After jogging in place for two minutes, Pauline & Jerry noticed that they were out of breath. Explain why their bodies needed more oxygen while exercising.

Jogging (exercising) increases the metabolic rate in the organism, and hence, its oxygen necessities. The more ATP the body consumes, the more oxygen it needs.

Explanation:

Oxygen and glucose are the basic components to produce energy. Activities such as heart bombing, or pulmonary inhaling-exhaling, among others, constantly consume energy, which is why more oxygen is needed.

While jogging, muscles need to consume more oxygen to produce ATP as a source of energy. When exercising, muscles work harder and faster than while in rest. More ATP is needed as the metabolic rate increases. Cells produce more ATP to cover the increase in metabolic rate. But to produce ATP, cells need to consume more oxygen. The more ATP the body consumes, the more oxygen it needs.

Oxygen gets to the muscle cells and other destinies through the bloodstream. Most of the oxygen joins hemoglobin molecules. While the body is at rest, 20-25% of hemoglobin molecules provide oxygen to the tissues, and the rest is stored as a reserve.

While exercising, the concentration of oxygen-hemoglobin in the bloodstream sharply decreases because the body needs more energy. As it consumes energy, it needs to get more oxygen to restore ATP. The organism needs more oxygen to satisfy its higher necessities for the molecule.