Why Do Living Organisms Respire?
Why do living organisms need to respire?
Why Do Living Organisms Respire?
What does respire mean? Respiration is the exchange of gases to break down the food material into the simplest form to produce energy from it, to work in daily life. The food material that is taken in during the process of Nutrition is used in cells to provide energy for various life processes. Diverse organisms use different ways; some use oxygen, and some do not. Some use other pathways to break down those food particles into glucose and into pyruvate to provide energy for the life processes. In all the cases, the first step is a breakdown of glucose. This process takes place in the cytoplasm.
There are two types of respiration: anaerobic and aerobic.
Aerobic respiration: The Breakdown of pyruvate using oxygen takes place in the mitochondria, which gives energy to the body to work.
Anaerobic respiration Pyruvate may be converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide. This process takes place in yeast during fermentation since this process is done in the absence of oxygen.
We can see that in both respiration some kind of gas is used or involved in it, which produces components that provide energy to the body to work. That’s why a living organism needs to respire.
– Written By Aruja
The primary function of respiration is to provide energy to living things. Living things obtain oxygen by respiration, which is used for the oxidation of food to release energy. This energy is used by living things to perform all functions.
– Written By Pratibha Upadhyay
The food has stored energy, which is released during respiration. Therefore, all living organisms respire to get energy from food by breathing air. During heavy exercise, fast running, cycling, walking for many hours or heavy weight lifting, the demand for energy is high.
– Written By Pratibha Upadhyay
The human body is made up of cells. The cells perform various activities such as nutrition, excretion, transport, and reproduction. They require energy to carry out these processes. This energy is provided by the food we eat.
The food has energy stored in it. This energy is liberated during respiration. The air we inhale contains oxygen. It is transported to different parts of the body and, finally, the cells. The oxygen in the cells assists in disintegrating the food. Consequently, energy is released. This process is known as cellular respiration.
The food is disintegrated in the cells into water and carbon dioxide with the help of oxygen. This process of breakdown of food in the presence of oxygen is known as aerobic respiration. When the food is disintegrated without the use of oxygen, it is known as anaerobic respiration. Energy is released upon the breakdown of food.
Respiration transforms energy stored in foods eaten by organisms into energy that can be used for metabolic processes that sustain organisms’ life.
The importance of the respiratory system is critical. Organisms can endure many days without food but cannot survive for more than a few minutes if respiration does not take place.
Muscle Cramps:-
The muscle cells also can anaerobically respire during cycling, running, and heavy exercise. During exercise, the energy required is very high, however, the oxygen supplied to release the energy is restricted. To meet the energy demands, anaerobic respiration takes place. Cramps arise when the muscles respire anaerobically. After a massage, the blood circulation increases, thereby increasing the oxygen supply to the cells.
– Written By Kumari
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