Science / Class
Respiration
Introduction
The respiratory system works closely with the circulatory system to bring oxygen into the body and to remove carbon dioxide from the body. Complete the following “story of respiration” and make a model lung as pictured, using a bottle with the bottom cut off, and two balloons. This is a working model—make it breathe for you!
Part 1. Story of Respiration and a Model Lung
Fill in the “story of respiration” below with the following words.
AirwayBigger Chest cavityContracts Decreases
DiaphragmEntersExhalesExitsHigh pressure
InhalesLungRelaxesSmaller Volume
In this model, the small bottle opening acts as an ______, the balloon inside the bottle acts as a ______, the stretched balloon acts as a ______, and the inside of the bottle acts as a ______.When you pull down on the balloon, the ______ inside the bottle gets bigger. This ______the air pressure inside the bottle so it is lower than the air pressure outside the bottle. Air flows from ______to low pressure, so air ______ into the bottle to fill the balloon. In the same way, when a person ______, the diaphragm ______ and makes the volume of the chest cavity ______. Air from outside enters the airways and fills the lungs to equalize the air pressure. When a person ______, the opposite happens. The diaphragm ______ and makes the volume of the chest cavity ______. Air from the lungs ______ the airways to equalize the air pressure.
Part 2. The Iron Lung
We now have a vaccine against the polio virus, but in the early and mid-1900s, many people were infected with polio. The poliovirus attacks the central nervous system. In some cases, people’s diaphragms were paralyzed, so they could not breathe on their own. The iron lung was a machine that helped people with paralyzed diaphragms to breathe. In one case, a girl named Martha Mason from North Carolina, contracted polio at age 11. The disease left her paralyzed from the neck down. She lived for over 60 years in an iron lung, and just recently died. She said, "My story's been one of joy, one of wonderful experiences," she said. "It has not been perfect. But that's what people need to understand -- that I have had a good life." She graduated from high-school and college with the highest honors, hosted many dinner parties and even wrote a book called "Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung" (link to video below).
Glencoe Science Life Science. New York, NY: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print. Chapter 20.1 The Respiratory System.
Karen. "Body Systems: Respiratory System: Model Lung."Science Matters. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.
TheFinalInch. "Martha Mason: 60 Years in an Iron Lung."YouTube. YouTube, 25 Oct. 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.