In the lungs, oxygen in very small sacs called alveoli | StudySoup

Textbook Solutions for Physics,

Chapter 14 Problem 14.24

Question

In the lungs, oxygen in very small sacs called alveoli diffuses into the blood. The diffusion occurs directly through the walls of the sacs, which have a thickness L. The total effective area A across which diffusion occurs is the sum of the individual areas (each quite small) of the various sac walls. Considering the fact that the mass m of oxygen that enters the blood per second needs to be large and referring to Ficks law of diffusion, what can you deduce about L and about the total number of sacs present in the lungs?

Solution

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The first step in solving 14 problem number 24 trying to solve the problem we have to refer to the textbook question: In the lungs, oxygen in very small sacs called alveoli diffuses into the blood. The diffusion occurs directly through the walls of the sacs, which have a thickness L. The total effective area A across which diffusion occurs is the sum of the individual areas (each quite small) of the various sac walls. Considering the fact that the mass m of oxygen that enters the blood per second needs to be large and referring to Ficks law of diffusion, what can you deduce about L and about the total number of sacs present in the lungs?
From the textbook chapter The Ideal Gas Law and Kinetic Theory you will find a few key concepts needed to solve this.

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Title Physics, 9 
Author John D. Cutnell, Kenneth W. Johnson
ISBN 9780470879528

In the lungs, oxygen in very small sacs called alveoli

Chapter 14 textbook questions

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