• The respiratory quotient (RQ) is: the ratio of carbon dioxide molecules produced to oxygen molecules taken in during respiration

RQ = CO₂ / O₂

RQ values of different respiratory substrates

• Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins have different typical RQ values
• This is because of the number of carbon-hydrogen bonds differs in each type of biological molecule
  • More carbon-hydrogen bonds means that more hydrogen atoms can be used to create a proton gradient
  • More hydrogens means that more ATP molecules can be produced
  • More oxygen is therefore required to breakdown the molecule (in the last step of oxidative phosphorylation to form water)
• When glucose is aerobically respired equal amounts of carbon dioxide are produced to oxygen taken in, meaning it has an RQ value of 1

Glucose RQ

C₆H₁₂0₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O

RQ table

• The respiratory quotient is calculated from respiration equations
• It involves comparing the ratios of carbon dioxide given out to oxygen taken in
• The formula for this is:

• If you know the molecular formula of the substrate being aerobically respired then you can create a balanced equation to calculate the RQ value
• In a balanced equation the number before the chemical formula can be taken as the number of molecules/moles of that compound
  • This is because the same number of molecules of any gas take up the same volume eg. 12 molecules of carbon dioxide take up the same volume as 12 molecules of oxygen
• Glucose has a simple 1:1 ratio and RQ value of 1 but other substrates have more complex ratios leading to different RQ values

Worked example: RQ for a lipid

Linoleic acid (fatty acid found in nuts) has the molecular formula C₁₈H₃₂O₂

Step 1: Create respiration equation

C₁₈H₃₂O₂ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O

Step 2: Balance the equation

C x 18   C x 1

H x 32   H x 2

O x 4   O x 3

Step 3: Create the full equation

C₁₈H₃₂O₂ + 25O₂ → 18CO₂ + 16H₂O

Step 3: Use RQ formula

CO₂ / O₂ = RQ

18 / 25 = 0.72

Calculating the RQ for anaerobic respiration

• Anaerobic respiration is respiration that takes place without oxygen but does produce a small amount of ATP
• Depending on the organism anaerobic respiration in cells can be done via lactate or ethanol fermentation
  • Mammalian muscle cells use lactate fermentation
  • Plant tissue cells and yeast use ethanol fermentation
• The RQ cannot be calculated for anaerobic respiration in muscle cells because no oxygen is used and no carbon dioxide is produced during lactate fermentation
• For yeast cells the RQ tends towards infinity as no oxygen is used while carbon dioxide is still being produced

Worked example: RQ for Anaerobic Respiration

Ethanol fermentation in lettuce roots

glucose → ethanol + carbon dioxide + energy

Step 1: Create the respiration equation

C₆H₁₂O₆ → C₂H₅OH + CO₂ + energy

Step 2: Balance the equation

C₆H₁₂O₆ → 2C₂H₅OH + 2CO₂ + energy

Step 3: Calculate the RQ value

CO₂ / O₂ = RQ

2 / 0 = ∞ Infinity