if air is a mixture of gases how come we inhale oxygen alone?

Answer 1

If you are inhaling pure Oxygen you must be in a Oxygen Bar.

A 12-mile-thick layer wrapped around our planet, the atmosphere consists of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% argon, helium, carbon dioxide, and other gases. It also harbors a fair amount of water vapor and an unwarranted amount of pollution. As this mixture is inhaled into the lungs, about a fifth of the oxygen is retained while the rest is exhaled along with carbon dioxide and water vapor.

Answer 2

We don't inhale oxygen alone. Actually nitrogen makes up the largest portion of air that we breathe. Other gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide also make up some of the rest of the mixture. Oxygen is just the portion that our lungs absorb and use. So basically our lungs absorb and filter out the oxygen for us to use.

Answer 3

Here are 10 gases that make up clean air: In order of highest to lowest concentration they are Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon dioxide, Neon, Helium, Methane (CH4), Krypton, Hydrogen, and Xenon. Air is a mixture of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and approximately 1% other trace gases. So it seems that we breathe "air", not necessarily just oxygen. Air = a little oxygen with a lot more nitrogen. It's not that we need nitrogen, we just don't need 100% oxygen. It's just a coincidence that we need 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and the Earth contains 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen.

Answer 4

You breath all of the components in "air" when you inhale, both good and bad. Your lungs absorb some of the oxygen from the air, and deposit CO2 into the air (a waste product from your body). What you exhale has less oxygen than what you inhaled, and more CO2.

Answer 5

We don't inhale oxygen alone. If you were in an unfiltered room with large amounts of mercury vapor or natural gas leak, you would die. We filter normal gases by ways of our nose, lungs and sometimes passing gas. If you were to inhale oxygen alone for your entire life and then came back to earth you would probably die.

Answer 6

Good question. We don't only inhale oxygen. We inhale all the gasses around us. Oxygen is just the most usefull one for our bodies. Have you ever heard of someone dying from carbon monoxide poisoning? They died because they inhaled too much carbon monoxide. Most of the gasses we inhale don't hurt us in such small amounts, but in large amounts many everyday gasses can be fatal. I hope that helps you.

Answer 7

We inhale all of the gases, but oxygen is the only one our bodies use for cellular respiration.

Answer 8

We don't. We inhale air. Also, oxygen is not the only molecule that enters the bloodstream, it is just the only one we actually Need to be in there.

Answer 9

Hello =)

We inhale all the gases....

Many of them get dissolved into our blood, as well..particularly nitrogen....

The only one we make use of, however, is oxygen......

Namaste,

--Tom

Answer 10

we dont just inhale pure oxygen,we exhale all the stuff we dont need