The process of releasing energy from food is called respiration.

The process of respiration involves taking in oxygen (of air) into the cells, using it for releasing
energy by burning food, and then eliminating the waste products (carbon dioxide and water)
from the body.
 The process of respiration which releases energy takes place inside the cells of the body. So,
it is also known as cellular respiration.
 Respiration is essential for life because it provide energy for carrying out all the life processes
which are necessary to keep the organism alive.
Breathing and Respiration:

How Energy Released during Respiration is Stored:

 The energy produced during respiration is stored in the form of ATP molecules in the
cells of the body and used by the organism as when required.
 ADP (Adenosine Di-Phosphate, low energy content), Inorganic Phosphate (Pi) and ATP
(Adenosine Tri-Phosphate, high energy content) are the substances present inside a cell.
 The energy released during respiration is used to make ATP molecules form ADP and
inorganic phosphate.

 Thus, energy is stored in the form of ATP.

 When the cell needs energy, then ATP can be broken down using water to release energy.
Thus:

 The energy equivalent to 30.5KJ/mole is released in this process.

 ATP is known as energy currency of cells.

Types of Respiration:

In most of the cases, the organisms carry out respiration by using oxygen. There are, however some
organisms which carry out respiration without using oxygen. Based on this, we have two types
respiration:
1.Aerobic respiration 2.Anaerobic respiration

Aerobic Respiration:

 The respiration which uses oxygen is called aerobic respiration.

  In aerobic respiration, the glucose food is completely broken down into carbon dioxide and
water by oxidation.
 Aerobic respiration produces a considerable amount of energy for use by the organism which
gets stored in the ATP molecules.

 Mitochondria are the sites of aerobic respiration in the cells. Thus, the breakdown of pyruvate
to give carbon dioxide, water and energy takes place in mitochondria.

Anaerobic Respiration:
 The respiration which takes place without oxygen is called anaerobic respiration.
 The microscopic organisms like yeast and some bacteria obtain energy by anaerobic
respiration (which is called fermentation).
 In anaerobic respiration, the microorganisms like yeast break down glucose (food) into
ethanol and carbon dioxide, and release energy.
 Anaerobic respiration produces much less energy which gets stored in the ATP molecules.

 Sometimes, when there is lack of oxygen in our muscle cells, another pathway for the
breakdown of pyruvate is taken. Here the pyruvate is converted into lactic acid (which is also
a three-carbon molecule) with the release of small amount of energy.

Respiration In Plants

 Like animals, plants also need energy. The plants get this energy by the process of respiration.
Plants also use oxygen of air for respiration and release carbon dioxide.

Plants get Oxygen by Diffusion:

  Plants have a branching shape, so they have quite a large surface area in comparison to their
volume. Therefore, diffusion alone can supply all the cells of the plants with as much oxygen
as they need for respiration.
 Diffusion occurs in the rots, stems and leaves of plants.

Respiration in Roots:

 Air occurs in soil interspaces. Root hairs of the roots are in direct contact with them.
 Oxygen of the soil air diffuses through root hair and reaches all internal cells of the root for
respiration.
 Carbon dioxide produced by root cells diffuses in the opposite direction.
 In water-logged conditions, soil air becomes deficient. In the absence of oxygen, metabolic
activity of the root declines and the plant may wither.

Respiration in Stems:

 The stems of herbaceous plants have stomata. The oxygen from air diffuses into the stem of a
herbaceous plant through stomata and reaches all the cells for respiration.
 The carbon dioxide gas produced during respiration diffuses out into the air through the same
stomata.
 In woody stems, the bark has lenticels for gaseous exchange.

Respiration in Leaves:

 The leaves of a plant have tiny pores called stomata. The exchange of respiratory gases in the
leaves takes place by the process of diffusion through stomata.

Net gaseous exchange in the leaves of the plant:

1. During day time, when photosynthesis occurs, oxygen is produced. The leaves use some of
this oxygen for respiration and rest of the oxygen diffuses out into air.
 Again, during the day time, carbon dioxide produced by respiration is all used up in
photosynthesis by leaves. Even more carbon dioxide is taken in from air.
 Thus, net gas exchange in leaves during day time is: O2 diffuses out ; CO2 diffuses in.
1. At night time, when no photosynthesis occurs and hence no oxygen is produced, oxygen from
air diffuses into leaves to carry out respiration. And carbon dioxide produced by respiration
diffuses out into air.
 Thus, net gas exchange in leaves at night is: O2 diffuses in; CO2 diffuses out.

Respiration in Animals - Different animals have different modes of respiration.

 All the respiratory organs have three common features:

1. All the respiratory organs have a large surface area to get enough oxygen.
 2. All the respiratory organs have thin walls for easy diffusion and exchange of
respiratory gases.
3. All the respiratory organs like skin gills, and lungs have a rich blood supply for
transporting respiratory gases.
 Terrestrial animals can breathe the oxygen in the atmosphere, but animals that live in water
(aquatic animals) need to use the oxygen dissolved in water.
 Since the amount of dissolved oxygen is fairly low compared to the amount of oxygen in the
air, the rate of breathing in aquatic organisms is much faster than that seen in terrestrial
organisms.

