Lesson plan for the week May 2nd to 6th

Tonyan Murray

Grade: Eight

Subject: Biology

Duration: One Session (1 hr)

Topic: The Respiratory System

Goal

Students should understand the function and mechanism of Gaseous exchange in man

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson students should be able to:

1. Identify the path taken by air to the lungs

2. Identify the lungs as the main organ involved in gaseous exchange
3. List the main structures in the respiratory system.
4. Discuss the importance of gaseous exchange in man

Materials Needed:

Integrated Science for Jamaica

CXC Biology

Lesson Description:

This lesson is divided into two parts, the first will take the form of a lecture/discussion where the respiratory
system is discussed and the lungs identified as the main organ involved in gaseous exchange, the main
structures in the system will be identified and the passage of air from the mouth/nose to the lung and cells
identified. We will also look at what happens during inspiration versus expiration. The second part of the lesson
will be hands on where the students will make a simple model of the respiratory system.

Content:

Respiratory system

Two substances are needed for respiration, glucose and oxygen. Animals get sugar from carbohydrates which
they eat and plants make theirs by photosynthesis. Oxygen is obtained in a different way. Animals and plants
get their oxygen directly from their surroundings. Carbon dioxide is a waste product of respiration and it must
be removed from the organism.

The blood system is the means by which oxygen and carbon dioxide are transported to and from cells. At some
point, blood has to pick up oxygen and give off carbon dioxide, that is, exchange these two gases. In man
gaseous exchange takes place in the lungs.
The  lungs are the organs of respiration in humans. Humans have two lungs, with the left being divided into two
lobes and the right into three lobes. Together, the lungs contain approximately the same length as 1500 miles
(2,400 km) of airways and 300 to 500 million alveoli, having a total surface area of about 70 m2 in adults —
roughly the same area as one side of a tennis court.

The lungs are soft, light, spongy, elastic organs that normally, after birth, always contain some air. If healthy,
they will float in water and crackle when squeezed; diseased lungs sink. Each lung is situated in each side of the
thoracic cavity, the thorax is the upper part of your body, from the neck down to the bottom part of the ribs and
the diaphragm the lung conforms to the shape of the cavity which contains it. In humans each lung is encased in
a thin membranous sac called the pleura, and each (lung) is connected with the trachea (windpipe) by its
main bronchus (large air passageway) and with the heart by the pulmonary arteries.

See structure of lungs page 82 of text.

Path taken by air to the lungs

Mouth/nose ---- Trachea ----- Bronchi ----Bronchioles----Alveoli

Air can enter the body either through the nose or mouth. The nose and mouth are separated by the palate, so you
can breathe through your nose even when eating. Breathing through the nose is better as the structure of the
nose allows the air to become warm, moist and filtered before it gets to the lungs. The nose contains thin
turbinal bones which are covered by a layer of cells, these cells secrete a liquid containing water and mucus
which moistens the air in the nose. The nose also contains cilia which are tiny hair-like projections which are
always moving. cilia is also found in the trachea and bronchi. When bacteria and dust gets trapped by the
mucus and cilia, the cilia wafts the mucus containing the dust and bacteria up to the back of the throat where it
can be coughed out or swallowed and not block the lungs.

The air then passes into the trachea or windpipe. The trachea is supported by rings of cartilage so that it is kept
open at all times. At the top of the trachea is the epiglottis; just beneath it is the Larynx or vocal cords. The
trachea goes down though the neck and into the thorax, here the trachea divides into two bronchi, the right and
the left, one to each lung. The bronchi are also supported by rings of cartilage. Each bronchus divides into
smaller and smaller tubes called bronchioles. At the end of each bronchiole are many tiny air sacs called alveoli.
This is where gaseous exchange takes place.

The walls of the alveoli are the gaseous exchange surfaces or the respiratory surfaces. The smallest blood
vessels, called capillaries, are closely wrapped around each alveolus. Oxygen diffuses across the walls of the
alveolus into the capillary and the blood in the capillary becomes oxygenated. Carbon dioxide diffuses from the
capillary into the alveolus and is exhaled out of the body. The walls of the alveolus and capillary are one cell
thin so that diffusion can occur easily.

The continuous exchange of gases in the lungs is extremely important. Body cells can obtain a constant supply
of oxygen for respiration and the carbon dioxide that is constantly being produced is exhaled out of the body.

