Respiratory System Worksheets (Labeling and Review)

What Is in These Respiratory System Worksheets?

This page holds five short respiratory system worksheets that build from naming the parts to explaining how they work, and each one ends with an answer key in a table. They follow the order most biology courses teach the topic: structure first, then function, then the mechanics of breathing.

1. Worksheet 1, Labeling: name the eight main stops on the path of air from written clues.
2. Worksheet 2, Fill in the blanks: complete eleven sentences using a word bank.
3. Worksheet 3, Matching: match nine parts of the system to their jobs.
4. Worksheet 4, Sequencing and sorting: put the events of breathing in into order, then sort the parts into the upper and lower tract.
5. Worksheet 5, Short answer: explain eight "why" questions in one or two sentences each.

To make a printable copy, open your browser's print menu and choose your printer or "Save as PDF". For a quick quiz version, print only the worksheet and fold or cut away the answer key underneath it.

The worksheets practice skills rather than introduce the topic, so students should first study the labeled respiratory system diagram and the parts of the upper respiratory tract and lower respiratory tract.

Worksheet 1: Respiratory System Labeling (Name Each Stop)

Worksheet 1 is a labeling exercise: the chart at the top of this page shows the eight main stops on the path of a breath, in order, with a blank line and a clue for each one, and students write the correct name on each line. It works as an unlabeled respiratory system diagram in text form, so it suits students who are still learning to read anatomical drawings.

Instructions: Read each clue and write the name of the part on the blank line. The stops are numbered in the order air passes through them on its way in.

Word bank: alveoli, bronchioles, larynx, nasal cavity, nostrils, pharynx, primary bronchi, trachea.

Extension: For a picture-based labeling quiz, cover the labels of the diagram below with sticky notes, number each note, and ask students to write the names on a separate sheet. The same trick turns any labeled image on our site into a blank diagram, including those on the nasal cavity and lungs pages.

Worksheet 2: Fill in the Blanks

Worksheet 2 checks vocabulary by asking students to complete sentences about each part of the respiratory system with one word or short phrase from the word bank.

Word bank: alveoli, bronchi, cartilage, diaphragm, diffusion, epiglottis, larynx, nasal conchae, nostrils, pharynx, three.

1. Air enters the body through the __________ and then passes into the nasal cavity.
2. Curled shelves of bone called the __________ swirl the air inside the nasal cavity.
3. The __________ is a muscular tube in the throat that carries both air and food.
4. During swallowing, a flap called the __________ covers the entrance to the larynx.
5. The vocal cords are found inside the __________, also called the voice box.
6. The trachea is held open by C-shaped rings of __________.
7. At its lower end, the trachea divides into the right and left primary __________.
8. Gas exchange takes place in tiny air sacs called __________.
9. The right lung has __________ lobes, while the left lung has two.
10. When the __________ contracts, it flattens and air flows into the lungs.
11. Oxygen moves from the alveoli into the blood by __________.

Students who finish early can write one more sentence of their own for any two words in the bank, using a fact from the trachea or alveoli pages.

Worksheet 3: Match Each Part to Its Job

Worksheet 3 is a matching exercise that links each part of the respiratory system to its main function, which is the skill most tests ask for after labeling.

Instructions: Write the number of the correct job next to each letter. Each job is used once.

Parts

• A. Nasal cavity
• B. Pharynx
• C. Epiglottis
• D. Larynx
• E. Trachea
• F. Bronchioles
• G. Alveoli
• H. Diaphragm
• I. Cilia

Jobs

1. Exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the blood.
2. Produces sound as air passes the vocal cords.
3. Main muscle that pulls air into the lungs.
4. Filters, warms and moistens incoming air.
5. Stops food and drink from entering the airway.
6. Carries both air and food.
7. Small airways deep in the lung that can narrow or widen.
8. Stiff tube that carries air from the neck into the chest.
9. Sweep mucus and trapped dust up toward the throat.

