Senior High School

General Biology 2
Quarter 4 - Module 2
 Gas Exchange
 Transport/Circulation

Development Team of the Module

Author(s) : Ma. Lorlie Nitz O. Antopina

Reviewer(s) : Leonida P. Casingcasing, PhD
Management Team
Chairperson : Bianito A. Dagatan, EdD, CESO V
Schools Division Superintendent
Co-Chairpersons : Casiana P. Caberte, PhD
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
: Marina S. Salamanca, PhD
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Members : Carmela M. Restificar, PhD, Chief-CID
Josephine D. Eronico, PhD, EPS-LRMDS
Engr. Hermenilda B. Gracio, PhD, EPS-Science
Jocelyn T. Rotersos, Division Librarian II
 What I Need To Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master the
subject General Biology 2. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different
learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary of students. The
lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course.

The module is divided into two lessons, namely:

 Lesson 1 – Transport/Circulation
 Lesson 2 – Gas Exchange

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Compare and contrast Gas Exchange and Transport mechanism among Plants, animals
and Human

GenBio2
Transport/Circulation in Animals, Humans
Q4
and Plants
Lesson 1

What’s In
In the previous module, you learned about reproduction, development and
nutrition among plants, animals and humans. In this module Transport mechanism (Circulatory
system) will be introduced. It is one of the most important physiological processes that takes
place in animals and plants, which enables every cell to be nourished with nutrients and
supplied with oxygen and thus makes all other body system to function smoothly. In this
module, you will compare and contrast pants and animals in terms of their process of transport.

What’s New
Below are organs used in circulation process of animals/humans or plants.
Identify if it is animal/human organ or plant organ. Write A for animal/human organ and B for
plant organ on the space provided before the number

1. artery 2. veins
3. xylem 4. radial rays
5. transmembrane pathway 6. open circulation
7. Close circulation 8. Turgor pressure

What is It
Transport in organisms is essential in moving and delivering particles, such as
fluid and nutrients, to the different parts of the body. Transport in animals as well, differ
depending on several factors.
TRANSPORT IN SIMPLE ANIMALS
The nature of circulatory system of animals varies
depending on the size, complexity and habitat of an organism.
In simple animals like sponges and cnidarians, gas exchange
happens between the water from the environment and the
circulating body fluid in the organism. In sponges, water
passes through a series of chambers in the body to the
spongocoel, the central cavity, where enough gas exchanged
happens directly in the cell. In cnidarians such as the hydra,
each cell is directly in contact with the external environment of
the gastrovascular cavity since the body wall is only one-cell
thick.

Figure 1: Sponges and cnidarians

Photo credits: World Animal Foundation

There are two main types of circulation: Open circulation and Closed circulation.

