My Body - Breathing and Oxygen Cycles
Basics on the topic My Body - Breathing and Oxygen Cycles
Breathing in Elementary School
Put your hand on your chest or on your belly for a few seconds and notice what happens. Do you feel how your hand rises and falls again and again with your chest or belly? Now, you are aware of your breathing, this process of inhaling and exhaling are just one part of it. But how does breathing work in simple terms? That's exactly what this text is about, and you'll learn about the path of breathing for elementary school.
First, it is important to clarify the following question: What is meant by breathing?. Breathing is essential to life, because this process is about taking in oxygen from the air (external respiration) and transporting it to all body cells, where it is used for energy production (internal respiration). Because breathing is so important to us, the next section explains breathing for children.
How does Breathing Work?
Have you ever noticed that breathing just works without you having to think about it?
Breathing is a reflex and happens automatically, just like your heart beating. It is important that breathing works this way. It allows you to sleep deeply and still breathe. But you can also consciously control your breathing and hold your breath, like during diving.
But how does inhaling and exhaling work?
In order to inhale, your chest expands. This creates space for air that enters your body through the nose and mouth.
Your body warms, cleans, and moistens the air right after inhaling. This protects your sensitive lungs.
When inhaling, the air flows through your throat. The throat is the connection between the nose, mouth, and the trachea– a tube for air.
The trachea continues into the bronchi, which transport the air to two lungs lobes. You can imagine the bronchi like branches or roots of a tree: They branch off further and further until they are as thin as a hair.
At the end of the bronchi are many tiny alveoli. They look almost like bunches of grapes hanging off the ends. Something very important also happens here: oxygen from the air enters our blood through the walls of the alveoli.
Here the oxygen combines with the red blood cells. Then, they distribute the oxygen throughout the body.
When we use oxygen, carbon dioxide is made. Now, the journey reverses: The air with the carbon dioxide, or used oxygen, returns to the alveoli. Then, it flows from the bronchi to the trachea, and through the throat. Finally, we exhale, or push out, the breath of carbon dioxide to rid it from our bodies.
The air then leaves your body the same way that it entered, either through the mouth or nose, in a process called exhalation.
You can take a closer look at the mentioned body parts in the picture:
In the table, you can see the important body parts and their functions during breathing:
| Body parts | Functions |
|---|---|
| Chest | The chest expands during inhalation to make room for air. |
| Mouth/Nose and Throat | The air is taken in, warmed, cleaned, and moistened here. |
| Trachea and bronchi | They transport the air further into the body. |
| Alveoli | Grape-like sacks where the oxygen enters the blood through their walls. |
| Red blood cells | They distribute the oxygen throughout the body. |
Have you ever noticed that you often have to breathe in and out more often and deeply when you exercise? That's because movement requires more oxygen from your body, so you exhale more carbon dioxide. Pay attention to this the next time you're outside running with your friends. Because breathing is a very important and interesting topic in elementary school science education, you can also find a video specially made for children on breathing at sofatutor. This will certainly help you if you get worksheets on breathing in elementary school. If you want to learn more about your body, you can also watch the video about the circulatory system in elementary school.
