• Question: Why do we need air to breath

    Asked by Cheese sandwich123 to Carolyn, Peter, Richard, Sara, Siana on 16 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Richard Unwin

      Richard Unwin answered on 16 Nov 2015:

      Hi Cheese,

      I *think* I answered this in our lave chat, but here goes again.
      We need the oxygen, which makes up about 20% of the air we breathe in, to make energy for our body to function. The oxygen comes into the lungs, passes into the blood where red cells carry it to every cell in the body. each cell uses that oxygen in a series of chemical reactions with sugar to make energy. This is called ‘respiration’. Respiration also makes water and carbon dioxide as waste products, which go back into the blood to be got rid of by via our wee in the case of water, or breathed back out in the case of the carbon dioxide.

Comments