AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The second phase is called expiration, or exhaling. When the lungs exhale, the diaphragm relaxes, and the volume of the thoracic cavity decreases, while the pressure within it increases. As a result, the lungs contract and air is forced out.

Detailed explanation-2: -As we learned from Boyle’s Law, increasing the volume decreases the pressure within the thoracic cavity and the lungs. Quiet expiration is a passive process, in which the diaphragm and the external intercostal muscles relax, and the elastic lungs and thoracic wall recoil inward.

Detailed explanation-3: -Upon inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and flattens and the chest cavity enlarges. This contraction creates a vacuum, which pulls air into the lungs. Upon exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its domelike shape, and air is forced out of the lungs.

Detailed explanation-4: -Diaphragm’s Role in Breathing When the diaphragm contracts and moves lower, the chest cavity enlarges, reducing the pressure inside the lungs. To equalize the pressure, air enters the lungs. When the diaphragm relaxes and moves back up, the elasticity of the lungs and chest wall pushes air out of the lungs.

Detailed explanation-5: -[1] Increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity causes a decrease in the intrathoracic pressure and an influx of air. Meanwhile, decreasing the volume of the thoracic cavity generally occurs by the relaxation of the muscles of inspiration, which causes an increase in intrathoracic pressure and results in exhalation.