Assignment

Describe the features of the alveoli which make them an efficient gas exchange surface.
Lesson plan for the week May 9th to 13th
Tonyan Murray
Grade: Eight
Subject: Biology
Duration: One Session (1 hr)
Topic: The Respiratory System

Objectives

1. Define breathing
2. State that the diaphragm is the main muscle of breathing
3. State the two (2) phases of breathing
4. Explain what happens during each phase of breathing (using a simple model of the respiratory system.)

Respiratory System Model

Each Student will use the following materials to design and build a model of the respiratory system.
Using the information from the previous video, each group should discuss and decide on the design of the
model.

Materials: (specified colors are optional)

1 - 6"x 4.5" (¼ sheet) piece of pink or gray construction paper (trachea)
1 - plastic 2-liter soda bottle with bottom cut off (thoracic cavity)
2 - round 9" or 12" pink balloons (lungs)
2 - drinking straws (bronchi)
1 - medium-sized plastic bag large enough to fit over bottom end of bottle (diaphragm)
3 or 4 cotton balls
transparent tape
1 - medium-size, thin rubber band
Procedure:
1. Insert each flex end of 2 straws into 2 separate balloons and tape together above the flex and at the top. These
are bronchi and lungs.
2. Straw end first, insert these through open bottom of modified 2-liter soda bottle and bring ends of straws up
through the neck of the bottle.
3. Stuff neck of soda bottle with cotton balls around straws until spaces are plugged.
4. Roll construction paper into a tube just round enough to fit over the tops of the straws. Tape closed and place
over tops of two straws. This will be the trachea.
5. Place a plastic bag over bottom end of the bottle and use the rubber band to hold it in place. This will serve as
the diaphragm.
6. Grasp bottom of plastic bag and pull down and push up. Watch as the "lungs" expand and contract as you do
this. Try covering the upper end of the "trachea" straws so that the air supply is cut off and test the “diaphragm”
again. What happens?

Breathing

Breathing is the process whereby air is pulled into and pushed out of the lungs. It is important because it brings
a supply of oxygen, which is needed for respiration, and it also takes away carbon dioxide, a waste gas. On
average an adult human breathes in (inspires) and breathes out (expires) twelve to sixteen times a minutes when
resting. This can increase to 25 times a minute during heavy exercise.

What Happens When You Breathe?

Breathing In (Inhalation)

When you breathe in, your diaphragm, which is a dome-shaped sheet of internal muscle and fiber that separates
the thorax and abdomen of mammals, contracts (tightens) and moves downward. This increases the space in
your chest cavity, into which your lungs expand. The intercostal muscles between your ribs also help enlarge
the chest cavity. They contract to pull your rib cage both upward and outward when you inhale.

As your lungs expand, air is sucked in through your nose or mouth. The air travels down your trachea and into
your lungs. After passing through your bronchial tubes, the air finally reaches and enters the alveoli (air sacs).

Through very thin walls of the alveoli, oxygen from the air passes to the surrounding capillaries (blood
vessels)by diffusion. A red blood cell protein called hemoglobin helps move oxygen from the air sacs to the
blood. (Oxygen is especially drawn to hemoglobin). At the same time, carbon dioxide moves from the
capillaries into the air sacs, again by diffusion.

Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs is carried through a network of capillaries, which become the pulmonary
vein. This vein delivers the oxygen-rich blood to the left side of the heart. The left side of the heart pumps the
blood to the rest of the body. There, the oxygen in the blood moves from blood vessels into surrounding tissues.

Breathing Out (Exhalation)

When you breathe out, your diaphragm relaxes and moves upward into the chest cavity. The intercostal muscles
between the ribs also relax to make the chest cavity size smaller.
As the chest cavity gets smaller, air rich in carbon dioxide is forced out of your lungs and trachea, and then out
of your nose or mouth.

Breathing out requires no effort from your body unless you have a lung disease or are doing physical activity.
When you're physically active, your abdominal muscles contract and push your diaphragm even more so against
your lungs. This pushes the air in your lungs out rapidly.

Evaluation: Explain in a paragraph of no less than 4 sentences the function of the diaphragm in respiration.
Include the terms diffusion, air pressure, expand, contract, inhale, and exhale (or variations of those terms) as
they relate to the diaphragm and lungs.

Normal Ranges for respiratory rate.

A. Newborns: Average 44 breaths per minute

B. Infants: 20-40 breaths per minute
C. Preschool children: 20-30 breaths per minute
D. Older children: 16-25 breaths per minute
E. Adults: 12 to 16 breaths per minute