Question

Which statement about the factors that affect the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen are FALSE? Group of answer choices Decreased O2 partial pressure diminishes affinity and this favors oxygen unloading and delivery to the tissues. CO2 increases the affinity of oxygen for hemoglobin so that hemoglobin binds oxygen more strongly. Decreased blood temperature increases hemoglobin affinity for oxygen. The affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen is higher than for carbon dioxide which results in oxygen being able to displace carbon dioxide from hemoglobin as the blood travels through the pulmonary capillaries. With decreasing pH, affinity decreases so that more oxygen is released from hemoglobin.

Answer 1

CO2 increases the affinity of oxygen for hemoglobin so that hemoglobin binds oxygen more strongly

Step-by-step explanation:

Hemoglobin (Hb) is a protein found in red blood cells that functions to transport oxygen (O2) to the tissues. This protein has four subunits and each subunit binds to a heme group. Each heme group in Hb contains an iron atom that binds to one O2 molecule. The affinity of hemoglobin for O2 is a critical mechanism that is dependent on the ability of Hb to carry O2 molecules. Hb is fully saturated with O2 when all of its four O2-binding sites are occupied. Moreoever, the O2-hemoglobin dissociation curve is a plot of saturation of Hb regarding the partial pressure of O2 (PO2). A rightward shift in the curve indicates that Hb has a decreased affinity for O2, while a leftward shift in the curve indicates that Hb has an increased affinity for O2. As CO2 concentration increases, hemoglobin's affinity for O2 decreases, thereby Hb binds to O2 less tightly at heme group sites and therefore the dissociation curve shifts to the right.