Chapter 15, Problem 55P

Heating air in the lungs. Human lung capacity varies iron about 4 L to b L, so we shall use an average or 5.0 L. The air enters at the ambient temperature of the atmosphere and must be heated to internal body temperature at an approximately constant pressure of 1.0 aim in our model. Suppose you are outside on a winter day when the temperature is −10°F. (a) How many moles of air does your lung hold if the 5.0 L is at the internal body temperature of 37°C? (b) How much heat must your body have supplied to get the 5.0 L of air up to internal body temperature, assuming that the atmosphere is all N₂? (See Table 15.4.) (c) Suppose instead that you manage to inhale the full 5.0 L of air in one breath and held it in your lungs without expanding (or contracting) them. How much heat would your body have had to supply in that case to raise the air up to internal body temperature?