What is respiration ? Why is respiration a catabolic process?
Answers
- What is respiration: A process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances.
- Why is respiration a catabolic process: Cellular respiration is also a catabolic process because it breaks the small molecules from digestion into even smaller ones as ATP is created. These are both very important processes, because ATP is what your cells use to produce body heat, move your muscles, and other essential bodily functions.
Answer:
Respiration: The process of releasing energy by the oxidation of food is known as respiration. The process of respiration involves intake of oxygenated air into the cells for breaking the food and releasing energy.
Mechanism of respiration:
i. Air is drawn into the body through the nostrils.
ii. The air from the nasal cavity passes to the pharynx, which leads to the trachea, through a slit called glottis.
iii. The trachea runs down the neck and divides into two bronchi, which lead into the lungs and further divide into smaller bronchioles. The smallest bronchioles terminate into alveoli.
iv. The walls of the alveoli are thin and covered by blood capillaries to facilitate the exchange of gases in the lungs.
v. In the alveoli, the exchange of gases takes place, CO2 from the blood is replaced with O2 and CO2is removed out of the body.
vi. In humans, for the process of respiration, air is drawn into the lungs by the process of breathing.
When an individual inhales, the diaphragm moves down, and the chest cavity expands and the oxygen rich air is drawn into the lungs. When the individual exhales, the diaphragm relaxes and the chest cavity moves back to its relaxed position and the carbon dioxide rich air is expelled out of the body.