What do you need air for?
Without air, life as we know it would not be possible on earth. But what exactly are the components of air and why does the body actually need them?
Why does a living being need the substances in the atmosphere?
- Air surrounds the entire globe. It consists of a gas mixture that is mainly nitrogen (approx. 78%) and oxygen (approx. 21%). Both are substances that almost every living being on the planet needs to survive.
- In addition, air normally has a low proportion of carbon dioxide, which is toxic to many organisms and therefore must not be contained in the air in too large a proportion.
- On the other hand, carbon dioxide is an important component of the air because it is particularly essential for plants, as they need it for the process of photosynthesis.
Function of air for humans
- For humans and animals, oxygen is essential for breathing because it acts as an oxidizing agent.
- Plants, on the other hand, also take up oxygen, but usually emit more of it again. It is thanks to this fact that there is such a high concentration of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere today.
- In the course of the earth's history, the content of oxygen in the atmosphere increased due to the process of photosynthesis. The living beings adapted their organism to the composition of the air available to breathe.
- In addition to its function as an oxidizing agent, according to the current state of research, oxygen also plays a central role in the aging process of living things.
- Nitrogen is an important component of proteins that make up the human body as well as the tissues of other living things. A plant also needs nitrogen for the production of proteins, which are processed as part of photosynthesis.
Gas exchange in the alveoli explained
During breathing, the gas exchange between blood and air takes place in the alveoli ...
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