Chapter 14

NCERT
Class 11
Biology
Solutions
Define oxygen dissociation curve. Can you suggest any reason for its sigmoidal pattern?

Question:

Define oxygen dissociation curve. Can you suggest any reason for its sigmoidal pattern?

Answer:

Oxygen dissociation curve is a graph showing the percentage saturation of haemoglobin with oxygen at different partial pressures of oxygen (pO₂). It is sigmoidal (S-shaped) because binding of one oxygen molecule to haemoglobin increases its affinity for the next oxygen molecule (cooperative binding).