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If you unfolded all the folds and branches in your lungs, the area it would cover would equal about one half of a tennis court.

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14y ago

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Why are sponge lungs better than hollow lungs?

Because they have a greater surface area over which gaseous exchange can take place.


How are lungs biological adapted for their function on humans?

With each breath, the lungs take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. the lungs have a great surface area thanks to the alveoli; have an extremely thin (1 cell thick) epithelium.


Why is it an advantage to have lungs with many smaller air sacs instead of fhavinf just two large air sacs?

The more little sacs you have, the more surface area there is - and more surface area means more spots for oxygen to enter the blood system.


There are millions of alveoli in the lungs they provide a very large surface area why is a large surface area necessary?

By having millions of these tiny sacs, the surface area of the lungs is vastly increased. This adaprtation enables a greater volume of air to breathed in, in each breath. An increased surface area allows for more diffusion to take place between the lungs and the blood.


Why do humans have 1 heart but 2 lungs?

Because lungs take in air and air is spread out so it needs more surface area, whereas the heart takes in and pumps blood, which is liquid and needs less surface area. P.S: the heart has two parts, two ventricles and two atria. Don't depend on my ans btw.


How is a large surface area achieved in the respiratory system?

Oxygen must diffuse through the cell membranes of the alveoli in the lungs. This diffusion depends upon the concentration gradient between the air in the lungs and the dissolved oxygen in the blood moving through the lung tissue. Air is only about 20% oxygen, so in order to load up the blood with oxygen, there must be lots of surface area for diffusion from the air.To allow for huge amounts of oxygenated blood be diffused from the alveoli to a capillary network. and for CO2 to travel form the blood capillary network into the alveoli. The surface area is huge because massive amounts of O2 and CO2 are diffused each minute= around 6- 10 liters.Whilst exercising you can use around 100 liters of oxygen per minute.Human lungs have a large surface area so that gas exchange can take place more efficiently and effectively. Carbon dioxide must come out of the blood and into the inspired air while oxygen must be absorbed by the blood from that air. A larger surface area means more area (more places) for gas exchange to take place.Alveoli in the lungs increase the overall surface area of the lungs, to encourage more diffusion to take place, so that a greater volume of oxygen / carbon dioxide can be transferred out of / into the lungs.it need room for oxygen to travel in an out.


Where can one take a course in surface chemistry?

One can take a course in surface chemistry from many different places. One may contact local colleges in their area to see if they are offering classes in surface chemistry.


Fibroid scarring in the lung is dangerous?

Scarring of the lung tissue decreases the amount of surface area that is available for gas exchange to take place in your lungs. So if your scarring was severe and irreversible, yes


Why is there large surface area for the alveoli?

The function of alveuli is to provide a surface for gas exchange. Therefore, a large surface area means that there is a lot of area for the gas exchange to take place. Therefore it is to improve efficiency of gas exchange in the lungs (exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen). The large surface area is due to the shape of the alveoli- the have many small "pockets".


Definition of surface area?

It is the area of the exposed surface. So if you take a cube, the surface area is the sum of the areas of each of the 6 faces. They are all the same in the case of a cube. In general, add up the surface area of each exposed surface and this is the total surface area.


How does surface area affect the rate of evaporation?

The bigger the surface area of water the more evaporation will take place.


Why does the internal structure of the lungs has an extensive surface area?

Lungs have large interior surface area because they're not just big bags. On the inside, they're full of a spongy network of smaller, smaller, and ever-smaller air passage-ways, ending in tiny dead-end sacs called alveoli. Every tube, sac, detour, fork in the road, branch, split-off, and tiny dead-end has walls with surface area. The speed at which oxygen can be transferred into the blood stream depends on the collective surface area of the alveoli contained in the lung. That is why we have alveoli, filling the lungs like a sponge. We need the oxygen collected by the bloodstream in order to burn the energy that our body has stored, and a faster input of oxygen allows a faster burning of that energy - hence the advantage of having that maximized surface area. One common result of many years' smoking is that the wall between two adjacent passage-ways shrivels up and disappears, and those two passageways merge and become one. That reduces the surface area in that tiny part of the lung. When it progresses to thousands of tiny parts of the lung, you start to notice it ... you're short of breath, because the interior surface area of your lung is reduced, and you can't grab enough of the oxygen from the air you take in. That's the condition called 'emphysema'.