The average adult, when resting, inhales and exhales about 7 or 8 liters of air per minute. That totals about 11,000 liters of air per day.

Inhaled air is about 20-percent oxygen. Exhaled air is about 15-percent oxygen. Therefore, about 5-percent of breathed air is consumed in each breath. That air is converted to carbon dioxide. So, as far as how much air is actually used, human beings take in about 550 liters of pure oxygen per day.

A person who is exercising uses a lot more oxygen than that. To determine how much air is moving through your lungs, exhale into a plastic bag of known volume. See how long it takes to fill the bag.