Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas found in furnace and automobile engine exhaust and cigarette smoke. CO binds to hemoglobin 210 times more tightly than does O2. CO also binds with an electron transport protein and disrupts cellular respiration. Explain why CO is such a deadly gas.

Carp are fishes that thrive in stagnant-water habitats with low oxygen partial pressure. Compared with the hemoglobin of many other fish species, carp hemoglobin has an extremely high affinity for O2. Draw an oxygen–hemoglobin equilibrium curve showing separate lines for carp and a fish that lives in water with a higher oxygen partial pressure. Explain why they differ.

What is the primary feedback used by the brain to control breathing?a. heart rateb. partial pressure of O2c. blood pH, which indicates O2 leveld. blood pH, which indicates CO2 level

What are two advantages of breathing air, compared with obtaining dissolved oxygen from water? What is a comparative disadvantage of breathing air?

During exercise, the cardiovascular system must supply muscles with large amounts of oxygen and fuel and get rid of a lot of wastes. How do the cardiovascular systems of athletes respond to prolonged exercise?During athletic training, the oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curvea. shifts to the right, unloading more oxygen to tissues.b. shifts to the right, unloading less oxygen to tissues.c. shifts to the left, unloading more oxygen to tissues.d. shifts to the left, unloading less oxygen to tissues.

During exercise, the cardiovascular system must supply muscles with large amounts of oxygen and fuel and get rid of a lot of wastes. How do the cardiovascular systems of athletes respond to prolonged exercise?When athletes exercise, what is the primary physiological variable responsible for their sustained increase in ventilation rate?a. decreased blood PO2b. increased blood PCO2c. increased blood pHd. increased body temperature

Partial pressure reflects the relative amount of gas in a mixture and is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Llamas are native to the Andes Mountains in South America. The partial pressure of O2 (abbreviated PO2) in the atmosphere where llamas live is about half of the PO2 at sea level. As a result, the PO2 in the lungs of llamas is about 50 mm Hg, whereas that in human lungs at sea level is about 100 mm Hg. A dissociation curve for hemoglobin shows the percentage of saturation (the amount of O2 bound to hemoglobin) at increasing values of PO2 As you see in the graph below, the dissociation curves for llama and human hemoglobin differ. Compare these two curves and explain how the hemoglobin of llamas is an adaptation to living where the air is 'thin.'

Mountain climbers often spend weeks adjusting to the lower partial pressure of oxygen at high altitudes before and during their ascent of high peaks. During that time, their bodies begin to produce more red blood cells. Some runners and cyclists prepare for competition by training at high altitudes or by sleeping in a tent in which PO2 is kept artificially low. Explain why this training strategy may improve an athlete's performance.

One of the many mutant opponents that the movie monster Godzilla contends with is Mothra, a giant mothlike creature with a wingspan of 7–8 m. Science fiction creatures like these can be critiqued on the grounds of biomechanical and physiological principles. Focusing on the principles of gas exchange that you learned about in this chapter, what problems would Mothra face? Why do you think truly giant insects are improbable?