the-BA : Underwater breathing

Scuba diving is an increasingly popular pastime; more and more people are enticed by the depths of the ocean. They may want to explore ship wrecks, swim with sharks or just marvel at coral reefs and the myriad of colourful sea life. Unfortunately, humans don’t have gills – so breathing underwater is no easy feat. That’s why we need special equipment if we want to spend time below the surface of the sea.

Have you ever wondered how we breathe underwater?

You might like to …

• find out how people breathe; find out what different types of gas make up the air we breathe
• find out what gas is used in scuba diver’s tanks; find out how the amount of gas varies as the diver goes deeper
• make some apparatus to demonstrate how a diaphragm inflates/deflates lungs; this could form part of a presentation for people taking a scuba dive course (such as PADI – http://www.padi.com/); show how this relates to a ‘regulator’ (part of the scuba equipment).

Further links:
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/scuba1.htm

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