Figure 2: Types of Circulation

Photo credits: simplebio

In open circulatory system, blood doesn’t remain enclosed in the tubes or vessels and
comes in direct contact with the body cells or tissues. The pumping machine, the heart pumps
the blood into the tubes and then the tubes vacant themselves into sinuses. These sinuses are
open spaces and the blood directly comes in contact with tissues and transport nutrients. After
bathing the cells and tissues, the blood again goes through the heart for the next circulation.
During the bathing of cells with blood, exchange of nutrients takes place. Gases are not
transported in this system. In Closed circulatory system is a sophisticated and elaborate system
as compared to open circulatory system.
In closed circulatory system, blood is restricted in the blood vessels during circulation.
There is a unified system of arteries, veins and capillaries. Unlike open circulatory
system, closed circulatory system is capable of transporting gases. Arteries are the
specialized tubes which take the blood away from away from the heart and veins are the
dedicated vessels which bring back the blood from all parts of the body to heart. The pumping
organ i.e. heart pumps the blood. Arteries take the blood from heart and carry it to tissues. For
exchange of materials between blood and tissues, arteries divide and subdivide into very tiny
and fine branches called capillaries. This one celled thick capillary exchange nutrients between
blood and tissues. The capillaries join and form bigger blood vessels called venules. These
venules then form veins, which in the end bring back blood to heart.
THE HUMAN TRANSPORT SYSTEM
The structures of the circulatory system and their functions are uniquely adapted to keep
the complex organisms alive. The circulatory system supplies gases, nutrients and hormones to
the different parts of the body and collects metabolic waste for acid base balance and
immunologic reactions. It is also indispensable in regulating homeostatic reactions of the body.
There are four components of the circulatory system: heart, blood, blood vessels and valves.
THE HEART
The human heart is a muscular organ that pumps
blood to all parts of the body. In the average life span of
a person, the heart beats around 2.5 billion times
without interruption. A normal adult heart beats around
72 times per minute and pumps around 5.5 litters of
blood. The heart can beat three times as fast as the
normal rate during a strenuous exercise.
The heart is composed of cardiac muscle, an
involuntary. Striated type of muscle, with associated
nervous and connective tissues. An adult heart is about
the size of a fist. It has a pericardial cavity and is
covered by a pericardium. A septum devides the
heart into two side. The right side receives
deoxygenated blood collected from the different parts
of the body, while the left side receives oxygenated
Figure 3: The human heart blood from the lungs. (refer to the color of figure 3).
Photo credits: Texas Heart Anatomy Each side of the heart is divided into the upper and
lower chambers. The upper chamber is called atria,
while the lower chambers are called ventricles. The one-way valves called atrio-ventricular
valves are located between the upper and lower chambers.
The flow of blood begins when the unoxygenated blood coming from the different parts
of the body enters the right side of the heart through the superior and inferior venae cavae
(singular: Vena Cava) and fills the right atrium. This will push the tricuspid valve to open up
and fill the right ventricle with blood and automatically closes to prevent regurgitation of blood.
From the right ventricle, blood is pumped to the pulmonary valve passing the pulmonary
artery then flows to the capillaries of the air sacs in the lungs where blood gives off carbon
dioxide and water and takes in oxygen. Once blood is oxygenated the blood flows in the
pulmonary vein, filling the left atrium with oxygenated blood pushing the mitral valve to open
up then fill the left ventricle with oxygenated blood and pushing the aortic valve to open then
the blood passes to the Aorta where systemic circulation begins, delivering the oxygenated
blood to the different parts of the body.
THE BLOOD
Blood is the internal circulating
medium of the human body. The main
function of blood is to carry nutrients
and gases to the different parts of the
body and carry away carbon dioxide
and nitrogenous waste from the body
cells. Blood is consisting of 55%
plasma, the liquid part of the blood, and
45% of blood cells or formed elements.
The formed elements are red blood
cells (erythrocytes), which transport
oxygen and carbon dioxide. White blood
Figure 4: The blood cells cells (leucocytes) which functions for
Photo credits: passmyexam.co.uk defense and immunity. Blood platelets
(thrombocytes) are essential in blood clotting. The plasma is composed of water, proteins,
electrolytes and other substances. Cells receive nourishment from dissolved substances carried
in the plasma. These substances include minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and glucose
absorbed during the process of digestion and transported to the cells. It also transports waste
materials to the excretory system for excretion.
THE BLOOD VESSELS
Blood vessels serves as “highways” through
which blood is circulated in the body. There are
three types of blood vessels: Arteries, Veins and the
capillaries. Arteries are thick walled vessels which
allow the passage of oxygenated blood, except the
pulmonary artery. Their thick walls help to
counteract the pressure exerted on them by the
contraction of the heart muscles. The largest artery
Figure 5: The blood vessels in the body is the Aorta, the only artery that leads
Photo credits: proprofs.com out of the left ventricle. Veins which is thin-walled
vessels compared to the arteries carry unoxygenated blood towards the heart, except for the
pulmonary vein. There are two large veins in the body the superior and inferior venae
cavae. The capillaries which are very thin blood vessels, serves as sites through which
materials between the blood cells are exchanged. Capillaries, which link an artery to a vein,
also supplies the brain with oxygen which keeps a person conscious. This is a continuous cyclic
process for as long as the person lives.
THE VALVES
Valves are flaps of tissues that prevent the
backward flow or regurgitation of blood. These are
located between the atrium and the ventricle, and at
the base arteries that are attached to the heart. The
closure of the valves creates the heart sounds.
Valves can also be found in the large veins along the
lower extremities to prevent the backward flow of
blood. The heart valves are the bicuspid, tricuspid
and aortic valve.

