Why is Carbon, the building block of life, safe when eating or drinking (carbonated water), but not when breathing (carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide)?

Question

Why is Carbon, the building block of life, safe when eating or drinking (carbonated water), but not when breathing (carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide)?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The properties of a molecule are usually really different from its components’. For example, you need a molecule made of two oxygen atoms to survive (O2). But when there’s a third atom, it’s poisonous (O3).

Also, you can and do breathe CO2. The problem is inhaling ONLY CO2. Which is what kills you since you don’ get O2.