Respiration in Amoeba:

 Amoeba is single-celled animal. Amoeba depends on simple diffusion of gases from

breathing.
 The exchange of gases in Amoeba takes place through its cell membrane.
 Amoeba lives in water. This water has oxygen dissolved in it. The oxygen from water diffuses
into the body of Amoeba through its cell membrane.
 Since the amoeba is very small in size, so the oxygen spreads quickly into the whole body of
Amoeba.
 This oxygen is used for respiration inside the Amoeba cell. The process of respiration
produces carbon dioxide gas continuously. This carbon dioxide gas diffuses out through the
membrane of amoeba into the surrounding water.

Respiration in Fish:
 The fish has special organs for breathing called ‘gills’. The fish has gills on both the sides of
its head.
 The fish lives in water and this water contains dissolves oxygen in it. The fish breathes by
taking in water through its mouth and sending it over the gills.
 When water passes over gills, the gills extract dissolved oxygen from this water. The water
then goes out through the gill slits.
 The extracted oxygen is absorbed by the blood and carried to all the parts of the fish. The
carbon dioxide produced by the respiration is brought back by the blood into the gills for
expelling into the surrounding water. Note: diffusion is insufficient to meet the oxygen
requirements of large multicellular organisms like humans because the volume of human
body is so big that oxygen cannot diffuse into all the cells of the human body quickly.

Respiratory system in Humans

 In human beings, many organs take part in the process of respiration. These organs are called
organs of respiratory system.

 The main organs of human respiratory system are: Nose, Nasal passage, Trachea (wind
pipe), Bronchi, Lungs and Diaphragm.
 The human respiratory system begins from the nose. The air then goes into nasal passage. The
nasal passage is lined is lined with fine hair and mucus.
 When air passes through the nasal passage, the dust particles and other impurities present in it
are trapped by nasal hair and mucus so that clean air goes into lungs.
 The part of throat between the mouth and wind pipe is called pharynx.
 From the nasal passage, air enters into pharynx and then goes into the wind pipe. Trachea
does not collapse even when there is no air in it because it is supported by rings of soft bones
called cartilage.
 The trachea runs down the neck and divides into two smaller tubes called bronchi at its lower
end.
  The bronchi are connected to the two lungs. The lungs lie in the chest cavity or thoracic
cavity which is separated from abdominal cavity by a muscular partition called diaphragm.
 Each bronchus divides in the lungs to form a large number of still smaller tubes called
‘bronchioles’.
 The pouch-like air sacs at the ends of the smallest bronchioles are called alveoli.
 The walls of alveoli are very thin and they are surrounded by very thin blood capillaries.
 It is in the alveoli that gaseous exchange takes place.

Mechanism of Respiration:

 When we breathe in, we lift our ribs and flatten our diaphragm. And the chest cavity becomes
larger as a result. Because of this, air is sucked into the lungs and fills the expanded alveoli.
 The alveoli are surrounded by thin blood vessels called capillaries carrying blood in them. So.
The oxygen of air diffuses out from the alveoli walls into the blood.
 The oxygen is carried by blood to all the parts of the body. As the blood passes through the
tissues of the body, the oxygen present in it diffuses into the cells.
 The oxygen combines with the digested food present in the cells to release energy.
 Carbon dioxide gas is produced as a waste product during respiration in the cells of the body
tissues. This carbon dioxide diffuses into the blood.
 Blood carries the CO2 back to the lungs where it diffuses into the alveoli.
 When we breathe out air. The diaphragm and muscles attached to the ribs relax due to which
our chest cavity contracts and becomes smaller. This contraction movement of the chest
pushes out CO2 from the alveoli of lungs into the trachea, nostrils then out of the body into
air.
 Note: During the breathing cycle, when air is taken in and let out, the lungs always contain a
residual volume of air so that there is sufficient time for oxygen to be absorbed and for the
carbon dioxide to be released.
 Carbon dioxide is more soluble in water than oxygen is and hence is mostly transported in the
dissolved form in our blood.

Rate of breathing:

 The process of breathing pumps in oxygen into our body (and removes CO2).
 Breathing occurs involuntarily but the rate of breathing is controlled by the respiratory system
of brain.
 The average breathing rate in an adult man at rest is about 15 to 18 times per minute. This
breathing rate increases with increased physical activity.
1. Oxygen required for breathing and respiration is carried by haemoglobin pigment
present in our blood. The normal range of haemoglobin in the blood of a healthy adult
person is from 12 to 18 grams per deciliter of blood.
2. The deficiency of haemoglobin in the blood of a person reduces the oxygen carrying
capacity of blood resulting in breathing problems, tiredness and lack of energy.