Organism – B 3.

1 SL Gas exchange

Guiding Questions

“How are multicellular organisms adapted to carry out gas exchange?”

“What are the similarities and differences in gas exchange between a flowering plant and a mammal?”

Syllabus objectives

Students should appreciate that the challenges become greater as organisms

Gas exchange as a vital function in all
B3.1.1 increase in size because surface area-to-volume ratio decreases with increasing
organisms size, and the distance from the centre of an organism to its exterior increases.
Include permeability, thin tissue layer, moisture and large surface area.
B3.1.2 Properties of gas-exchange surfaces

Maintenance of concentration Include dense networks of blood vessels, continuous blood flow, and ventilation
B3.1.3 gradients at exchange surfaces in with air for lungs and with water for gills.
animals
Limit to the alveolar lungs of a mammal. Adaptations should include the
Adaptations of mammalian lungs for
B3.1.4 presence of surfactants, a branched network of bronchioles, extensive capillary
gas exchange beds and a high surface area.
Students should understand the role of the diaphragm, intercostal muscles,
B3.1.5 Ventilation of the lungs abdominal muscles and ribs.

Students should make measurements to determine tidal volume, vital capacity,

B3.1.6 Measurement of lung volumes and inspiratory and expiratory reserves.

Adaptations for gas exchange in Leaf structure adaptations should include the waxy cuticle, epidermis, air spaces,
B3.1.7 spongy mesophyll, stomatal guard cells and veins.
leaves
Students should be able to draw and label a plan diagram to show the
B3.1.8 Distribution of tissues in a leaf distribution of tissues in a transverse section of a dicotyledonous leaf.

Transpiration as a consequence of gas Students should be aware of the factors affecting the rate of transpiration.
B3.1.9
exchange in a leaf
Students should use micrographs or perform leaf casts to determine stomatal
B3.1.10 Stomatal density density.

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 Gas exchange as a vital function in all organisms:

The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide is important for all organism – but there are many different
adaptations to how this is done. Do you know how the organism below exchange gases?

Organism How are gases exchanged?

Earhworm
Insects (e.g. beetle)
Molluscs (snail)
Cartilaginous fish
Mammals (e.g. Red Panda)

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Properties of gas-exchange surfaces:

The variety of different gas exchange surfaces in animals or plants is

huge. Some individuals lack an open or closed circulatory system and
exchange gases with the environment directly. Irrespective of the type
of gas-exchange surface, all of them need to have certain properties.

Property Explanation of why these properties improve the movement of gases

Size of the
surface area
Short diffusion
pathway
Solubility of
gases
Permeability
of gases

The challenges of efficiently exchanging gases become

greater as organisms increase in size because surface
area-to-volume ratio decreases with increasing body size.

Consequently, the distance from the centre of an

organism to its exterior increases. This means that the
respiratory system requires specific adaptations to make
gas exchange more efficient.

Adaptations of mammalian lungs for gas exchange

All mammals use lungs for gas exchange, even marine species such as whales & dolphins. The lungs show
many structural adaptations to how air is efficiently delivered from the outside to the center of the body, and
how gases are exchanged over a large surface area.

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Annotate the diagram to outline the functions and adaptations of the respiratory system:

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Annotate the diagram of the alveolus below to summarize how the alveoli, the capillary network, the thin walls of the alveoli and the surfactant are adaptations to
breathing and gas exchange for large animals:

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The alveoli are made up by special types of cells
(Type and Type II pneumocytes). The type II cells
secrete a surfactant – a detergent-like mixture, which
reduces surface tension.

The surfactant is composed of a phospholipid-rich

secretion with hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas
that lines the inner surface of the alveoli.

How does the surfactant prevent alveoli from collapsing when exhaling?

Maintenance of concentration gradients

Another important property of gas-exchange surfaces and a factor affecting the rate of diffusion of gases
(oxygen and carbon dioxide) is a high concentration gradient. What is a concentration gradient?

How does the continuous movement of blood in the capillaries maintain a steep concentration gradient?

Ventilation by breathing in and breathing out also helps to maintain a steep concentration gradient. How is
this achieved? Explain:

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The maintenance of a high concentration gradient is also achieved in marine organism. Movement of water
through the gills will ensure a high concentration of O2 and low concentraction of CO2 outside the gills.

A fish continuously pumps water through its mouth and over gill arches, using coordinated movements of the
jaws and operculum (gill cover) for this ventilation. (A swimming fish can simply open its mouth and let water
flow past its gills.) Each gill arch has two rows of gill filaments, composed of flattened plates called lamellae.
Blood flowing through capillaries within the lamellae picks up O2 from the water. Notice that the
countercurrent flow of water and blood maintains a partial pressure gradient that drives the net diffusion of O2
from the water into the blood over the entire length of a capillary.

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Watch the video animation here https://1drv.ms/v/s!Au8ZKE_EDcrQgp5veiF4Zmnd9F-5Pw?e=1oscF4 and
answer the following questions:

Explain what is meant by the term “partial pressure”:

What is the concentration of O2 in the inhaled air?