Figure 6: The valves

Photo credits: heart foundation

PATTERNS OF CIRCULATION
Generally, blood circulation in the body can be
divided into two: Pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation.
Pulmonary circulation is the movement of the blood from
the heart to the lungs, and back to the heart. Systemic
circulation follows pulmonary circulation. Once blood is in the
aorta of the heart, it will move out of the heart to be
circulated to all parts of the body and other subsystems
like the coronary circulation, which supplies blood to the heart
itself, the hepatic portal circulation, movement of blood to the
liver and the renal circulation, movement of blood to the
kidneys.

Figure 7: Patterns of circulation

Photo credits: slideplayer.com
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS
Compared to animals, transport in plants are much simpler. It involves two
types of tissues: the xylem and the phloem. Transpiration also helps in moving materials
needed by plants for growth and development.
TRANSPORT OF MATERIALS IN PLANTS
Transport of material also takes place in plants. Like animals, plants also
need to be nourished. Substances taken from the soil must be distributed to all parts of
the plant’s body for its growth and development. Since most plant grow above the
ground, diffusion and osmosis are not enough to carry out the transport process.
PATHWAYS FOR WATER AND MINERALS IN PLANTS
Plants are classified as either
nonvascular or vascular. Those
without vascular tissues are
called nonvascular, while those
with vascular tissue such as
xylem and phloem are vascular.
Xylem are vascular tissues in
plants that help transport water
and minerals to all parts of the
body. On the other hand, phloem
Figure 8: Xylem and Phloem
are tissues that help transport the
Photo credits: coredifferences.com
product of photosynthesis to all
parts of the plants. Nonvascular plants cannot grow high above the ground since they
do not have the xylem and phloem tissues that can
help transport substances. There are also radial
rays found along the trunk of the trees, which are
tissues that function in the radial distribution of food.
These tissues are very prominent in woody plants,
and you will notice them when you will make a cross
section of the stem. The xylem occupies the
central part, which is also the largest part, while
the phloem occupies the marginal side.
There are different transport pathways Figure 9: Radial Rays
through which water and minerals pass to reach the Photo credits: 123rf.com
xylem tissues along the central part of roots:
apoplast, symplast and transmembrane pathway.
 Apoplast pathway – includes movement through the cell walls and the spaces
between the cells.
 Symplast pathway – Water and minerals pass through a continuum of
cytoplasm between cells, which is called plasmodesma. Once inside the cell,
water and minerals can move from cell to cell without passing through cell
membrane but only form plasmodesma to plasmodesma.
 Transmembrane transport – involves transport between cells across the
membranes of vacuoles within the cells. Once water reaches the endodermis of
the root, the passage through the cell walls is blocked by the waterproof
Casparian Strip. From here water is expected to detour through the plasma
membrane and protoplasts of the endodermis to reach they xylem tissues.

Figure 9: Routs of water and minerals in the roots

Photo credits: slideplayer.com plant anatomy
 The veins and veinlets found in the leaves of the plants are composed
mainly of xylem and phloem tissues, whose function can be somewhat linked to that of
blood vessels in animals. These structures serve in the transport of water and nutrients
XYLEM TRANSPORT
The greatest distances traveled by water and minerals in plants are
carried out through the xylem. Transpiration or the release of water vapor through
openings of the leaves causes a pressure that pulls the water up. Osmosis and diffusion
are also passive forces that help molecules to move from one cell to another.
Water potential is said to be the main factor that regulates the transport
process in plants. Water potential represents free energy or the potential to do work. It
is used to predict where water will move from a cell or solution with higher water
potential to a cell or solution with lower water potential.
PHLOEM TRANSPORT
The food that is produced by plants is distributed by the phloem tissues
through the different parts of the plant. This process is called translocation.
Turgor pressure, which results from the influx of water into the cell
causing the plasma membrane to push against the cell wall, is what drives phloem
transport.

