Question

What effect does oxygen have on the colour of blood?

• A. Makes it blue
• B. Makes it red
• C. Makes it pale
• D. It has no effect

Answer 1

The correct option is B Makes it red

Our blood gets its red color from oxygen.Our blood has this molecule in it called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is like a little transporter for oxygen. It is used by your body to get oxygen to your muscles. This starts when oxygen from the lungs bind to the hemoglobin. After that, our heart pumps the blood to our muscles so they can use the oxygen. Then, our blood returns to the lungs so that the hemoglobin can pick up more oxygen.
When oxygen attaches to a hemoglobin, the hemoglobin changes "shape" and it looks "red". After that oxygen is removed by our muscles, the hemoglobin changes "shape" again, and this time it looks "blue". So...when you're looking at your veins and arteries, the ones that look "blue" have blood without oxygen in them. The ones that look "red" have blood with oxygen in them.