Section 3: Healthy Lungs
How much do you know about your lungs? Try these activities to see how
much you know already!
Activity 1
Place ‘true’ or ‘false’ next to each statement.
1. Lungs are found inside our ribcage. ______________________________
2. Our rib cage protects our heart and lungs. _________________________
3. Lungs are grey in colour and hard to the touch. _____________________
4. We have two lungs inside our body. ______________________________
5. Lungs have lots of air sacs inside them. ___________________________
6. There are no blood vessels inside our lungs. _______________________
7. Air enters and leaves our windpipe. ______________________________
8. More carbon dioxide goes into our lungs than into leaves. _____________
9. The lungs collect oxygen from the air. _____________________________
10. Smoking does not harm our lungs. _______________________________
My score:
Activity 2
Unscramble these jumbled up letters to form words.
Glun _________________
abnroc iidxeod _________________
Lobod _________________
hebargnti _________________
Gynoex _________________
rai cas _________________
Ppidnewi _________________
cintoeni _________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
The lungs
The lungs are two spongy sacs found inside the ____________ cavity. The
_______________________ connects the lungs with the atmosphere. When
you breathe ___________, air is sucked in through your _____________ or
___________ and then down through your ________________ to your lungs.
The windpipe splits into two branches called __________________ (each one
is called a bronchus) that lead off one to each lung. Once in the __________,
each bronchus splits more and more into small bronchioles. At the end of
each bronchiole are tiny air _________.
chest
lungs
sacs
mouth
in
windpipe
nose
windpipe
bronchi
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Activity 3: healthy lungs
Cut out the diagram of the lungs found on the next page and paste it into this
page.
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Gas exchange
Activity 4
Complete the sentences using the words in the box. There are 12 words but
only eight spaces!
All the cells in our body need _________________ to break down food to
release ________________ for different activities. The ___________ provide
the huge internal surface for the gas to enter the body tissues. When you
breathe in, air passes down the ______________________, down the bronchi
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
and then into the ______________________. These are surrounded by lots
of tiny __________________________. The _______________ in the
capillaries pick up the oxygen and take it to the body cells where it is needed.
At the same time the waste gas ______________ ______________________
leaves the capillaries and goes into the air in the air sacs. This is then
breathed out.
carbon dioxide
blood capillaries
wind
oxygen
windpipe
energy
lungs
white blood cells
air sacs
red blood cells
bronchus
water
The oxygen story
In order to work our
muscles need oxygen.
With each breath air is
drawn into the lungs.
Some of the oxygen is
taken out and carried off
to the heart by the blood.
Then it is pumped round
the body to the hungry
muscles.
At the same time as
oxygen enters the blood,
carbon dioxide leaves it.
The lungs breathe out air
rich in carbon dioxide.
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
How much air goes through your lungs
Lots of air goes in and out of our lungs each day – at least 500 ml every time
we breathe.
If we could trap all the air that passes through our lungs in one day it would fill
a room as big as this.
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
How you breathe
Your breathing is controlled by muscles in your chest – the diaphragm and the
intercostals muscles.
Breathe in
Breathe out
Ribs move up and out
Ribs move in and down
Diaphragm is down
Diaphragm is up
Chest cavity gets bigger
Chest cavity gets smaller
Air goes in
Air goes out
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
How breathing rate varies
An old person’s breathing rate is faster than a young adult’s.
A healthy adult breathes about 16 times per minute.
A teenager breathes about 18 times per minute.
A six-year-old breathes about 25 times a minute.
A baby breathes about 45 times a minute.
Questions
How does breathing rate change with age? ___________________________
______________________________________________________________
Breathing rate increases with exercise. Why is this? ____________________
______________________________________________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Activity 5: Measuring lung volume
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
Collect the plastic breathing bag, elastic band and connector.
Join the connector to the bag as shown by your teacher.
Join the mouthpiece to the connector.
Breathe out into the classroom as much air as you can.
Take a deep breath and blow out all the air in your lungs.
Complete the table.
