Mississippi Science HAP.12.2
The Standard
- HAP.12
- Students will investigate the structures and functions of the respiratory system, including the cause and effect of diseases and disorders.
Describe structural adaptations of the respiratory tract and relate these structural features to the function of preparing incoming air for gas exchange at the alveolus.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Respiratory System
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace inhaled air from the nose through the trachea and bronchi to the alveoli. They explain how nasal conchae and a moist, blood-rich lining warm and humidify the air. They explain how mucus traps particles and cilia move them away from the alveoli.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can label nasal conchae, mucus, cilia, and tracheal cartilage on a diagram and explain each job. They can explain how these structures help clean, warm, moist air reach the alveoli.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think mucus moves dust out on its own, when cilia move the mucus toward the throat. Some think the alveoli warm and filter air. Others miss that cartilage keeps the trachea open.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, give students a simple nose-to-alveolus diagram. Ask them to label nasal conchae, mucus, cilia, and tracheal cartilage and write one job for each.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Use dry and damp cotton swabs to collect paper dots from a tray, then explain how mucus traps dust.
Ask students to write why breathing through the nose changes cold air before it reaches the alveoli.
Give pairs structure and job cards for nasal conchae, mucus, cilia, and cartilage; have them match the cards and explain their choices.
Give students a runner's complaint about breathing cold air through the mouth, then ask how nose breathing would change the air.
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Printable HAP.12.2 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- HAP.12.3
Identify the five mechanics of gas exchange: pulmonary ventilation, external respiration, transport gases, internal respiration, and cellular respiration.
- HAP.13.2
Use models to describe structural adaptations present in each organ of the tract and correlate the structures to specific processing of food at each stage (e.g....
- HAP.12.1
Design and use models to illustrate the functions of the organs of the respiratory system.
- HAP.12.4
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to develop a model of the mechanisms that support breathing and illustrate the inverse relationship between volume...
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