Frequently Asked Questions about Breathing
Transcript My Body - Breathing and Oxygen Cycles
Take a deep breath a few more times and the balloon is ready. But how does the air you breathe actually get into the balloon? Let's find out together by learning about "My Body - Breathing and the Oxygen Cycle." Breathing works without you having to think about it. We call this a reflex. The blinking of your eyes or your heartbeat are also reflexes. The reflex of breathing is especially handy while you're asleep. But unlike your heartbeat, you can intentionally control your breathing and hold your breath. This is useful when diving or if someone passes gas. Now, let's take a look at exactly how breathing works in the body! When you inhale, your chest expands. This makes room for air to enter your body through your nose and mouth.... into your body. When you exhale, the air flows back out of your body the same way. Immediately after inhaling, the air in your nasal cavity is warmed, cleansed, and humidified. This protects your sensitive lungs. The air then flows through your pharynx. The pharynx connects the area of the nose and the area of the mouth ... with the trachea. The trachea is a tube for air. It feels hard and wavy on the outside. Press pause and feel your trachea for a moment. The trachea opens into the bronchial tubes. The bronchial tubes carry the air further into the lungs. Like the roots of a tree, the bronchial tubes continue to divide. At the end, they are as thin as a hair. At the end of the bronchi are many air sacs. Like grapes, they hang from the ends of the bronchial tubes. There is something ESPECIALLY important happening there, and we're going to take a close look at it now: The oxygen in the air can get into the blood in our veins via the walls of the air sacs. There, the oxygen combines with the red blood cells, which ensures... that the oxygen is distributed throughout the body. Before we exhale, carbon dioxide, or used oxygen, is released into the air in the air sacs. And then it starts: we exhale. The air with the carbon dioxide flows through the bronchial tubes, ... and the trachea ... through the pharynx and comes out of our body again through the mouth or nose. And then everything starts all over again! Breathing is similar to the heartbeat: The more you exert yourself, ... the more frequently and deeply you have to breathe in and out. This is because your body uses more oxygen during exercise, so you breathe in more, ... and exhale more carbon dioxide. Let's briefly summarize: Breathing is a reflex. However, you can control breathing somewhat. Air enters the body through the nose and mouth ... through the pharynx ... and the trachea ... and through the bronchial tubes into the lungs and ... up to the air sacs in the lungs. The air sacs are tiny, but you have an incredible number of them. That's where oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide. So where's the balloon? OH, the balloon is out of control.
My Body - Breathing and Oxygen Cycles exercise
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Find the reflex body functions.
HintsA reflex is something your body does without trying to. Have you ever started running or singing without trying to?
Doing something intentional like moving your finger or raising your hand is NOT a reflex.
What does your body do to stay alive? This is a reflex.
SolutionBreathing, your heartbeat, and blinking your eyes are things your body does without thinking about it. These are reflexes.
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Find the true sentences.
HintsThe pharynx is located at the back of your throat behind your nose and mouth openings.
The bronchial tubes are located deep in the chest in the lungs, far from your nose and mouth openings.
SolutionTRUE
- When you breathe, your body takes in and uses oxygen and sends out carbon dioxide.
- When you breath, your body pulls in air by expanding your chest. When your chest goes down again, the air is pushed back out of the body.
- Air first enters the body through the mouth and nose, not the bronchial tubes!
- Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood in the air sacs, not the pharynx!
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Label the organs in the breathing cycle.
HintsThe pharynx is located at the back of your throat, behind your nose and mouth.
The trachea is located in your throat and feels bumpy.
The bronchial tubes are located in your chest.
The air sacs are located at the ends of the bronchial tubes.
SolutionThe solution is shown above.
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Show the path of breath through the body.
HintsYour breath begins at your nose and mouth and ends in your lungs. What is connected to your nose and mouth? This is the second step.
Your breath begins at your nose and mouth and ends in your lungs. What is located in your chest? These are the fourth and fifth steps.
Solution- When you breathe, air first enters the body though the nose and mouth.
- Air then passes into the pharynx.
- Next, the air flows through the trachea.
- Next, air enters the bronchial tubes.
- Finally, the air reaches the small air sacs, where the oxygen and carbon dioxide can be exchanged with the bloodstream.
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Locate where the breath and bloodstream first meet.
HintsThe body part which meets the bloodstream is the last body part in the breathing cycle.
This organ is very small, and looks similar to a cluster of grapes.
SolutionThe bloodstream exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air sacs in your lungs.
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Complete the paragraph.
HintsShown are all of the different body parts which are part of the breathing cycle.
Where does air come into your body? This comes first.
Use the word bank above to help remember the correct spelling!
Solution- When you breathe, the air first comes into the body through the nose and mouth.
- After this, the air passes into the pharynx.
- The air then passes through the trachea.
- You can feel this body part/trachea with your fingers if you gently touch your throat.
- After this, the air passes into the bronchial tubes and finally down into the air sacs, where oxygen and carbon dioxide can be exchanged with the bloodstream.
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