Aerobic Respiration

what is breathing?

it’s a mechanical action of moving air into and out of the lungs

what is respiration?

it is the process of transferring energy from glucose —> which goes on in every cell

respiration equation

oxygen + glucose —> carbon dioxide + water

• respiration releases the chemical energy from glucose

is respiration an exothermic or endothermic reaction?

• and why?

exothermic —> as it releases energy

respiration balanced equation

where does aerobic respiration take place?

aerobic respiration takes place in the mitochondria of all cells

why would muscle cells need to be adapted?

they are made from muscle fibres which contract —> which uses a lot of energy

adaptations of muscle cells

• they have many mitochondria to carry out respiration to release energy

• they store glucose in glycogen granules —> which can be broken down later into glucose when needed

what are the uses of the energy from respiration?

• muscle contraction (heart, skeletal etc)

• to maintain a constant body temp

• protein synthesis —> building larger molecules from smaller molecules (proteins from amino acids)

• DNA replication

• making new cell organelles/cells for growth and repair

describe the body’s response to exercise

1) when you exercise your heart rate increases

• this is to deliver more blood to the muscles —> hence bringing more oxygen and glucose for respiration —> to release more energy for contraction

2) your breathing rate increases

• in order to bring more oxygen and remove more carbon dioxide as a result of the increased rate of respiration

3) your breathing becomes deeper

4) and your arteries to your muscles dilate (widen)

what happens to your body, when you exercise, if you are fitter?

• the lower your resting heart rate is

• the lower the maximum heart rate is during exercise

• therefore the quicker your heart rate returns to the resting rate when exercise stops