GenBio2
Gas Exchange Among Animals, Humans
Q3
and Plants
Lesson 2

What’s In
In the previous topic, you learned about Transport mechanism on plants, animals
and humans. In this particular lesson you will connect the relationship between the circulatory
and the respiratory system for living things to survive.

What’s New

YES or NO: Write yes if the statement is Correct and Write No if the statement is wrong.
1. Plants and animals needs oxygen to survive.
2. Animals and plants are dependent on each other in terms of respiration
3. Some aquatic animals use their skin in respiration
4. Land animals have lungs to breathe
5. Plants have specialize epidermal cells that regulate the size of the stomata

What is It
Gas exchange in complex animals refers to the process of bringing blood to the lungs
through the circulatory system. Ga exchange is also a function of the respiratory system which
also varies among Animals, Humans and plants.
WAYS OF GAS EXCHANGE IN ANIMALS

There are several ways by which animals exchange gases with their environment.
Animals like sponges, protist, cnidarians and other worms exchange gases directly with body
cells and the environment. In fishes gas exchange made possible through a complex channel
using the gills this made more efficient through the countercurrent flow, where blood and
water meet in opposite directions. This way gas exchange is maximized. In other words, the
degree of complexity of gas exchange in organisms depends in a way on the relative complexity
of the organization of an organism’s body.
In amphibians like frogs, the heart is three chambered with two atria and one ventricle.
Partial mixing of deoxygenated blood and oxygenated blood happen in the ventricle to the
conus arteriosus to the truncus arteriosus then to the skin and lungs where gas exchange will
take place. Frogs are amphibians meaning they can live both in land and in water. Underwater
they use their skin for gas exchange, also called as cutaneous breathing. On land they use their
lungs, and sometimes their moist skin. Like the frog’s earthworms also need moist skin to for
gas exchange. They are helpless in dry and arid habitats.

THE HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Breathing is an involuntary process that occurs simultaneously with the circulation of the
blood. Breathing is simply defined as the process of inhaling and exhaling air. When you
breathe, air enters and leaves your lungs.

AIR PASSAGE AND GAS EXCHANGE

There are two types of gas exchange in the human body: external respiration and
internal respiration. External respiration is the exchange of gases between the atmosphere and
the lungs, while internal respiration is gas exchange between the cells and the blood.

