oxygen = O - A nonmetallic element comprising 21% of the atmosphere by volume which occurs as a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas, O₂, and in many compounds such as water and iron ore; it combines with most elements, is essential for plant and animal respiration, and is required for nearly all combustion; atomic number 8; atomic weight 15.9994.

carbon monoxide = CO - A colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon or a carbonaceous material, such as gasoline; its toxicity is due to its greater affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen such that it greatly reduces effective oxygen transport in the blood.

carbon dioxide = CO₂ - A colorless, odorless, incombustible gas formed during respiration, combustion, and organic decomposition and used in food refrigeration, carbonated beverages, inert atmospheres, fire extinguishers, and aerosols; it combines spontaneously with water to form carbonic acid.

surface area - The extent of a 2-dimensional covering of a 3-dimensional object, or that portion of it enclosed within a boundary.

diffusion distance - The extent of space between two points, structures or surfaces over which intermingling molecules or particles in solution spread as a result of spontaneous random thermal agitation.

solubility - The relative amount of a substance which can be dissolved in a given amount of solvent; the quality, condition, or degree of a solute being soluble in a solvent, usually expressed as a decimal fraction.

oxygen transport - The general term for the set of physiological mechanisms used to carry oxygen from the atmospheric air to the mitochondria of every cell in the body; this involves bulk transport (ventilation, circulation) and diffusion (in alveoli, across the alveolar membrane into the erythrocytes and from the capillary beds through the interstitial fluid and into the cell cytoplasm and ultimately to the mitochondria); in a more restricted sense, the term implies the means by which oxygen is carried within the blood: 1.5% of the O₂, is dissolved directly in the water of plasma while the remaining 98.5% is carried bound to hemoglobin within the erythrocytes.

List:

4. The chemical forms in which oxygen and carbon dioxide are transported in the blood.

oxygen	(1) gas molecules dissolved in the water of plasma and (2) non-covalently bound to hemoglobin (oxyhemoglobin)
carbon dioxide	(1) gas molecules dissolved in the water of plasma and (2) non-covalently bound to hemoglobin (carbaminohemoglobin) and (3) chemically transformed into the bicarbonate ion (HCO3-)

11. The form of the substance, carbon dioxide (CO₂), in order from largest to smallest fraction being transported in blood in its three transport forms.

Largest Fraction

bicarbonate ion, HCO3- dissolved in water (~70%)

carbaminohemoglobin (bound to hemoglobin: ~20-23%)

gaseous CO2 dissolved in water (7-10%)

Smallest Fraction