Final answer:
The term "organismic activity" that pertains to breathing is Respiration. Respiration includes external, interpulmonary, internal respiration, and pulmonary ventilation. It is a key biological process that involves an exchange of gases necessary for cellular energy production and involves both autotrophs and heterotrophs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to the organismic activity that enables breathing is a) Respiration. Respiration at the organismic level involves several processes, such as external respiration, interpulmonary respiration, internal respiration, and pulmonary ventilation. To elaborate:
- External respiration refers to the exchange of gases between the atmosphere and the blood within the lungs.
- Interpulmonary respiration is another term for the exchange of gases within the lungs themselves.
- Internal respiration denotes the gas exchange process occurring at the cellular level between the bloodstream and tissues.
- Pulmonary ventilation, often just called breathing, is the physical act of moving air in and out of the lungs.
All organisms execute cellular respiration, a process that converts glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water - essential for maintaining life and weight balance.
This energy production is necessary for autotrophs that produce their energy through photosynthesis and heterotrophs that obtain energy by consuming other living things.
Photosynthesis is critical because it produces the glucose used in cellular respiration and releases oxygen, which is essential for the respiration of all aerobic organisms, including humans.