What is the chemical formula for breathing?

Answer 1

cellular respiration:

(the opposite of photosynthesis)

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O

Answer 2

If you are asking how acid-base equilibrium is affected by breathing, you may be concerned with this process:

CO₂ + H₂O ---> H₂CO₃

The reaction above can occur spontaneously in water, but is also catalyzed by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase. It is accompanied by the dissociation of carbonic acid to hyrdogen ions and bicarbonate:

H₂CO₃ ---> H⁺ + HCO₃^-

Both of these reactions are reversible and follow principles of chemical equilibrium. When you exhale, CO₂ produced in metabolism leaves the blood, and the result is a reduction in carbonic acid and loss of [H⁺]. Hyperventilation (breathing very fast) leads to a faster loss of CO₂ and subsequent rise in pH than the body can compensate for via metabolism. In contrast, increased respiratory rate during exercise allows quicker loss of CO₂ as more is produced in the tissues, as well as increased oxygen delivery needed for increased rates of oxidative phosphorylation.

Answer 3

There is no single chemical formula for breathing. Many different chemical reactions take place when we breathe, but the overall process involves taking oxygen gas (O2) into our lungs as we inhale, and then the hemoglobin in our blood combines with that oxygen and carries it to molecules in our body that our digestive system has derived from our food. The overall reaction for digestion of our food is similar to a combustion reaction. The simplest combustion, or "burning", reaction is the burning of methane (natural gas) for form CO2 and water: CH4 . + . O2 . gives CO2 and H2O. When we exhale we release these same products: CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2O (water).