Gas exchange across the alveolar wall — practice questions
6 questions in the bank on this idea. Below are 6 of them, exactly as they appear in a test.
The main physical process responsible for gas exchange across the respiratory membrane:
- A. active transport of oxygen
- B. endocytosis
- C. diffusion down partial-pressure gradients
- D. osmosis of gases
By what main process do oxygen and carbon dioxide cross the alveolar membrane?
- A. Endocytosis
- B. Active transport
- C. Simple diffusion
- D. Facilitated pumping
Why does oxygen diffuse from alveolar air into pulmonary blood?
- A. Haemoglobin actively pumps oxygen across the alveolus
- B. Blood has a higher oxygen partial pressure than alveolar air
- C. Carbon dioxide pushes oxygen through the membrane
- D. Alveolar partial pressure of oxygen is higher than that in deoxygenated blood
Alveolar air has a high oxygen partial pressure and low carbon dioxide partial pressure, while incoming pulmonary blood has the opposite pattern. What net gas movements should occur before the blood leaves the alveolar capillaries?
- A. Both gases enter alveoli
- B. Both gases enter blood
- C. Oxygen enters blood and carbon dioxide enters alveoli
- D. Oxygen enters alveoli and carbon dioxide enters blood
An alveolar membrane becomes abnormally thick while the oxygen partial-pressure gradient remains unchanged. What is the most likely effect?
- A. Oxygen diffusion becomes slower
- B. Oxygen diffusion becomes faster
- C. Carbon dioxide production stops
- D. Haemoglobin concentration automatically doubles
Carbon dioxide has a smaller partial-pressure gradient across the respiratory membrane than oxygen, yet it diffuses efficiently. Which property best explains this?
- A. Carbon dioxide is actively transported
- B. Carbon dioxide is much more soluble in the diffusion membrane than oxygen
- C. Carbon dioxide has a much larger molecular size
- D. Oxygen cannot dissolve in blood
Want to know which of these you would get wrong?
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