Trial
Lung volume (litres)
1
2
3
4
5
1. What is your average lung volume?
2. Write down the lung volumes of the other people in the group.
Average lung volume is: ______________________________________ litres
Vital capacity is: ________________________________________________
Tidal volume is: _________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Activity 6: Measuring breathing rate
1.
2.
3.
4.
Collect a stopwatch and a partner.
Sit down on a stool and relax.
Count how many times you breathe out in one minute.
This is your breathing rate. Write it in the box.
______________breaths/minute
This might not have been very accurate because you can control your
breathing rate and either speed it up or slow it down!
Try again. This time try to think about something, or read a book. Get your
partner to watch closely and count your breaths.
______________breaths/minute
(a) Exercise for three minutes:
(i) on the exercise bike
or
(ii) by running on the spot
or
(iii) by doing an exercise of your choice (ask your teacher first).
(b) Explain the difference between your breathing rates before and after
exercise:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Activity 7: Measuring peak-flow rate
A peak flow meter is a tube into which you blow as hard as you can. It
measures the maximum flow of air from your lungs.
Doctors use this instrument to find out how well a patient’s airways are
working. In asthma and bronchitis patients, the airways become narrower
and make it more difficult for someone to breathe.
1. Use the peak flow meter after your teacher has
shown you.
2. Repeat this two times. The maximum value is your
peak flow rate.
Peak-flow rate
1.
2.
3.
My peak-flow rate is ____________litres/minute.
Normal airway
Passage narrowed by
increased mucus and
fluid, caused by
inflamed airways
Swelling of
airway wall
Muscle spasm
causing airway
to narrow
Airways of people with asthma
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Wordsearch
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Read this …
The peak flow rate is the maximum rate at which air can be forced from our
lungs. A 16-year-old female’s peak flow rate is about 450 litres/minute and for
a male it is about 520 litres/minute. Peak flow rate can be affected by asthma
or bronchitis. It can also be reduced if you are a smoker. About 1 in 10 pupils
in school could be suffering from asthma. If we want to have healthy lungs we
should exercise regularly. Also, standing upright with good posture helps your
lungs to work properly. If the air is polluted in any way (with unpleasant gases
from factories or chemicals) this could affect the health of our lungs.
Questions
Answer in sentences.
1. What is the ‘peak flow rate’? ____________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. What should the peak flow rate be for a 16-year-old male? ____________
___________________________________________________________
3. Name two illnesses that could cause your peak flow rate to be reduced. __
___________________________________________________________
4. How many pupils in school suffer from asthma? _____________________
___________________________________________________________
5. Why is good posture and exercise good for us? _____________________
___________________________________________________________
6. Explain why living near a large oil refinery could affect your health.______
___________________________________________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Activity 8: Asthma
George is 15 years old. He has asthma and so has to use a peak-flow meter
every day. If his reading falls below 350 then he has to take a course of
medicine prescribed by his doctor. If he has an asthma attack the peak flow
reading will be below 100.
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
1. Look at George’s record chart.
2. Read his peak-flow values at A, B and C.
A _________________________________________________________
B _________________________________________________________
C _________________________________________________________
3. Describe his health at these three points.
A _________________________________________________________
B _________________________________________________________
C _________________________________________________________
4. Why did George’s peak flow go back up after C? ____________________
___________________________________________________________
5. Do you know anyone with asthma? _______________________________
6. What affect does this have on their lives? __________________________
___________________________________________________________
7. Do you think the peak flow meter is a useful piece of equipment to have at
home? Give three reasons. _____________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Equipment wordsearch
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The airways
The __________are very delicate so it is important to keep them clear of
_________ and _________.The body has its own way of trying to
_____________ these organs. There is a sticky lining in the _____________.
The windpipe stretches from the _________ to the air sacs. There are tiny
hairs called ___________ that sweep the dirt and mucus back to the throat
and the ___________. When we ___________ we are clearing the airways
and putting bits of dirt from our lungs into our mouths. We ______________
this mucus and it goes into the stomach where it is dissolved.
swallow
cilia
dirt
protect
nose
dust windpipe mouth
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cough
lungs
Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Diagram to show the special cells producing mucus in the windpipe
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Write down ‘true’ or ‘false’ next to these statements.