EXTERNAL RESPIRATION

1. Nose – There are two openings of

the nose that is called nostrils that
serve as the entrance of air into the
body. In the nose the air is cleaned,
moistened and warm. Air passing
through the nose is filtered in the
presence of coarse hairs projecting
from inner walls of the nostrils. The
mucous membrane, lines the wall of
the nasal passages create mucus,
which is moist, thick and gummy. The
water that moistens it comes from the
air. Bacteria and dust might stick to it,
thus purifying the air. The
microscopic hair found in the surface
of the cells of the mucous membrane
called cilia moves back and forth at
all time to move any material in it to
the outside of the nose.
2. Pharynx – which is also known as
throat, is found at the back of the
mouth, it contains the passageway of
food and air. When food is
swallowed, a flap of cartilage called
epiglottis presses down and covers
the opening of the air passage.
During inhalation, the epiglottis is in
an upright position and air moves into
the trachea or windpipe, a
cartilaginous tube.
Figure 1 The respiratory system
Photo Credits: Pinterest
 3. Larynx – Also called the voice box or adam’s apple, is more prominent in males than in
females due to differences in hormonal action. It is located in the upper part of the
trachea and is primarily involved in the sound production.
4. Trachea – also called as the windpipe, is located in front of the esophagus. It is about
10cm long and 2.5 cm wide and is lined with the mucous membrane and cilia. These
cilia move mucus and any material in it toward the throat where the mucus is coughed
out.
5. Bronchi – The trachea is divided into two hollow branches called the bronchi. Each
bronchus is attached to the lungs, the bronchi branch into smaller and smaller tubes.
The inner lining of the bronchi is also lines with cilia and mucus that help filter the air.
6. Lungs – The lungs are large, spongy, and elastic sac-like structures suspended from
each side of the heart, inside the chest cavity. Inside the lungs, the bronchus divides into
smaller branches, the bronchial tubes. These bronchial tubes branch separately into
even smaller microscopic tubes called bronchioles. Each bronchiole opens into thin-
walled bulb-shaped structures called air sacs or alveoli cells. Each alveoli cell is
surrounded by a network of capillaries that are important in gas exchange between the
blood and the air sacs.

INTERNAL RESPIRATION

Internal respiration involves gas exchange between blood snd the cells of the body. The
air thaw we inhale is a mixture of gases which includes nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Of
these gases, oxygen is perhaps the most important to humans. In the air sacs, oxygen diffuses
through the capillaries and into the bloodstream. It then combines with hemoglobin as it is
carried to the blood cells. When blood reaches a cell with less oxygen, the oxygen from the
blood separates from the hemoglobin and the cell absorbs the oxygen. As the process goes on
the cell give off waste in the form of carbon dioxide and water, both which enters the blood.
When carbon dioxide and water reach the lungs, both pass into the spaces of the air sacs, and
exhaled in the lungs. Air moving into the alveoli is rich in oxygen and poor in carbon dioxide.
Blood in the capillaries surrounding the air sacs are low in oxygen and rich in carbon dioxide.
Thus, gases move by diffusion from these areas of higher concentration to areas of lower
concentration.

GAS EXCHANGE IN PLANTS

Similar to animals, plants also need to

exchange gas with the environment. The stomata
that is found in the leaves of plants are
considered the “Breathing organs” of plants.
Aside from the stomata, along the stem of plants
are small elevated and oval-shaped structures
called lenticles. These are open structure that
also functions for gas exchange

Stomata are small openings in the leaves

of a plant flanked by a paired of sausage-shaped
cells called guard cells. Stomata serves as entry
or exit point of gases in plants. The entry of
carbon dioxide and exit of oxygen as the
byproduct of photosynthesis happens in the
stomata. The stomata also serve as the
passageways for the transpiration of water
through the leaves during hot and windy days.

There are around a thousand to more

than a million stomata per square centimeter
(cm2) of leaf surface. Stomata are commonly
located in the lower epidermis of the leaves
rather than the upper epidermis. This location
minimizes the water loss and prevents the
clogging of the stomata with dusts. Guard cells Figure 2 Photosynthesis and position of the stomata
vary in shape. Dicot guard cells are shapped Photo credits: appliedscience.org
differently compared to monocots. Guard cell shape is good taxonomic character that could
differentiate dicots from monocots. A close examination of a guard cell shows the presence of
nucleus and chloroplasts. Guard cells are the only epidermal cells with chloroplasts. The size of
the stomata is controlled by the condition of the guard cells.

Turgor pressure in guard cells is responsible for the opening and closing of the stomata.
It is the pressure that water exerts on the cell membrane, which pushes it towards the cell wall.
Guard cells are usually open during the day time when photosynthesis takes place and then
lose turgor in the evening. During nighttime, sucrose produced during the day is unloaded to the
outside of the guard cells, resulting in their lose of turgor. When this happens, guard cells
become flaccid, and results in the closing of the stomata. Carbon dioxide concentration,
temperature and light may also affect the opening and closing of the stomata. In order for plants
to survive in an extremely hot environment, they need to adapt to alternative pathways for
photosynthesis

Figure 3 guard cells and stomata

Photo credits: istockphoto.com

Some plants that live in the marshlands or bogs have pneumatophores that aid in gas
exchange. They are specialized roots that grow upward out of the mud or water to be able to
exchange gases with the atmosphere. They are common in the mangrove trees.