What is the concentration of CO2 in the air of the alveoli?

What is the partial pressure of O2 and CO2 at the arterial end of the pulmonary capillaries?

What is the consequence of the differences in partial pressures between air in the alveoli and blood?

How long does the movement of O2 or CO2 occur? Explain:

Compare the partial pressures for O2 and CO2 at the venous ends of the pulmonary capillaries with the ones
from the arterial end:

Why is the PO2 in the arterial blood leaving the heart lower than in the blood at the arterial end of the
pulmonary artery? Explain:

At the venous ends of tissue capillaries, the PO2 in the blood is equal to the PO2 I the tissue fluid, and the PCO2
in the blood is equal to the PCO2 in the tissue fluid. What is the result of this?

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Ventilation of the lungs:

Ventilation refers to the movement of air into and out

of the lungs in two stages: Inspiration and expiration
carried out by the movement of the diaphragm, the
ribcage, abdominal and intercostal muscles.

Inspiration and expiration:

Inspiration (inhaling) and expiration (exhaling) involve

many different muscles with opposite movements
(antagonistic pairs). Muscles can work in two states:
Contracting and relaxing. Usually in an antagonistic
pair, when one contracts (= shortens), the other one
relaxes (lengthens) and vice-versa.

The intercostal muscles are a good example for an antagonistic pair. Explain their action:

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Muscle contractions during ventilation:

Summarize the processes required for inhalation and exhalation

Inhalation Exhalation
Movement

Diaphragm
diaphragm
of the

Abdominal
muscles
Internal
Movement of

intercostal
ribcage

muscles
External
intercostal
muscles

Thoracic volume
changes

Pressure changes

Direction of air flow

Blood arriving in the lungs is low in oxygen but

high in carbon dioxide. As blood flows past the
alveoli, gaseous exchange occurs by diffusion.
Oxygen dissolves in the alveolar surface film of
water, diffuses across into the blood plasma
and into the red blood cells, where it combines
with haemoglobin to form oxyhaemoglobin. At
the same time, carbon dioxide diffuses from
the blood into the alveoli.

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Measurement of lung volumes:

Lung volumes can be measued using a simple apparatus or specialized

devices called spirometers. Lung volumes can be determined to
compare the functionality of lungs in athletes and non-athletes,
people affected by asthma, people playing windpipe instruments,
smokers and non-smokers etc.

What are the main lung volume parameters that can be determined/measured?

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Determining lung volumes and ventilation rates:

Spirometer:
The easiest way to measure any of the lung volumes is a
spirometer. A spirometer is an apparatus for measuring the
volume of air inspired and expired by the lungs. The ventilation
rate (but also the tidal volume) can be measured using a
spirometer and a datalogger. The spirometer also records many
other parameters to quantify lung performance parameters.

The ventilation rate can also be measured by

simple observation. Count the number of times air
is exhaled or inhaled in a minute. Breathing should
be maintained at a natural rate.

Simpler ways of measuring lung volumes such as Vital Capacity or Tidal volume can be recorded with lung
volume bags, balloons or the displacement method. The total amount of air expired in litres can be deduced.

In the “displacement method” a

normal breath is exhaled
through the delivery tube into
an inverted vessel and the
displaced volume of water can
be measured by reading off the
remaining water level inside the
container. Lung volume bags
record the volume of air into
them after normal or maximum
inhalation.

Exhaling the maximum

amount of air after
maximum inhalation
allows estimation of
the the Vital Capacity.
After measuring the
diamter of the air-filled
ballon the lung volume
can be deduced from
the curve.

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Adaptations for gas exchange in leaves:

The structure of a leaf and its specialized tissue is complex. Annotate the structures shown below:

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Distribution of tissues in a leaf

Two-dimensionally the different tissues in a leaf a easier to

draw. Can you draw a simple diagram to represent the
different layers?

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Transpiration as a consequence of gas exchange in a leaf:

Transpiration is the movement of water through the plant and evaporation from the leaves. It is a passive
process that does not require energy expense by the plant.

Plants have openings in their upper and lower

epidermis, called stomata. The exchange of CO2 and O2
occurs through the stomata of the leaf, alongside which
water (H2O) is released in the form of water vapor.

What drives the evaporation of water from the mesophyll cells?

The walls of the spongy mesophyll inside a leaf

are kept moist for gas exchange. Water
evaporates from the surface when the energy is
high enough to break the hydrogen bonds und
turn the liquid water into a gas.

What are guard cells?

How do the guard cells control the amount of water or other gases
to leave the plant leaf?

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 Some factors affect the amount of transpiration in plant leaves. Can you explain why?

Factor Explanation
Wind
Light
Temperature
Humidity

Determining stomatal density :

Stomatal density is the number of stomata per unit area

of leaf surface. To find the density, the number of
stomata in a known area must be counted under the
microscope.

𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑎

𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 (𝑚𝑚! )

Stomatal density of differnet plant leaves can be used to

compare adaptations to environmental factors in plants.

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