Year 9 · Science · beta

Breathing and respiration

This unit explores the human gas exchange system, breathing mechanisms, and adaptations for function. It covers aerobic and anaerobic respiration, including fermentation, and compares their processes and implications. Focus is on accuracy, reliable measurements, and SI units.

This is an attributed Oak National Academy lesson sequence, not a completed or academically approved DASKEREL course. Supporting transcripts may depend on video, images, practical equipment or teacher explanation. Follow each lesson’s supervision guidance. For religious education and RSHE, follow the school’s syllabus, policy and safeguarding procedures.

This Oak index uses an earlier export and lists 6 source lessons. DASKEREL has 8 original lessons for this unit, including 2 linked to source lessons absent from that export. Read the full DASKEREL unit.

Prior knowledge

  • [Y2] Animals, including humans, need air for survival.
  • [Y4, Y6] Humans are made up of different parts with different functions, including organ systems such as the digestive system and circulatory system.
  • Living organisms are made up of one or more cells.
  • Specialised cells in animals and plants have shapes, sizes and structures that are adapted for the jobs the cells do.
  • Muscles have important roles in organ systems.
  • Cells contain mitochondria that use food as a fuel to provide energy for life processes.

Source curriculum references

  • Pay attention to objectivity and concern for accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility
  • Make and record observations and measurements using a range of methods for different investigations; and evaluate the reliability of methods and suggest possible improvements
  • Understand and use SI units and IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) chemical nomenclature
  • The structure and functions of the gas exchange system in humans, including adaptations to function
  • The mechanism of breathing to move air in and out of the lungs, using a pressure model to explain the movement of gases, including simple measurements of lung volume
  • Aerobic and anaerobic respiration in living organisms, including the breakdown of organic molecules to enable all the other chemical processes necessary for life
  • A word summary for aerobic respiration
  • The process of anaerobic respiration in humans and micro-organisms, including fermentation, and a word summary for anaerobic respiration
  • The differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration in terms of the reactants, the products formed and the implications for the organism

Oak source metadata. DASKEREL has not independently verified school-level coverage.

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