IGCSE BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 9: RESPIRATION

9.1 RESPIRATION RELEASES ENERGY FROM FOOD

Respiration is the chemical reactions that

break down glucose in living cells to
release energy.

9.2 AEROBIC RESPIRATION INVOLVES OXYGEN

Aerobic respiration is the release of

energy from glucose by combining it with
oxygen.
Word equation for aerobic respiration:
Glucose + Oxygen
Carbon + Water
dioxide
Chemical equation for aerobic respiration:
C6H12O6 + 6O2
6CO2 + 6H2O

9.3 ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION DOES NOT INVOLVE

OXYGEN

Anaerobic respiration is the release of

energy from glucose in the absence of
oxygen.
Yeast can respire anaerobically. It
breaks down glucose to ethanol and
carbon dioxide. This process is called
fermentation.
Word equation for fermentation:
Glucose
Ethanol + Carbon dioxide

9.3 ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION DOES NOT INVOLVE

OXYGEN

Chemical equation for fermentation:

C6H12O6
2C2H5OH + 2CO2
Muscle cells can respire anaerobically
too. They make lactic acid only.
Word equation for anerobic respiration in
muscles:
Glucose
Lactic acid

9.3 ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION DOES NOT INVOLVE

OXYGEN

Chemical equation for anaerobic

respiration in muscles:
C6H12O6
2C3H6O3

9.4 YEAST IS USED FOR BAKING AND BREWING

9.4 YEAST IS USED FOR BAKING AND BREWING

Aerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration

Uses oxygen

Does not use oxygen

No ethanol or lactic acid made

Ethanol (in yeasts and plants) or lactic

acid (in animals) is made

Large amount of energy released from

each molecule of glucose

Small amount of energy released from

each molecule of glucose

Carbon dioxide made

Carbon dioxide is made by yeasts and

plants but not by animals

9.5 GAS EXCHANGE OCCURS AT SPECIAL SURFACES

9.6 THE STRUCTURE OF THE BREATHING SYSTEM

Each lung is filled with many tiny air sacs

called alveoli.
From the alveoli, oxygen diffuses into
the blood.
The lungs are supplied with air through
the windpipe or trachea.

9.6 THE STRUCTURE OF THE BREATHING SYSTEM

The human respiratory system

9.7 AIR FLOWS TO THE LUNGS

Pathway of air flow:

9.7 AIR FLOWS TO THE LUNGS

The nose and mouth

It is better to breathe through the nose
because the nose allows air to be moist
and filtered before it enters the lungs.
Inside the nose are thin bones called
turbinal bones which are covered with a
thin layer of cells.

9.7 AIR FLOWS TO THE LUNGS

Types of cells in the turbinal bones:

(i) Goblet cells
- Secretes mucus which traps bacteria
and dust and also moistens the air
in
the nose
(ii) Ciliated cells
- Sweep the mucus which trapped
bacteria and dust to the back of the

9.7 AIR FLOWS TO THE LUNGS

Goblet cells and ciliated cells

9.7 AIR FLOWS TO THE LUNGS

The trachea
From the nose or mouth, the air then
passes into the windpipe or trachea.
At the top of the trachea is a piece of
cartilage called the epiglottis. The
epiglottis prevents food from going down
the trachea when you swallow.
The trachea has rings of cartilage around it
which keep it open.

9.7 AIR FLOWS TO THE LUNGS

The bronchi
The trachea braches into two bronchi.
One bronchus goes to each lung and then
branches out into smaller tubes called
bronchioles.

9.7 AIR FLOWS TO THE LUNGS

The alveoli
At the end of each bronchiole are many
tiny alveoli. This is where gas exchange
takes place.

9.8 ALVEOLAR WALLS ARE THE SURFACE FOR GAS

EXCHANGE

Alveoli

9.8 ALVEOLAR WALLS ARE THE SURFACE FOR GAS

EXCHANGE

The walls of the alveoli are the gas

exchange surface.
Tiny capillaries are wrapped around the
outside of the alveoli.
Oxygen diffuses across the walls of the
alveoli into the blood. Carbon dioxide
diffuses the other way.

9.8 ALVEOLAR WALLS ARE THE SURFACE FOR GAS

EXCHANGE

Cross section of the lung

Gas exchange in an alveolus

9.9 MUSCLES CAUSE BREATHING MOVEMENTS

To make air move in and out of the

lungs, you must keep changing the
volume of your thorax.
To inhale, the volume of the thorax must
be increased. To exhale, the volume of
the thorax must be decreased.
There are two sets of muscles which
help you to breathe which are the
intercostal muscles and the diaphragm.

9.9 MUSCLES CAUSE BREATHING MOVEMENTS

The rib cage

9.10 BREATHING IN IS CALLED INSPIRATION

Mechanism of inspiration:

9.10 BREATHING OUT IS CALLED EXPIRATION

Mechanism of expiration:

9.12 INTERNAL INTERCOSTAL MUSCLES CAN FORCE

AIR OUT

To exhale, the external intercostal

muscles and diaphragm relax.
When coughing, you breathe out more
forcefully. The internal intercostal
muscles contract strongly, making the
rib cage drop even further. The muscles
of the abdomen wall also contract,
squeezing extra air out of the thorax.

9.13 EXERCISE CAN CREATE AN OXYGEN DEBT

9.15 PLANTS RESPIRE AND PHOTOSYNTHESISE

Green plants photosynthesise.

Word equation for photosynthesis:
Carbon + Water
Glucose + Oxygen
dioxide
Chemical equation for photosynthesis:
6CO2 + 6H2O
C6H12O6 + 6O2
When plants need energy, it releases it
from the glucose by respiration.
Sunlight

Chlorophyll

Sunlight

Chlorophyll

9.15 PLANTS RESPIRE AND PHOTOSYNTHESISE

How the energy in sunlight is changed to useful energy in a plant

9.16 PLANTS, LIKE ANIMALS, NEED ENERGY

Plants do not need so much energy as

animals. They are not so active, partly
because they do not have to move to find
their food.
However, plant cells need energy for
growth, reproduction, for transporting
food material between cells.

9.17 THE BALANCE BETWEEN PHOTOSYNTHESIS

AND RESPIRATION

9.17 THE BALANCE BETWEEN PHOTOSYNTHESIS

AND RESPIRATION

Photosynthesis and respiration in plants

9.18 PLANTS GET OXYGEN BY DIFFUSION