Practice Problems (This is NOT the tutorial homework assignment.)

Questions on Chemical Changes in Blood During Exercise and How Chemicals Are Exchanged in the Body

• Why does exercise generate H⁺? (help)

• How can H⁺ generated in muscle cells during exercise affect the pH of the blood throughout the body (i.e., how does the concentration of H⁺ in the muscle cells affect the concentration of H⁺ in the blood)? (help)

Questions on How Buffers Work: A Quantitative View

• If blood had a normal pH of 6.1 instead of 7.2, would you expect exercise to result in heavy breathing?  Justify your answer. (help)

• How would a graph like that found in Figure 4 differ for the phosphate buffer system? (help)

Questions on Equilibrium Shifts: A Qualitative View

• An emergency medical team evaluates an Olympic athlete and determines that she has alkalosis. What component of the carbonic-acid-bicarbonate buffer would the athlete be given to decrease the pH of the blood? (help)

• Hyperventilation (very rapid and deep breathing, which reduces the concentration of CO₂ in the blood) causes dizziness.
  1. How does hyperventilation affect the pH of the blood (i.e., is the pH increased or decreased as a result of hyperventilation)? Briefly, explain your answer in terms of equilibrium shifts.
  2. The normal first-aid treatment for hyperventilation is to have the patient breathe into a paper bag. Briefly, explain why this treatment works and tell what effect the paper-bag treatment has on the pH of the blood. (help)