6.

0 GASEOUS EXCHANGE

MAY 2006 PAPER 1 No. 9

9.1 Fill in the table below to show how each of the systems listed in the first column satisfy these
requirements.

System Large surface area Short distance High concentration gradient

Rich blood supply ensures
One-cell thick
O2 PP in blood is lower
Human High number of sac- squamous epithelia
than that in alveoli, and
lungs shaped alveoli reduces diffusion
CO2 PP in blood is higher
distance, moist
than that in alveoli

Gill arches composed Provided by a counter

of two rows of gill One cell thick lamella current flow – water
Fish gills
filaments with primary epithelium flows past the lamellae
and secondary in one direction only,
while blood in the
lamellae
lamellae flows opposite
to the water movement

Thin, moist leaves

Large lamina with Oxygen absorbed is

many stoma instantly used in
Leaves respiration, while
CO2 absorbed is
instantly used in
photosynthesis

O2 and CO2 are

Root hair is large One cell thick cell
immediately pulled
increasing points
Root hairs towards centre by tension
of contact with
present within xylem
soil

[twelve marks]
SEPTEMBER 2015 PAPER 1 No. 9
9. This question is about gaseous exchange in mammals.
9.1. Describe THREE adaptations present in the respiratory surface which maximize
gaseous exchange.
- Very thin alveolus made of squamous epithelia reduce diffusion distance
- High concentration gradient by a rich blood supply ensures O2 PP in blood is lower than that in
alveoli, and CO2 PP in blood is higher than that in alveoli
- Large surface area provided by many alveoli increases surface area

[six marks]

Oxygen is transported around the body by haemoglobin which is found in erythrocytes. People who
have a low level of this pigment or have a low number of red blood cells suffer from anaemia.
9.2. Describe the structure of a haemoglobin molecule.
A protein made of 4 globin polypeptide chains to which 4 haem prosthetic groups are linked, at the
centre of each group is an atom of iron (Fe2+).

[two marks]

9.3. A pathology technician carried out blood tests on samples from a patient with anaemia and a
healthy person. The results are presented in the table below:

Mass of Volume of O2 per Volume of O2 per

haemoglobin gram of 100 cm3 of blood
per 100 cm3 of haemoglobin (cm3)
blood (g) (cm3)

Patient with 1.34 16.10

anaemia
Healthy person 1.34 15.00 20.10

Use the information in table above, to find the volume of oxygen per gram of haemoglobin in the
patient with anaemia. Show your working.

16.1 / 1.34 = 12.02 (2dp) [two marks]

[Total: Ten marks]

May 2016 PAPER 1 No. 3

3. This question is about gaseous exchange.

3.1 List TWO characteristics of a respiratory surface.
One cell thick epithelium to reduce diffusion distance, great concentration gradient which ensures
continuous uptake of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide. [two marks]

3.2 How does the countercurrent system found in the gills of fish provide efficient gaseous
exchange?
A countercurrent system is one in which water flows past the lamellae in one direction only, while
blood flows in the opposite direction. This maintains a steep concentration gradient which by ficks law
increases rate of diffusion as it ensures that blood will constantly meet water at a higher oxygen
content than it. [two marks]

3.3 Explain why these two effects give rise to a reduction in the efficiency of gaseous exchange
in fish.
By ficks law, thickening the lamellae increases the diffusion distance. When they fuse together, this
reduces the surface area, overall hindering diffusion. [two marks]

3.4 Use the information in Table 1 to calculate the volume of water that would have to pass over
the gills every hour to provide a fish, weighing 0.6 kg, with the required oxygen. Show your
working.
Table 1: Hypothetical features of gaseous exchange in fish at rest
Oxygen required by fish 85 cm3 kg-1hour-1
Volume of oxygen absorbed by the gills from each Litre of water 8 cm3

Volume of water = (O2 required * Body weight) / O2 absorbed

V = (85 * 0.6) / 8

V = 6.375L/h

[four marks]

[Total: Ten marks]

May 2014 PAPER 2 Section C

Use your knowledge of biology to explain the following

6.3 The alveoli of the lungs are covered by squamous epithelium.

The lungs must provide a large surface area to volume ratio in order to enable uptake of enough
oxygen to meet with an organism’s requirements. This is achieved through millions of alveolar sacs,
which increase surface area. For efficient gaseous exchange, fick’s law has to be obeyed so a short
diffusion distance is required. Squamous epithelium provides a very thin membrane in which red blood
cells can be quickly loaded with oxygen while eliminating enough CO2 to prevent its PP of this gas in
the blood from rising. Such an arrangement ensures a rapid and efficient exchange of gasses between
the alveolar air and the blood.

[five marks]

May 2015 PAPER 2 Section C

6.2. the transition of gills to lungs;

Gills transitioned to lungs in vertebrates as they became more adapted to terrestrial land, as lungs
allow gas exchange to occur in air instead of water. Ventilation in lungs developed to be far more
complex than in gills as a muscular diaphragm was developed to help move air in and out of the lung,
while also a network of complex capillaries and sac-like alveoli to facilitate gaseous exchange. This
transition was likely driven by changes in the environment which created new selective pressures that
favoured the evolution of lungs as an adaptation of survival.

[five marks]