Question

Why must aerobic organisms such as yourself breath oxygen and exhale CO2?

Answer 1

Aerobic organisms need to breathe oxygen and exhale because every cell needs oxygen for cellular respiration and energy production. Carbon dioxide accumulation primarily drives the need to breathe. Different organisms have different means of obtaining oxygen, while plants release oxygen through photosynthesis.

Step-by-step explanation:

Aerobic organisms such as yourself need to breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide because every cell in the body needs oxygen to perform cellular respiration, which produces energy in the form of ATP. Oxygen is used as a reactant in oxidative phosphorylation, and carbon dioxide is released as a waste product. The accumulation of carbon dioxide primarily drives the need to breathe. The respiratory system, including muscles, passageways, and gas exchange surfaces, helps in the inhalation of oxygen and exhalation of carbon dioxide.

Organisms have developed different means of obtaining oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere. Size and environment play a role in respiration. Diffusion across the cell membrane is sufficient for supplying oxygen to small organisms, whereas larger organisms have specialized respiratory tissues, like lungs and gills, accompanied by complex circulatory systems. Oxygen is necessary to carry out metabolic functions in aerobic organisms, and carbon dioxide is released as a waste product.

Photosynthesis by plants and related microbes releases oxygen into the atmosphere, which aerobic organisms like humans depend on to breathe and release energy from the food consumed.

Answer 2

Aerobic organisms like humans are dependent on oxygen for their survival because in us without oxygen formation of ATP(energy) can not be possible.

In aerobes, oxygen acts as the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain after which oxygen converts into H2O and formation of ATP occurs. Therefore we have to breathe oxygen continuously so that our cell can form ATP.

CO2 is a byproduct of aerobic respiration in which is generated when glucose gets oxidized into CO2, therefore, we exhale this CO2 through our lungs.