AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The lactic acid needs to be oxidised to carbon dioxide and water later. The creation of lactic acid (which needs oxygen to be broken down) generates an oxygen debt that needs to be repaid after the exercise stops. This is why we keep on breathing deeply for a few minutes after we have finished exercising.

Detailed explanation-2: -Lactic acid fermentation can cause muscle soreness. Heavy breathing is needed to get rid of lactic acid.

Detailed explanation-3: -Taking in the amount of oxygen required to remove the lactate, and replace the body’s reserves of oxygen, is called repaying oxygen debt. When someone who has been exercising pays back an oxygen debt, it can take from a few hours for normal exercise, to several days after a marathon.

Detailed explanation-4: -In short, oxygen debt is a temporary physiological process that occurs after performing strenuous exercise. It happens when the body can no longer distribute oxygen to muscle cells to aid the processes that make them function, resulting in muscular fatigue.

Detailed explanation-5: -Oxygen debt occurs when the body reaches a state of anaerobic respiration during intense exercise. When a person engages in high levels of physical activity, the body cannot distribute oxygen to the cells at a sufficiently rapid pace to keep up with the oxygen demand.