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Activity
Volume Breath Bag Activity |
Some students say that the lungs are hollow balloon-shaped structures while others say the lungs are a single tube. You may have drawn another model still. To solve this mystery we will do several activities that will each give us another piece of the puzzle. |
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First, think about this question: What is inside the lungs? |
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Are they empty or filled with something? |
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Some people have suggested that the lungs hold air. Other people think that the lungs are empty. |
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Your teacher will give each group a volume breath bag measurement device with four mouth pieces. As you can see this bag is divided into liter measures. |
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Before anyone begins, make a prediction as to how much air you think your lungs hold (the amount that you can exhale into the bag after a large inhale). |
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Write your prediction here. _______liters. |
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Watch as your teacher demonstrates how to capture the air from your lungs in the bag. Then take a few breaths and let the air out. Now take a deep breath of air and blow it all out into the breath volume device. Quickly close off the open end so that you capture all the air inside the bag. You will have to work the air down into the bottom of the bag to actually measure it. Read the volume measurement. |
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How much air is in the bag? _______ liters Is it more or less than you predicted? How does this compare to other students in your group? |
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Do you think that when you breathe out you actually breathe out all the air in your lungs? |
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Remember how some students suggested that the lungs were a single tube and others said a balloon. How would this activity and what you now know about the amount of air in the lungs work with these models? |
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Would one model hold more air than another? |
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How do you feel about the shape of the lungs now? Has your model changed? |
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Many of you may not be convinced yet of what the lungs look like. Well, let's take a minute and think about the inside of the lungs to see if we can figure out how we can make this large amount of air fit inside your model of lungs . Let's see if we can come up with a model. |
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First, take a look at the models below. These are two common models that students have for the inside of the lungs. In the box in your lab book you can draw your own model if it is different. Remember we are not looking for a right drawing, just your ideas at this time. |
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Whichever model you have chosen, think about the volume of air that needs to come into your lungs to supply all the cells of your body. Remember, the mitochondria must work continuously to have a sufficient supply of ATP for all the jobs the body does. This takes plenty of oxygen. |
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In the tube model, air is breathed into a single tube and then moves into the body either directly into the circulatory system or into the stomach. We will discuss later how the oxygen is delivered to the body. But right now let's think about how this model might work in supplying oxygen. |
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