TEACHING NOTES

20 APRIL 2021

2I 1& 2I 2

THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

-the respiratory system is responsible for supplying oxygen to the body and removing carbon dioxide
from the body.

-the respiratory system is consists of air passages and the lungs through which the air moves

-muscles including the diaphragm are also part of the respiratory system

-the human respiratory system is made up of the following:

 air passages
 Two lungs
 The respiratory muscles
 The respiratory control centre in the brain

-the nasal passages allows free movement of air into and out of the lungs. They include:

 The nasal cavity or nasal passage

-when air enters through the nose, dust and smoke particles are filtered

-the nasal passages warm and moisten the air

-the trachea divides into two bronchi

-each bronchus enters a lung and further divides into bronchioles

-the bronchioles have minute air sacs at their ends.

DIAGRAGM SHOWING PARTS O THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM SHOWN ON CHART, STEP

PARTS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

-when breathing in through the nostrils, the hairs and cilia inside act as a screening device, trapping
dust and other small particles

-irritation of the nasal lining can make you sneeze which help to keep the air passage clean

-the lining of the nasal passage is supplied with blood capillaries which warm the air you inhale

-there are also mucous glands to moisten the air before it reaches the lungs

-the mucus is antiseptic and helps to prevent the spread of germs

The pharynx, glottis and the voice box

-the air and the food passage meet in the pharynx since the food can enter the air passages to the lungs
but it also allows you to breathe through your mouth when you exercise very hard or when your nose
is blocked

-you are prevented from chocking when swallowing due to the upward movement of the trachea and
the larynx, making the epiglottis close over the glottis

-when you breathe, the air passes freely through the glottis into the larynx, where the vocal cords are
and then into the trachea

-the voice box is held open by the trachea to allow passage of air.

The trachea

-The air passes down the windpipe or trachea into the lungs, through tubes and many air passages
called bronchi

-is a cartilage structure.

Lining has cilia which are in constant motion and traps dust and dirt.

-helps in moisturizing air

-the Adam’s apple is one of these rings and is clearly visible in adult men

The bronchi or bronchiole

-the left bronchus enters the left lung and the right bronchus enters the right lung

-in the lungs, both left and right bronchi branch out into a network of fine tubes called the bronchiole

-the system of air tubes looks like a tree turned upside down

-the lining of the major branches of the bronchial tree is covered by cilia and a thin layer of mucus
The mucus traps particles, and the cilia beat the mucus upward to the throat, where it can be
swallowed into the oesophagus

-the cilia covering the lining of the major bronchial branches clean the system of harmful particles

The lungs

-The lungs are sponge-like sacs that lie inside the chest cavity or thorax.

-they are made of million tiny thin walled semi-permeable air sacs (alveoli)

-as air sacs passes into the lungs, the air sacs fill up with air

-air sacs are numerous to provide a large surface area for gaseous exchange

-each air sac is surrounded by lots of small blood vessels or capillaries to ensure that sufficient
oxygen is obtained.

Ribs

-protect lungs

-are raised during inhalation and lowered to reduce volume and wxpwl waste gase during exhalation.

The respiratory muscles

-The muscles used for breathing are the diaphragm at the base of the chest cavity and the muscles
between the ribs

-these muscles are used when you inhale and exhale

BREATHING

- is a process during which air enters and leaves the lungs

-breathing is controlled automatically by the respiratory control centre at the base at the base of the
brain hence breathing is an involuntary action.

-the respiratory control centre in your brain controls your breathing rate. The breathing rate and heart
rate are closely linked to maintain the correct level of gases.

-when we breathe in, or inhale, air containing oxygen passes into the air passages until it reaches the
air sacs in the lungs

-when we breathe out or exhale, carbon dioxide produced by the cells through respiration is removed
from the body
-as the air passes through the nose during breathing in, it is filtered to remove dust and other particles
so that they do not reach the air sacs in the lungs

-the air is also warmed and moistened so that the air passages are not dried out

THE BREATHING MECHANISM

-the process of breathing (ventilation) brings air into the air sacs

-when breathing, air rich in oxygen is inhaled and air with a high carbon dioxide is exhaled

-breathing is done by changing the air pressure in lungs when the volume of the chest or thoracic
cavity increases or decreases

BREATHING IN (INHALATION) BREATHING OUT (EXHALATION)

-muscles between ribs contract lifting the ribs -muscles between the ribs relax and the ribs moves
up and out down and inwards

-diaphragm muscles contract and the -diaphragm muscles relax and the diaphragm curves
diaphragm becomes flatter from its curved upwards
position

-these movements increases the volume of -these movements decreases the volume of the thorax
the thorax

-the increased volume decreases the air -the decreased volume increases the air pressure in
pressure in the thorax so air flows into the the thorax so air from the lungs flows out along the
lungs along the air passages air passages and is breathed out

EXPERIMENT (homework)

AIM : To show the mechanism of inhalation and exhalation during breathing

APPARATUS : two litre plastic bottle, plastic drinking straw, balloon, rubber sheet or plastic
bag, elastic band, putty or plasticise (modelling clay), masking tape, piece of string, pair of scissors,
sharp nail

DIAGRAM : diagram refer to focus on combined science page 22

METHOD : 1. Use a pair of scissors to cut off the base of the cold drink bottle.

2. Use the nail to make a hole in the lid just large enough for the plastic straw to fit through. Make
sure that the nail is screwed tightly onto the bottle.
3. Use an elastic band to tie the balloon to one end of the straw. Push the other end of the straw
through the hole in the lid. Press modelling clay around the straw on top of the lid to make an airtight
seal.

4. Cut the plastic bag in a circular shape large enough to cover the bottom of the bottle. Stretch the
plastic sheet tightly across the bottom of the bottle. Tape the plastic sheet to the side of the bottle to
hold it securely and make the bottle airtight. Tape a piece of string to the centre of the plastic sheet,
allowing a short piece to hang downwards.

5. Use the string to pull the sheet of plastic downwards. Then push the sheet of plastic upwards into
the bottle. Notice what happens to the balloon in each case.

OBSERVATION :write down what happened to the balloons inside the bottle when you pushed the
balloon covering the base of the bottle up or down.

CONCLUSION :write a conclusion based on your observations and the aim of the experiment

Differences between breathing and respiration

SUMMARY OF THE TOPIC

-respiration is a series of chemical reactions in cells that release energy from food

The word equation for respiration is glucose + oxygen water + carbondioxide + energy

-the respiratory system consist of the nose and mouth,the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, air sacs ,
lungs and blood

-breathing is to bring in air containing high oxygen into the lungs (inhalation) and removing air
containing carbondioxide (exhalation)

-breathing mechanism involves contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm and muscles between the
ribs