to initiate inspiration. During inspiration, the air takes the following passage:

Figure: Mechanism of breathing showing inspiration.

Q.14. How is respiration regulated?

Solution: Respiration is under both neural and chemical control:

Neural regulation- It is regulated by the group of neurons located in the medulla oblongata. They
regulate the depth and rate of respiration, thus are called the respiratory centre. A pneumotaxic centre
located in the dorsal part of pons can be altered by the pneumotaxic centre.

Chemical regulation.- It is carried out by the chemoreceptors located in the carotid and aortic arches. The
change in the levels of carbon dioxide and hydrogen ions is sensed by these receptors which stimulate
the respiratory centre of the brain. However, the oxygen does not have any significant direct effect on the
respiratory centre.

Q.15. What is the effect of pCO2 on oxygen transport?

Solution: The partial pressure of carbon dioxide determines the formation of oxyhaemoglobin or
carbaminohaemoglobin. In the alveoli the pCO2 is low, and in the blood capillaries surrounding it, the pCO2 is
high, which tends the haemoglobin to release the CO2 and bind with the oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin.

Q.16. What happens to the respiratory process in a man going up a hill?

Solution: At high altitudes, the oxygen level decreases in the atmosphere. As the men go uphill, he gets less oxygen with
each breath which causes the amount of oxygen in the blood to decline. The respiratory rate increases in
response to the decrease in the oxygen content of blood. This will also increase the heartbeat rate.

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