Smoking Lung (Jess Herr)

Author Jess Herr

Principles

- Respiration

- Causes of respiratory distress

Standards

• HS-LS1-2. Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms.

• HS-LS1-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis

Materials needed

To set-up this demonstration you will need:

- 2 liter bottle

- Drill (To create a hole in the lid of the bottle to insert the cigarette)

- Cotton balls

- Cigarette and lighter

Procedure

• To create the demonstration you will need to carefully drill a hole in the top of a 2 liter bottle (This will be the "mouth" for the cigarette)

• Fill the bottle with clean cotton balls

• Fasten the cap to the bottle and put the cigarette in the hole at the top NOTE: it might be helpful to add clay or tape around the cigarette to maximize air exchange.

• Light the cigarette outside and squeeze the bottle to force air out, and relax your grip to allow air in.

• Continue squeeing and relaxing until the entire cigarette has been used.

Explanation

With each puff of a cigarette, the smoker comes in contact with at least 40 chemicals. For example: cyanide is a poisonous salt, and arsenic is found in rat poison. Pretty incredible, isn’t it?

More importantly, tobacco contains nicotine. It’s the addictive drug. It raises blood pressure and increases heart beating. Tar is produced when tobacco is smoked. It’s a thick, dark fluid. It is known as carcinogen. Carcinogen is what causes cancer.

Here are some of the dangers of smoking:

Chronic bronchitis – it’s a condition in which bronchi are irritated and cilia become useless. This disease causes coughing and mucus secretion.

Emphysema – it’s a condition that involves the destruction of the tiny air sacs through which oxygen is absorbed into the body.

Lung cancer – it’s a condition when cilia are destroyed and mucus cannot be expelled.

Questions

1. Name one factor that influences teens to start smoking.

2. Would you be influenced by that factor? Why or why not?

3. What chemical are found in cigarette? How might these chemical affect a persons lungs?

4. Name and describe three conditions that cause respiratory distress.

Everyday examples of the principles illustrated

It is widely known that tobacco can harm a person's body in many ways that may lead to disease or death. But have you ever thought of how tobacco impacts our lives in other ways, whether we smoke or not?

Tobacco products negatively impact and damage our environment. Cigarette butts are not just a nuisance, they are toxic waste. They contain chemicals that contaminate our waterways and ground soil and harm our wildlife.^{1 2} Discarded lit cigarettes can cause fires, which can damage homes and land.³ It is also very costly to clean up cigarette waste - a problem that continues to grow every year.

The state spends more than $9 billion per year on tobacco-related medical costs. Another $8.5 billion per year is lost as a result of reduced work productivity due to increased employee smoking breaks, illness and death.⁴

Photos

http://tobaccofreeca.com