1. The lungs are pink and full of air.
________
2. The lungs are protected by the heart.
________
3. The windpipe contains special sticky cells to trap dirt and dust.
________
4. There are little hairs, called follicles, in the windpipe.
________
5. The mucus and dirt are swallowed when they reach the
mouth.
________
6. If the cilia are damaged, then the dirt and dust must stay in the
lungs.
________
7. Smokers often develop a ‘smoker’s cough’.
________
8. Cigarettes contain many substances including nicotine and tar. ________
Read this …
When a person smokes a cigarette, he or she is inhaling over 1000 harmful
substances in the tobacco smoke. The most harmful substances are tar,
carbon monoxide and nicotine.
Tar is a dark brown substance that stops the tiny hairs, called cilia, in our
airways from working. Tars contain substances that can cause lung cancer.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas found in cigarette smoke. It can be
absorbed into our red blood cells and stop oxygen being absorbed.
Nicotine is a drug and can affect different parts of your body, especially your
brain.
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Activity 9: Collecting tobacco tar using a simple smoking machine
1. Watch your teacher set up the smoking machine.
2. Draw a picture of the apparatus, using a pencil and a ruler.
3. Look at the contents of the cotton wool. Describe it.
4. Write down three harmful substances found in cigarette smoke.
(a)_________________ (b) _________________ (c) ________________
5. What does each of these substances do to your body?
(a) ________________________________________________________
(b) ________________________________________________________
(c) ________________________________________________________
6. Which of these harmful substances is collected in the smoking machine?
___________________________________________________________
Puzzle
These letters are mixed up. Try to work out the correct spellings.
A. ININOCTE
______________________________
B. ART
______________________________
C. GSNUL
______________________________
D. KGMOSNI
______________________________
E. RAGICTETE
______________________________
F. RONABC DEOMNOIX
______________________________
G. HTSMAA
______________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Breathing problems
Read this …
Feeling out of breath is a sign that the body needs more oxygen than it is
getting. This makes you breathe more quickly and deeply. Asthma and
bronchitis also give a feeling of being out of breath. This is caused by a
narrowing of the tubes inside the lungs and so less oxygen gets to the body.
Smoking affects your breathing. In Britain many people die from smoking
related diseases. Smoking stops the cilia that line our airways so that they
cannot waft out dirt and mucus. (Smoking will be covered in more detail later.)
Pneumonia can develop in old people, or people in hospital who are unable to
fill their lungs properly. It occurs when the lungs become clogged with fluid.
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Questions
1. When do you breathe more quickly and deeply? _____________________
___________________________________________________________
2. Why do asthma and bronchitis make people feel out of breath? _________
___________________________________________________________
3. What does smoking do to the tiny hairs that line our airways? __________
___________________________________________________________
4. Explain why pneumonia is such as dangerous disease. _______________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Read this …
The peak flow rate is the maximum air that can be forced from our lungs. A
16-year-old female’s peak flow rate is about 450 litres per minute and for a
male it is about 520 litres per minute. Peak flow rate can be affected by
asthma or bronchitis. It can also be reduced if you are a smoker. About one in
ten pupils in school could be suffering from asthma. If we want to have healthy
lungs we should exercise regularly. Also, standing upright with good posture
helps your lungs to work properly. If the air is polluted in any way (with
unpleasant gases or chemicals) this could affect the health of our lungs.
Questions
1. What is the ‘peak flow rate’? ____________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. What should the peak flow rate be for a 16-year-old male? ____________
___________________________________________________________
3. Name two illnesses that could cause your peak flow rate to be reduced. __
___________________________________________________________
4. How many pupils in school suffer from asthma? _____________________
___________________________________________________________
5. Why is good posture and exercise good for us? _____________________
___________________________________________________________
6. Explain why living near a large oil refinery could affect your health? _____
___________________________________________________________
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs
Smoking related diseases
Below is a cigarette pack with some cigarettes spilt around it. Using classroom
resources, or the library, find out about the diseases associated with smoking.
You could try the website: www.mindbodysoul.gov.uk/index.html
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Section 3: Healthy Lungs