Question

BIO Space station. You are designing a space station and want to get some idea about how large it should be to provide adequate air for the astronauts. Normally, the air is replenished, but for security, you decide that there should be enough to last for 2 weeks in case of a malfunction. Estimate how many cubic meters of air an average person breathes in 2 weeks. A typical human breathes about 1/2 L per breath.

Answer 1

An average person would breathe approximately 151.2 cubic meters of air over a two-week span, based on a 0.5 liter per breath rate and a breathing frequency of 15 breaths per minute.

Step-by-step explanation:

To estimate how many cubic meters of air an average person breathes in 2 weeks, we use the given average breathing rate of 0.5 liters per breath and an average respiratory rate of 15 breaths per minute. The total volume breathed per day is:

0.5 liters/breath × 15 breaths/minute × 60 minutes/hour × 24 hours/day = 10800 liters/day.

Then, for two weeks:

10800 liters/day × 14 days = 151200 liters.

Since 1 cubic meter equals 1000 liters:

151200 liters × (1 cubic meter / 1000 liters) = 151.2 cubic meters.

This is the volume of air an average person would breathe over a two-week period.