Question

You are locked in a (5 meters long, 5 meters wide, 5 meters high) room with no oxygen air flow into the room. How long can your survive in this room (5 meters long, 5 meters wide, 5 meters high)? Additional Notes Provided: Human tidal volume (the volume of air that moves in and out of the lungs during normal quiet respiration) is 500 mL for an adult. Resting respiratory rate for adults is 18 breaths per minute (bpm) under stressful conditions. For a human adult breathing normal air, inhaled air is 20.8 % O2. The density of normal air is about 1.2g/L. If you are unable to answer the question with the provided information, please indicate which additional information is needed for me to look up online.

Answer 1

Dimensions of the Room:

L = 5m

W = 5 m

H = 5 m

Volume of the air in the room = 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 m³

1m³ = 1000L

Volume of the air in the room = 125 x 1000L = 1.25x10⁵ L

Percentage of oxygen in air = 20.8%

Volume of the oxygen in the room = 0.208 x 1.25x10⁵ L = 26000L

Human tidal volume = 500 mL = 0.5L

Resting respiratory rate = 18 breaths per minute (bpm)

Volume of consumption of of oxygen = 0.5L x 18/min = 9 L/min

Time for complete consumption of oxygen:

9L/min x t = 26000L (t is the time required for the complete consumption of oxygen)

t = 26000L / 9 L min^-1 = 2888.89 min

So time avilable to survive in the given room = 2 days