Hey, look how much fun respiration is!

Today we made lungs one singular lung. 

*I wonder if we could implant it into a real person.*
*coughcough*
Nope, never mind.
Bad idea.

Look at this super artistic picture I took. YEAH.

 

Our first attempt wasn't working, so we tried again.

Here's what it looks like in action:

So, we learned that the contraction of the diaphragm (bottom balloon) is what happens when we inhale, and it relaxes when we exhale. When we breathe, the ribcage (the plastic cup) expands to allow the lungs (balloon inside the cup) enough room to inflate. When the diaphragm contracts, air rushes through the trachea (straw) into the lungs. They deflate when the diaphragm goes back into it's resting position. Basically, the *breathing in* part requires a muscle contraction of the diaphragm.