What is the typical air flow rate for a sedentary adult in terms of CO2 production?

What is the typical air flow rate for a sedentary adult in terms of CO2 production?

• A. Approximately 0.005 ft³/min.
• B. Approximately 0.01095 ft³/min.
• C. Approximately 0.02 ft³/min.
• D. Approximately 0.015 ft³/min.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that a sedentary adult at rest produces CO2 at a fairly small, but fairly well-defined rate, and that rate is used to size ventilation and estimate indoor CO2 buildup. A typical resting CO2 production is about 0.31 liters per minute. Converting that to cubic feet per minute gives 0.31 L/min ÷ 28.3168 L/ft^3 ≈ 0.01095 ft^3/min. So the airflow rate that corresponds to the CO2 produced by a resting, sedentary person is about 0.01 ft^3/min. This matches the provided value. The other numbers would correspond to rates either lower or higher than typical resting CO2 production and aren’t representative for a sedentary adult at rest.

The key idea is that a sedentary adult at rest produces CO2 at a fairly small, but fairly well-defined rate, and that rate is used to size ventilation and estimate indoor CO2 buildup. A typical resting CO2 production is about 0.31 liters per minute. Converting that to cubic feet per minute gives 0.31 L/min ÷ 28.3168 L/ft^3 ≈ 0.01095 ft^3/min. So the airflow rate that corresponds to the CO2 produced by a resting, sedentary person is about 0.01 ft^3/min. This matches the provided value. The other numbers would correspond to rates either lower or higher than typical resting CO2 production and aren’t representative for a sedentary adult at rest.