Lung volume

Lung volumes and lung capacities refer to the volume of air associated with different phases of the respiratory cycle. Lung volumes are directly measured. Lung capacities are inferred from lung volumes.
The average total lung capacity of an adult human male is about 6 litres of air, but only a small amount of this capacity is used during normal breathing.
The breathing mechanism is called respiration. Tidal breathing is normal, resting breathing; the tidal volume is the volume of air that is inhaled or exhaled in a single such breath. It's 0.5 litres

	Average lung volumes in healthy adults
Volume	Men (Value-litres)	Women(Value-litres)
Inspiratory reserve volume	3.3	1.9
Tidal volume	0.5	0.5
Expiratory reserve volume	1.0	0.7
Residual volume	1.2	1.1

Lung capacities in healthy adults

Volume	Men	Women	Derivation /td>
Vital capacity	4.8	3.1	IRV+TV+ERV
Inspiratory capacity	3.8	2.4	IRV+TV
Functional residual capacity	2.2	1.8	ERV+RV
Total lung capacity	6.0	4.2	IRV+TV+ERV+RV

An average human breathes some 12-20 times per minute.
Several factors affect lung volumes; some can be controlled and some cannot. Lung volumes can be measured using the following terms:

Larger volumes	Smaller volumes
taller people	shorter people
non-smokers	smokers
people who live at higher altitudes	people who live at lower altitudes

A person who is born and lives at sea level will develop a slightly smaller lung capacity than a person who spends their life at a high altitude. This is because the partial pressure of oxygen is lower at higher altitude which, as a result means that oxygen less readily diffuses into the bloodstream. In response to higher altitude, the body's diffusing capacity increases in order to process more air.
When someone living at or near sea level travels to locations at high altitudes (eg. the Andes, Tibet, the Himalayas, etc.) that person can develop a condition called altitude sickness because their lungs remove adequate amounts of carbon dioxide but they do not take in enough oxygen. (In normal individuals, carbon dioxide is the primary determinant of respiratory drive.)