3.30 Respiratory System Function Lesson
The respiratory system is responsible for breathing and making sounds. Learn about the respiratory system and explore the inhalation process, in which the body takes in oxygen, and the exhalation process, in which the body takes out carbon dioxide.
Respiratory System
Do you like to sing, laugh, and whisper secrets? Did you know that you couldn’t do any of those things without your respiratory system? The respiratory system is made up of the organs and other parts that control breathing. Its most important job is to bring oxygen into your body and get rid of carbon dioxide. But, your respiratory system also helps you make noises.
When you breathe, air moves over your vocal cords and causes them to vibrate. This vibration makes sound. The amount of air passing over your vocal cords determines how loud the sound will be. If you want to shout, you’d better take a deep breath. Shouting requires a lot of air!
Now, let’s talk about just how you breathe in and out.
1. Main points:
The respiratory system controls breathing, helps you make noises like singing and laughing, and requires varying amounts of air for different vocal activities.
2. Questions:
– Content Analysis: What are the main functions of the respiratory system?
– Linguistic Analysis: What tone and style is used to explain the respiratory system?
– Thematic Analysis: What activities are mentioned that rely on the respiratory system?
3. Further Discussion:
– How might the respiratory system be important for animals other than humans?
4. Answers:
– Content Analysis: The respiratory system’s most important job is to "bring oxygen into your body and get rid of carbon dioxide," but it also helps you "make noises."
– Linguistic Analysis: The text uses an informal, conversational tone suitable for kids, asking questions like "Do you like to sing, laugh, and whisper secrets?"
– Thematic Analysis: Activities that rely on the respiratory system include "sing, laugh, and whisper secrets."
So kids, isn’t it amazing how our respiratory system helps us do fun things like singing and laughing? What other activities can you think of that need your respiratory system to work well?
Breathing In
The act of breathing in is called inhalation. Did you ever notice that you can breathe air in through your nose or your mouth? Air can come into your respiratory system through either your nostrils or your mouth. That air gets drawn into your throat and passes through your voice box, which is where your vocal cords are found. Your voice box sits on top of your trachea, or windpipe, which is the main tube that carries air to your lungs.
You have two lungs that sit inside your chest. The one on the left is smaller than the one on the right, because the left one has to make room for the heart.
Inside your lungs, the air travels into tubes that branch off and get smaller and smaller, like twigs on a tree. The air you inhale contains a gas called oxygen, which is essential for your cells to do their jobs and for keeping you alive.
At the end of the tubes are tiny air sacs called alveoli. There are so many alveoli in one of your lungs that it if you laid them out, they would cover the size of a tennis court! The alveoli are covered by tiny blood vessels called capillaries. Oxygen from the air you breath passes out of your alveoli and into the capillaries. The oxygen is now in your blood and can travel to every cell of your body.
1. Main points:
Inhalation brings air through the nose or mouth, passes through the voice box and trachea, and reaches the lungs where it enters tiny air sacs called alveoli to put oxygen into the blood.
2. Questions:
– Content Analysis: What are the steps involved in inhalation?
– Thematic Analysis: What analogies or comparisons are used to describe the lungs and alveoli?
– Socio-cultural Analysis: Why might the text mention that the size of the alveoli would cover a tennis court?
3. Further Discussion:
– What are some activities that require deep inhalation and why?
4. Answers:
– Content Analysis: In inhalation, air comes "through either your nostrils or your mouth," "passes through your voice box," and "carries air to your lungs."
– Thematic Analysis: The air tubes in the lungs are compared to "twigs on a tree" and the alveoli would cover the size of a "tennis court."
– Socio-cultural Analysis: Mentioning the tennis court size could be a way to impress upon kids the "size" and "importance" of alveoli in a way that’s relatable.
Breathing Out
Breathing out is called exhalation. When your body’s cells use the oxygen to create energy, they give off a gas called carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is not useful to you (in fact, it’s bad for you), so your body needs to breathe it out. When it’s time to exhale, everything happens in reverse. Carbon dioxide in the blood moves through the capillaries into the alveoli. The air goes out of the lungs, through the windpipe, past your voice box, and out your nose or mouth.
1. Main points:
Exhalation is the process of breathing out carbon dioxide, which is a waste product created when cells use oxygen to produce energy.
2. Questions:
– Content Analysis: What is the main purpose of exhalation?
– Linguistic Analysis: How does the text make the process of exhalation easy to understand?
– Ideological Analysis: What underlying belief about health or wellness is indicated by stating that carbon dioxide is "bad for you"?
3. Further Discussion:
– What might happen if your body doesn’t properly exhale carbon dioxide?
4. Answers:
– Content Analysis: The main purpose of exhalation is to "breathe out" waste gas like "carbon dioxide."
– Linguistic Analysis: The text simplifies the process by stating "everything happens in reverse," making it relatable to the process of inhalation.
– Ideological Analysis: The text indicates a belief in the importance of proper bodily function by stating carbon dioxide is "not useful to you (in fact, it’s bad for you)."
Isn’t it cool how your body has a way to get rid of stuff it doesn’t need, like a little cleaning crew? What are some other ways our bodies get rid of things they don’t need?
Your Body Breathes For You
Breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide is so important that your body does it for you, without you having to think about it. Your body can also force you to breathe! Try holding your breath as long as you can. I bet you can’t hold it for more than a minute or two. Your body needs to bring in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide, so it forces you to take a breath.
1. Main points:
Breathing is an involuntary action controlled by the body, which can also force you to breathe to ensure oxygen intake and carbon dioxide expulsion.
2. Questions:
– Content Analysis: What makes breathing such an essential function that the body does it automatically?
– Linguistic Analysis: What tone does the text use to challenge the reader to hold their breath?
– Ideological Analysis: What does the text imply about the body’s priority for survival?
3. Further Discussion:
– Can you think of other functions your body performs automatically to keep you alive?
4. Answers:
– Content Analysis: Breathing is essential for the body to "bring in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide."
– Linguistic Analysis: The text uses a playful and challenging tone, saying "Try holding your breath as long as you can. I bet you can’t hold it for more than a minute or two."
– Ideological Analysis: The text implies that the body prioritizes survival, stating it "forces you to take a breath" when necessary.
Wow, isn’t it amazing how smart our bodies are, doing things like breathing without us even having to think about it? What other "smart" things do you think your body does to keep you safe and healthy?
Lesson Summary
Okay, let’s review what we’ve learned. Your respiratory system is the set of organs that help you breathe. It brings oxygen into your body during inhalation, or the act of breathing in, and removes carbon dioxide during exhalation, or the act of breathing out. Your respiratory system also allows you to make sounds, like singing, laughing, and whispering.