Figure 4 Pneumatophore
Photo Credits: examples.net

What’s More
This module talks about the circulatory system and the respiratory system as two different organ system
that is essential for the survival of an organism. Basing on the things that you have learned here, explain
the relationship between the two system with regards to an organism’s survival.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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 What I Have Learned

Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which blood cells are normally the most numerous?
a. red blood cells b. white blood cells c. phagocytes d. platelets
2. What prevents the backward flow of the blood from the ventricles to the auricles?
a. muscles b. lymph nodes c. veins d. valves
3. Generally, which of the following pathways describe the flow of blood?
a. heart, capillaries, veins, arteries, heart
b. veins, heart, capillaries, arteries, veins
c. veins, heart, arteries, capillaries, veins
d. capillaries, arteries, veins, heart, capillaries
4. Blood rich in oxygen leaves the heart from the
a. left ventricle b. right ventricle c. pulmonary artery d. pulmonary vein
5. The type of blood cell that aids the body in fighting the infections are the
a. blood platelets b. fibrinogen c. red blood cells d. white blood cells
6. In passing through the air sacs of the lungs, blood from the pulmonary artery gains
a. carbon dioxide b. nitrogen c. water d. oxygen
7. Which among the following plant tissues carries water and minerals upward in plants?
a. epidermal b. xylem c. phloem d. endodermal
8. As a by-product of photosynthesis, sugar has to be distributed throughout the plant
through the
a. collenchyma b. phloem c. parenchyma d. xylem
9. What is most likely to happen when absorption exceeds that of transpiration?
a. wilting b. respiration c. transpiration d. guttation
10. Transport of water and minerals from cell to cell through the cell wall is called
a. vacuolar transport b. transmembrane transport
c. apoplast d. symplast
11. In animals that carry out respiration through the skin, the skin must always be
a. thick and dry b. thin and dry c. thin and moist thick and moist
12. Many dust particles that enters the nose are stopped by the
a. blood b. tonsils c. hairs d. adenoids
13. Besides trapping bacteria and small dust particles, mucus in the nose
a. dries the air b. warms the air c. cools the air d. moistens the air
14. The exchange of carbon dioxide in the blood for oxygen in the air takes place in
a. each blood cells b. each air sac c. the pleura d. the bronchial tube
15. Blood loses oxygen as it passes to the
a. nasal passages b. cavity of the wind pipe c. air sacs d. tissues
 Answer Key

Lesson2: What’s More

Lesson1: Lesson2: The Relationship between the two is that they work hand in hand. In
What’s New What’s New order for the circulatory system to provide oxygen rich blood it needs
1. A 1. YES to coordinate with the respiratory system that provides and gathers
2. A 2. YES oxygen from the environment
3. B 3. YES
(answers could be like this)

4. B 4. YES
5. A 5. YES What I Have Learned
6. A
1. A 6. D 11. C
7. A
2. D 7. B 12. C
8. B
3. C 8. B 13. D
4. B 9. D 14. B
5. D 10. B 15. D

References

Doreen D. Domingo, Ph.D. 2016. Tecahing Guide for Senior High School General Biology 1. Diliman,
Quezon City: Commision on Higher Education.

Evanelista, Luisito T. 2018. General Biology 2 for Senior High School. Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc.

Groisman, Alex. n.d. Physics.ucsd. Accessed December 1, 2020. https://groisman.physics.ucsd.edu/.

2018-2020. Researchgate. Accessed December 1, 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-

mechanism-of-electroporation-enhancing-sh-transdermal-delivery-Notes-A-in_fig5_317631265.