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Oxygen makes up about 20% of the atmosphere and is the second most abundant element in the air. Nitrogen is the most abundant component at roughly 78%. Water (H2O) makes up roughly 2 - 4%. The rest are trace gases of less than 1%.

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Exhaled air has what percentage of its oxygen left?

The amount of inhaled air compared to the quantity of air exhaled by an average human is shown in the graph below. This illistration was copied from Dr. Jay Wile's "Exploring Creation With Physical Science" book. Page 35/ Figure 2.5. One would think that one should inhale the oxygen and exhale CO2 and those are the only substances involved, but that is not the case. One would also wonder why God did not make it so that the quantity of oxygen contained in the air 100% (or at least 85%), but that also is not the case, why? Well, first of all, notice that we inhale a lot of oxygen, as well as exhale a lot of oxygen, because normally we do not need al of oxygen we inhale, so we exhale the excess oxygen. Second of all, if the air contained too much oxygen, it would be way too violent on the lung tissue.


What substance is removed from the air by living things for respiration?

In the process of respiration OXYGEN is taken in from the atmoshpere and CO2 is released.


What is the concentration of oxygen in inhaled air?

Exhaled air contains 16% oxygen and 21% when inhaled.


How do octopuses breathe air?

Octopuses breathe air through gills, which extract oxygen from water. They can also absorb oxygen directly from the air through their skin.


Why is the oxygen percentage different in inhaled and exhaled air?

Oxygen must be dissolved into water, the colder the water, the better (this is the opposite for dissolving solids, where the hotter the water/solvent the more you tend to dissolve in it). Hence by boiling water we eliminate most of the dissolved oxygen (and other gases), giving you all those bubbles as it boils. In air however, it is free to merely float around and mix with whatever is there already (mostly nitrogen) - there is little or no pressure on it to condense to liquid or deposit as solid. Oxygen, at temperatures (and pressures) on the earth, tends to prefer to be a gas.