Health: The Respiratory System: Breathing and Lungs
Learning how air moves through the body and supports life
Health: The Respiratory System: Breathing and Lungs
Learning how air moves through the body and supports life
Health - Grade 4-5
- 1
Name two main jobs of the respiratory system.
Think about what you breathe in and what you breathe out.
The respiratory system brings oxygen into the body and removes carbon dioxide from the body. - 2
Put these parts in the order air travels when you breathe in: lungs, nose or mouth, trachea, bronchi.
Air travels in through the nose or mouth, then down the trachea, into the bronchi, and finally into the lungs. - 3
What is the diaphragm, and what does it do when you inhale?
The diaphragm is a muscle that helps make room for the lungs.
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle below the lungs. When you inhale, it moves downward to help the lungs expand and fill with air. - 4
Explain why oxygen is important for your body.
Oxygen is important because body cells use it to release energy from food. This energy helps the body move, grow, and stay alive. - 5
What waste gas leaves your body when you breathe out?
This gas is often shortened as CO2.
Carbon dioxide leaves the body when you breathe out. It is a waste gas made by cells as they use energy. - 6
The tiny air sacs in the lungs are called alveoli. What important job happens in the alveoli?
Think about the place where gases trade places.
In the alveoli, oxygen moves from the air into the blood, and carbon dioxide moves from the blood into the air to be breathed out. - 7
Choose the healthier habit and explain why: playing outside away from smoke or sitting near cigarette smoke.
Playing outside away from smoke is healthier because smoke can irritate and damage the lungs, making it harder to breathe. - 8
During exercise, your breathing usually becomes faster. Explain why this happens.
Active muscles need more energy.
Your breathing becomes faster during exercise because your muscles need more oxygen and make more carbon dioxide. Faster breathing brings in more oxygen and removes more carbon dioxide. - 9
Label the following parts as upper airway or lower airway: nose, trachea, lungs, mouth.
The nose and mouth are part of the upper airway. The trachea and lungs are part of the lower airway. - 10
What is the trachea, and why is it sometimes called the windpipe?
The trachea is a passageway for air.
The trachea is a tube that carries air from the throat toward the lungs. It is sometimes called the windpipe because air, or wind, passes through it. - 11
Look at a model of lungs with two branches leading into them. What are the two large tubes that branch from the trachea into the lungs called?
The two large tubes that branch from the trachea into the lungs are called bronchi. - 12
Explain one way the nose helps protect the respiratory system.
Think about tiny hairs and sticky mucus inside the nose.
The nose helps protect the respiratory system by filtering dust and germs from the air with hairs and mucus. It also warms and moistens the air before it reaches the lungs. - 13
A student says, 'The lungs pump blood around the body.' Is this correct? Explain your answer.
This is not correct. The heart pumps blood around the body, while the lungs help exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. - 14
Write one healthy habit that can help keep your lungs strong and explain how it helps.
You may choose exercise, avoiding smoke, washing hands, or good posture.
One healthy habit is getting regular exercise. Exercise helps the lungs and heart work better and can improve how the body uses oxygen. - 15
Describe what happens to your chest and lungs when you exhale.
When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward. The chest becomes smaller, and air is pushed out of the lungs.