Haemoglobin

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Heat from respiration helps mammals to maintain a constant body temperature. Explain the relationship between the surface area to volume ration of mammals and the oxygen dissociation curves of their haemoglobin.
Smaller mammals have a greater surface area to volume ration and therefore heat is lost more quickly resulting in smaller mammals having to respire at a greater rate. Smaller mammals therefore need haemoglobin with a low oxygen affinity for release.
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What is the Bohr Effect?
When cells respire carbon dioxide is produced raising the partial pressure of oxygen, this increases the rate of oxygen unloading and the saturation of blood with oxygen is lower for the partial pressure and therefore more oxygen is released.
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What does a dissociation curve show?
How saturated the haemoglobin is with oxygen at any given partial pressure.
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Why is the oxygen dissociation curve S-shaped?
The haemoglobin combines with the first O2 molecule which then makes it easier for other molecules to join onto the haemoglobin altering the shape, as it is easier to combine the graph becomes steep, then it levels off as the haemoglobin is saturated
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What does 100%, 75%, 50%, 15% and 0% saturation of oxygen mean?
100% saturation means the haemoglobin is carrying the maximum number of oxygen molecules (4). 75% means it is carrying 3, 50% means it is carrying half its maximum (2), 15% means it is carrying 1 and 0% means no haemoglobin is carrying any oxygen.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What is the Bohr Effect?

Back

When cells respire carbon dioxide is produced raising the partial pressure of oxygen, this increases the rate of oxygen unloading and the saturation of blood with oxygen is lower for the partial pressure and therefore more oxygen is released.

Card 3

Front

What does a dissociation curve show?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Why is the oxygen dissociation curve S-shaped?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What does 100%, 75%, 50%, 15% and 0% saturation of oxygen mean?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5

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