Care Flight Entrance Practice Exam

If respiratory rate increases, what happens to pH?

Increase pH (more alkalosis) Variable Decrease (more acidosis) No change

Correct Answer:

Increase pH (more alkalosis)

Explanation:

When you breathe faster, you blow off more CO2. CO2 reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which releases hydrogen ions and lowers pH. Reducing CO2 shifts that balance, decreasing hydrogen ions and raising pH. So the immediate effect of increased respiratory rate is an increase in pH (respiratory alkalosis). The other options don’t fit because faster breathing does not raise acidity, produce no change, or vary unpredictably in the short term—the key is that CO2 loss drives pH up. (Longer-term metabolic compensation can occur, but the direct response is pH increase.)

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