Q42. A typical adult human lung conta... [FREE SOLUTION]

Chapter 1: Q42. (page 19)

A typical adult human lung contains about 300 million tiny cavities called alveoli. Estimate the average diameter of a single alveolus.

Short Answer

Expert verified

The average diameter of a single alveolus is 0.234 mm.

Step by step solution

Step 1. Volume of a sphere

The volume of a sphere can be calculated using its radius. Both these values are directly related to each other. Hence, as the radius increases, the volume of the sphere also increases.

Step 2. Calculation of the volume of alveolus

Assume that the alveoli are spherical, and the volume of a typical human lung is about 2.05 liters.

Given that there are 300 million alveoli per lung.

So, the volume of a single alveolus is:

$\begin{matrix} V = (\frac{2.05 liters}{lung}) (\frac{1 lung}{3 脳 10^{8} alveoli}) \\ = (6.833 脳 10^{- 9} \frac{liters}{alveolus}) (\frac{10^{6} {mm}^{3}}{1 liter}) \\ = 6.833 脳 10^{- 3} \frac{{mm}^{3}}{alveolus} \end{matrix}$

Step 3. Calculation of the radius and diameter of a single alveolus

The radius of a single alveolus can be calculated as:

$\begin{matrix} V = \frac{4}{3} 蟺 r^{3} \\ (6.833 脳 10^{- 3} {mm}^{3}) = \frac{4}{3} 蟺 r^{3} \\ r = 0.117 mm \end{matrix}$

The average diameter of a single alveolus can be calculated as:

$\begin{matrix} d = 2 r \\ d = 2 (0.117 mm) \\ d = 0.234 mm \end{matrix}$

Thus, the average diameter of a single alveolus is $0.234 mm$ .

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

Full Textbook Solutions
Get detailed explanations and key concepts
Unlimited Al creation
Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...
Ads-free access
To over 500 millions flashcards
Money-back guarantee
We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with 91影视!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

91影视

A typical adult human lung contains about 300 million tiny cavities called alveoli. Estimate the average diameter of a single alveolus.

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Step 1. Volume of a sphere

Step 2. Calculation of the volume of alveolus

Step 3. Calculation of the radius and diameter of a single alveolus

One App. One Place for Learning.

Most popular questions from this chapter

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

Further Mechanics and Thermal Physics

Fields in Physics

Energy Physics

Fundamentals of Physics

Oscillations

Waves Physics

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.