A good follow-up question is to ask which two parts protect the airway (the epiglottis and the cilia) and how. Our pages on the epiglottis and on cilia and mucus explain both defenses.

Worksheet 4: Order a Breath In and Sort Upper vs Lower Tract

Worksheet 4 has two parts: students first number the events of one breath in, then sort a list of parts into the upper and lower respiratory tract.

Part A: Put the events of breathing in into order (1 to 7)

• ___ Air flows in through the airways until the pressures are equal.
• ___ The diaphragm contracts and flattens.
• ___ The brainstem sends signals along the nerves to the breathing muscles.
• ___ Air pressure inside the lungs falls below the air pressure outside.
• ___ The external intercostal muscles lift the ribs up and out.
• ___ The lungs expand along with the chest wall.
• ___ The chest cavity becomes larger.

Part B: Sort the parts

Write U for upper respiratory tract or L for lower respiratory tract next to each part: trachea, nasal cavity, alveoli, pharynx, bronchi, paranasal sinuses, bronchioles, nostrils.

Part B answers: upper tract = nasal cavity, pharynx, paranasal sinuses, nostrils; lower tract = trachea, alveoli, bronchi, bronchioles. The larynx was left off the list on purpose, because textbooks disagree on which tract it belongs to, as our upper vs lower respiratory tract page explains.

The cycle diagram below works as a picture answer key for Part A and adds the second half of the cycle, breathing out, for students who finish early. For the full explanation, see inhalation and exhalation and the diaphragm.

Worksheet 5: Short-Answer Review Questions

Worksheet 5 asks students to explain, in one or two sentences, why the respiratory system is built the way it is, which tests understanding rather than memory.

1. Why is breathing through the nose better for the airway than breathing through the mouth at rest?
2. Why are the cartilage rings of the trachea shaped like a C instead of a full circle?
3. Why does the left lung have only two lobes?
4. How are the alveoli suited to gas exchange? Give two features.
5. What happens to the diaphragm during a quiet breath out?
6. What are cilia, and why does the airway need them?
7. Which two gases are exchanged in the lungs, and in which direction does each move?
8. What is the difference between breathing and respiration?

Model answers are in the key below. Award full marks for any answer that gives the same idea in the student's own words, and use the linked pages, such as gas exchange and respiratory system functions, for follow-up reading.

Can These Diagrams Be Used as a Respiratory System Coloring Page?

Yes, any of the labeled diagrams on our site can be printed in black and white and colored in, and coloring each part a fixed color is a simple way for younger students to remember which part is which. Coloring works best when the class agrees on one color key and adds a small key box in the corner of the page.

• Nose, nasal cavity and sinuses: light pink, for the moist lining that warms the air.
• Pharynx and larynx: darker pink or red, for the muscular throat and voice box.
• Trachea and bronchi: light blue, with the cartilage rings outlined in white or gray.
• Lungs: pale pink or purple, with the lobes outlined in a darker pencil.
• Alveoli: orange or yellow, so the gas exchange sites stand out.
• Diaphragm: brown or dark red, for muscle.

After coloring, ask students to add one arrow showing where air enters and one showing where oxygen enters the blood. Our page on the respiratory system for kids has a simpler set of labels for younger classes.

How Can Teachers Use Respiratory System Worksheets in Class?

Respiratory system worksheets work best as short, focused practice after a lesson, used one or two at a time rather than all at once, with the answer key used for self-checking or peer marking. Most students finish a single worksheet in a short part of one class period.

• Warm-up: start the next lesson with Worksheet 1 to recall the parts.
• Homework: set Worksheets 2 and 3 together for vocabulary and function.
• Hands-on lesson: pair Worksheet 4 with a balloon lung model so students watch the diaphragm change the pressure.
• Revision: use Worksheet 5 before a test, then the online respiratory system quiz as a final check.
• Differentiation: give younger or struggling students the word banks; ask advanced students to complete Worksheet 1 without one and to add the epiglottis and diaphragm.

For students who want to go further, the pathway of air and organs of the respiratory system pages follow the same order as these worksheets.