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Biology: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Anaerobic Respiration (Questions)

This Biology quiz is called 'Anaerobic Respiration' and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at middle school. Playing educational quizzes is a fabulous way to learn if you are in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade - aged 11 to 14.

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This quiz looks at anaerobic respiration, in which glucose is broken down in the absence of oxygen, releasing energy - but also lactic acid. Respiration is one of the key features of all living creatures. Aerobic respiration occurs where there is a plentiful supply of oxygen. Where the oxygen supply is more limited, anaerobic respiration takes place.

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During anaerobic respiration, considerably less energy is released by the cell. It involves the incomplete breakdown of glucose which produces lactic acid in the muscles of an animal, and alcohol plus carbon dioxide when it occurs in yeasts and bacteria.

During exercise, breathing rate increases to get more oxygen into the body which is transferred to the blood in the lungs. Heart rate increases to pump more blood round the body but, during hard exercise, the body is unable to supply sufficient oxygen to the muscle cells. This results in anaerobic respiration.

During this form of respiration, lactic acid is formed; only a small fraction of the energy is released from the glucose and so the muscles become more and more fatigued. Large quantities of lactic acid in muscles will cause them to contract suddenly - we call this cramp. Heart muscles don't fatigue as easily as the other muscles in your body as their cells contain more mitochondria than normal muscle cells and can continue to release energy through aerobic respiration even when the other muscles can't. After exercise, the heart and breathing rate remain high for a period of time as the body oxidizes the lactic acid that has built up in the muscles. The amount of oxygen equired to do this is referred to as the oxygen debt

But anaerobic respiration isn't all bad - we rely on it to make bread, yogurt and alcoholic drinks. Yeasts, and some bacteria, release energy by anaerobic respiration to produce carbon dioxide and ethanol. This is called fermentation and the carbon dioxide can be used to make bread 'rise' and to create the 'sparkle' in beers and fizzy wines. On a large scale, fermentation can be used to produce bioethanol, which is used as a sustainable fuel, or to release methane in a biodigester to produce biogas. Biogas is another sustainable fuel that is most commonly used in developing countries - although there are farmers in the UK who use the waste from their animals to provide this form of renewable energy to their farms.

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1. What does anaerobic mean?
[ ] Lots of energy
[ ] Lots of oxygen
[ ] Lack of oxygen
[ ] Lack of carbon dioxide
2. The products in muscles respiring anaerobically are carbon dioxide and what else?
[ ] Amino acid
[ ] Fatty acid
[ ] Lactic acid
[ ] Sulphuric acid
3. Build up of lactic acid in muscles leads to cramps and what else?
[ ] Waste
[ ] Fatigue
[ ] Alcohol production
[ ] Nightmares
4. Blood flow away from muscles helps to remove which of the following?
[ ] Oxygen
[ ] Lactic acid
[ ] Water
[ ] Energy
5. Yeast cells undergo anaerobic respiration. Which of the following is a product of this?
[ ] Alcohol
[ ] Oxygen
[ ] Water
[ ] Light
6. Oxygen has to be paid back as a result of oxygen...
[ ] crisis
[ ] doubt
[ ] shortage
[ ] debt
7. Which of the following undergoes anaerobic respiration?
[ ] The liver
[ ] The muscles
[ ] The eye
[ ] The pancreas
8. During anaerobic respiration, the breakdown of glucose is...
[ ] incomplete
[ ] complete
[ ] indifferent
[ ] slow
9. When would athletes muscles have to use anaerobic respiration?
[ ] When oxygen has been used up already
[ ] When oxygen is in good supply
[ ] At the start of the race
[ ] During sleep
10. What is broken down during anaerobic respiration?
[ ] Energy
[ ] Biomass
[ ] Glucose
[ ] Vitamin C
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Biology: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Anaerobic Respiration (Answers)
1. What does anaerobic mean?
[ ] Lots of energy
[ ] Lots of oxygen
[x] Lack of oxygen
[ ] Lack of carbon dioxide
Anaerobic respiration is the last resort for muscles which need to keep on contracting but have very little oxygen
2. The products in muscles respiring anaerobically are carbon dioxide and what else?
[ ] Amino acid
[ ] Fatty acid
[x] Lactic acid
[ ] Sulphuric acid
Lactic acid is formed by the incomplete breakdown of glucose
3. Build up of lactic acid in muscles leads to cramps and what else?
[ ] Waste
[x] Fatigue
[ ] Alcohol production
[ ] Nightmares
Very little energy is released during anaerobic respiration
4. Blood flow away from muscles helps to remove which of the following?
[ ] Oxygen
[x] Lactic acid
[ ] Water
[ ] Energy
It removes other waste products, such as CO2, from the muscle cells too
5. Yeast cells undergo anaerobic respiration. Which of the following is a product of this?
[x] Alcohol
[ ] Oxygen
[ ] Water
[ ] Light
This is the process of fermentation
6. Oxygen has to be paid back as a result of oxygen...
[ ] crisis
[ ] doubt
[ ] shortage
[x] debt
This 'debt' is only paid off when all of the lactic acid has been oxidized and therefore removed from the muscles
7. Which of the following undergoes anaerobic respiration?
[ ] The liver
[x] The muscles
[ ] The eye
[ ] The pancreas
Muscles use up a lot of energy
8. During anaerobic respiration, the breakdown of glucose is...
[x] incomplete
[ ] complete
[ ] indifferent
[ ] slow
Complete breakdown forms carbon dioxide and water, not lactic acid
9. When would athletes muscles have to use anaerobic respiration?
[x] When oxygen has been used up already
[ ] When oxygen is in good supply
[ ] At the start of the race
[ ] During sleep
When operating at maximum effort, the body is unable to supply sufficient oxygen to the muscles for aerobic respiration
10. What is broken down during anaerobic respiration?
[ ] Energy
[ ] Biomass
[x] Glucose
[ ] Vitamin C
Glucose is the molecule which is broken down during respiration. Glycogen and starch can be broken down if needed to provide the glucose