Respiratory System Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. During exercise, breathing becomes faster and deeper. What is the best physiological explanation?
The lungs must produce additional red blood cells for the muscles
Working tissues need more oxygen and produce more carbon dioxide
The diaphragm begins exchanging gases directly with the bloodstream
The trachea absorbs extra oxygen to prevent the alveoli from expanding
2. Which sequence correctly traces inhaled air from the nose into the gas-exchange region of the lungs?
Nasal cavity → pharynx → larynx → trachea → bronchi → bronchioles → alveoli
Nasal cavity → larynx → pharynx → trachea → bronchioles → bronchi → alveoli
Nasal cavity → pharynx → esophagus → trachea → bronchi → alveoli → bronchioles
Nasal cavity → trachea → larynx → pharynx → bronchi → bronchioles → alveoli
3. If airway cilia are damaged, which problem is most likely?
Food will routinely pass from the pharynx into the nasal cavity
Oxygen will diffuse from the blood back into the alveoli under all conditions
The diaphragm will be unable to contract during inhalation
Mucus and trapped particles will be cleared less effectively
4. Which description best identifies the pleural membranes?
Thin layers surrounding the lungs and lining the chest cavity
Muscles between the ribs that change chest volume
Mucus-lined folds that produce sound in the larynx
Cartilage rings that hold the trachea open
5. During an asthma flare, smooth muscle tightens and the small airways narrow. What is the most direct effect?
The pleural membranes stop separating the lungs from the heart
Resistance to airflow increases, making it harder to move air through the bronchioles
Gas exchange shifts from the alveoli to the trachea
The diaphragm can no longer receive oxygen from the bloodstream
6. Which structures are tiny air sacs surrounded by capillaries where most gas exchange occurs?
Bronchi
Alveoli
Pleurae
Sinuses
7. A disease damages alveolar walls and merges many small air sacs into larger spaces. Which change would most directly reduce gas exchange?
An increase in the number of airway cartilage rings
A decrease in the distance between the mouth and pharynx
An increase in mucus filtering within the nasal cavity
A decrease in the surface area available for diffusion
8. A section of airway remains open despite pressure changes during breathing because C-shaped cartilage supports its wall. Which structure is it?
Esophagus
Alveolus
Trachea
Diaphragm
9. Alveolar air has a higher oxygen concentration than the blood arriving in nearby pulmonary capillaries. What normally happens next?
Oxygen diffuses from the alveoli into the capillary blood
Carbon dioxide moves from the blood into the alveoli while oxygen remains stationary
Oxygen moves into the pleural cavity before entering the blood
Oxygen moves from the blood into the alveoli by active transport
10. Which part of the brainstem automatically helps regulate the basic rhythm of breathing?
Medulla oblongata
Thalamus
Cerebellum
Corpus callosum
11. A label points to either of the two large tubes that branch directly from the trachea and enter the lungs. What structure is being labeled?
Bronchioles
Primary bronchi
Pulmonary capillaries
Alveoli
12. Which structure is located behind the nasal and oral cavities and serves as a shared passage for air and food?
Larynx
Trachea
Pharynx
Diaphragm
13. A person swallows a bite of food without it entering the trachea. Which structure helped direct the food away from the airway?
Uvula
Pleura
Epiglottis
Alveolar duct
14. During a normal inhalation, what happens to the diaphragm to help draw air into the lungs?
It relaxes and moves upward, increasing chest volume
It contracts and moves upward, decreasing chest volume
It relaxes and flattens, decreasing pressure in the chest
It contracts and flattens, increasing chest volume
15. A diagram shows that the left lung has less volume and fewer lobes than the right lung. What best explains this difference?
The left lung does not contain primary bronchi
The diaphragm rises only beneath the left lung
The left lung shares its side of the chest with the liver
Space is needed for the heart, producing a cardiac notch in the left lung
16. What is a primary respiratory function of nasal hairs and mucus?
They create the pressure changes that inflate the lungs
They exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with capillary blood
They trap particles before those particles travel deeper into the airways
They prevent the trachea from collapsing during inhalation