Test your knowledge of the respiratory system with these advanced, application-based questions.
Read the following scenario and answer the questions:
Scenario: A group of friends went trekking in the high-altitude mountains of the Himalayas. After reaching a height of 10,000 feet, one of the friends, Aman, started taking very fast, deep breaths and felt dizzy. His guide told him to sit down and rest, explaining that the air up there is "thinner."
Q1. What does the guide mean by "thinner" air, and why did it cause Aman to breathe faster?
Q2. Inside Aman's body, what is the ultimate biological purpose of the oxygen he is struggling to breathe in?
Q3. In a model of the respiratory system, a rubber sheet stretched across the bottom of a bell jar represents the diaphragm. When you pull the rubber sheet downwards, the balloons inside the jar inflate. Relate this model to the actual mechanism of breathing in humans.
Directions: For the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Choose the correct option:
Q4.
Assertion (A): The trachea (windpipe) does not collapse even when there is no air in it.
Reason (R): The trachea is supported by C-shaped rings of cartilage that keep it open at all times.
Q5.
Assertion (A): Exhaled air contains only carbon dioxide and no oxygen.
Reason (R): The lungs absorb 100% of the oxygen from the inhaled air and replace it entirely with carbon dioxide.
Q6. Frogs can breathe through their lungs on land and through their skin while underwater. Humans can only breathe through their lungs. From a biological perspective, why can't humans breathe through their skin like frogs?