Gas Exchange

✓ This is the process by which oxygen diffuses into an organism and carbon dioxide
diffuses out of an organism through a gas exchange surface (respiratory surface).
✓ It is also known as the exchange of gases across a respiratory surface.
✓ For example, oxygen is taken into the body and carbon dioxide is removed from it.
✓ Gas exchange also takes place during photosynthesis and respiration of plants.

Gas Exchange surfaces

✓ Respiratory surfaces are permeable and usually possess the following characteristics:
1. Large surface area: This allows for large quantities of gases to be exchanged.
2. Thin: This allows gases to diffuse across them quickly.
3. Close to an efficient transport system: To take gases rapidly to and from the
exchange surface.
4. Moist: Allows gases to dissolve before they diffuse through the surface. This also
stops the cells from dying.
5. Good supply of oxygen: Brought by the breathing movements.
✓ These characteristics allow for the process of gas exchange to be quick and efficient.
Gas Exchange- Amoeba
✓ Amoeba is a single-celled organism that lives in water.
✓ Gas exchange takes place through its cell membrane.
✓ Oxygen dissolves in water, so there are usually oxygen molecules in the water around
Amoeba.
✓ Oxygen is being used up in respiration inside of the cell.
✓ This causes an oxygen gradient where oxygen is in higher concentration outside the cell
than inside of it.
✓ Therefore, oxygen diffuses into the cell and carbon dioxide diffuses in the opposite
direction.

✓ Larger organisms require transport systems because it would take too long for the
oxygen to diffuse from the air to every cell in the body.
✓ The larger the volume of an organism, the more oxygen it will require.
✓ The amount of oxygen that can enter the organisms depends on the area of its gas
exchange surface.
✓ As an organism increases in size, its surface area to volume ratio decreases, which
would result in insufficient oxygen uptake via the body surface alone.
✓ Large organisms need special surfaces which provide the large areas needed for gas
exchange.
✓ Specialized parts are often highly divided or folded to provide the extra area needed.
✓ In some cases, they are even tucked away in the body to stop them from drying out.
Gas Exchange- Humans
✓ Gaseous exchange occurs in the lungs of humans.
✓ Humans have two lungs composed of thousands of air passages called bronchioles and
millions of swollen air sacs called alveoli.
✓ Each lung is surrounded by two pleural membranes which contain pleural fluid
between them.
✓ A single bronchus leads into each lung from the trachea.
✓ Each lung receives blood from the heart via a pulmonary artery and blood is carried
back to the heart via a pulmonary vein.
✓ The two lungs are surrounded by the ribs which form the chest cavity or thorax.
✓ The ribs have intercostal muscles between them, and a dome-shaped sheet of muscle,
the diaphragm, stretches across the floor of the thorax.
✓ Movements of the ribs and diaphragm, brought about the muscles contracting and
relaxing, cause air to move in and out of the lungs.
 Breathing
✓ Breathing refers to the movements in animals that bring oxygen to a gas exchange surface.
✓ Breathing and gas exchange are essential to organisms that respire aerobically.
✓ It ensures that they have a continual supply of oxygen to meet the demands of aerobic
respiration.
✓ It also ensures that the carbon dioxide produced in respiration is continually removed so that it
does not build up and poison the cells.

THE MECHANISM OF BREATHING IN HUMANS

Features Inhalation Exhalation

External intercostal muscles ✓ Contract ✓ Relax
Internal intercostal muscles ✓ Relax ✓ Contract
Ribs and sternum ✓ Move upwards and ✓ Move downwards and inwards
outwards
Diaphragm muscles ✓ Contract ✓ Relax
Diaphragm ✓ Moves downwards or ✓ Domes upwards
flattens
Volume inside thorax and lungs ✓ Increases ✓ Decreases
Pressure inside thorax and lungs ✓ Decreases ✓ Increases
Movement of air ✓ Air is drawn into the ✓ Air is pushed out of the lungs due
lungs due to the decrease to the increase in pressure
in pressure
Alveoli
✓ The walls of the alveoli form the gaseous exchange surface. Each alveolus:
o Has a wall that is one cell thick.
o Is lined with moisture
o Is surrounded by a network of capillaries.
✓ As the air drawn is in during inhalation, it is warmed in the nasal passages, and cleaned
and moistened by mucus lining the nasal passages and trachea.
✓ The mucus is moved to the throat by cilia (microscopic hairs) lining the nasal passages
and trachea, and is swallowed.
✓ The air passes through the bronchi and bronchioles and enters the alveoli where
gaseous exchange occurs between the air and the blood in the capillaries.
Gas Exchange- Fish
✓ Gaseous exchange occurs in the gills of a fish.
✓ A bony fish has four gills at each side of its head.
✓ Each gill has two rows of long, thin, finger-like projections called gill lamellae.
✓ The walls of the gill lamellae form the gaseous exchange surface.
✓ Each lamella:
o Has a wall that is one cell thick.
o Is moist since it has water passing over it as the fish breathes.
o Has a dense network of capillaries down the centre.

Gas Exchange- Flowering Plants

✓ Gaseous exchange occurs in the leaves, stems and roots of plants by direct diffusion
between the intercellular air spaces and all the cells in these organs that are in contact
with the air spaces.
✓ Gases diffuse between the atmosphere and the air spaces through the stomata of leaves
and the lenticels of bark-covered stems and roots.
✓ Lenticels are small areas of loosely packed cells.
✓ The walls and membranes of all the cells inside the leaves, stems and roots of plants
form the gaseous exchange surface.
✓ The direction of movement of gases depends on whether the organ of the plant is also
carrying out photosynthesis.
Gas Exchange- Photosynthesising organs
✓ Movement of gases into and out of photosynthesising organs, mainly leaves, depends on
the time of the day.
✓ In these organs, the rate of respiration remains almost constant throughout the day and
night, but the rate of photosynthesis changes.
o During the night, only respiration occurs.
▪ Oxygen diffuses in and carbon dioxide diffuses out.
o As dawn approaches, photosynthesis begins, and its rate gradually increases.
o The compensation point is reached when the rate of photosynthesis equals the
rate of respiration. At this point there is no net movement of gases in or out of
leaves.
o During the day, the rate of photosynthesis is greater than the rate of respiration.
▪ Carbon dioxide diffuses in, and oxygen diffuses out.
o At about dusk, a second compensation point is reached as the rate of
photosynthesis and respiration become equal once more.

Gas Exchange- Non- photosynthesising organs

✓ Only respiration occurs in non-photosynthesising organs such as stems and root.
✓ Oxygen diffuses in and carbon dioxide diffuses out at all times.