Term Definition

Ingestion Process of taking food substances into the body of an animal

Digestion Ingested food substances are broken down into smaller units mechanically and
chemically

Absorption Taking up of a substance by the digestive tract

Assimilation The build up of absorbed food and its incorporation into cell components

Egestion The elimination of undigested and unabsorbed food from the digestive tract

Explain why digestion of large food molecules is essential

- Many molecules are too large to be absorbed

Draw a labelled diagram of the digestive system

Draw a labelled diagram showing the interconnections between liver, gall

bladder, pancreas and small intestine

Outline peristalsis in alimentary canal

- Circular and longitudinal muscles are antagonistic, one muscle contracts, the other one relax
- Circular muscles contract to push food to move in wave motion
Outline the role of stomach in digestion of protein
- Protein digestion begins in the stomach
- Acidic environment denatures proteins
- The gastric glands in the stomach release digestive juice which contains pepsin
- Pepsin is active in acidic environment of stomach, so that it can catalyse the hydrolysis of
proteins to break down large proteins into shorter polypeptides
- The mechanical action of stomach also promotes mixing of food and digestive juice

Explain the need for enzymes in digestion

- Enzymes increase the rate of digestion
- Enzymes break large molecules down into soluble molecules for absorption

Outline examples of digestive enzymes

Enzyme Source Optimum pH Substrate Products

Amylase Salivary gland 7 starch/amylose Maltose

Trypsin Pancreas 8 Protein Peptides

Lipase Pancreas 8 Lipids Fatty acids and

glycerol

Pepsin Stomach 1.5 Protein Shorter

Polypeptides

Explain the importance of enzymes to human digestion

- Food must be small enough to leave the gut and enter the bloodstream. Physical breakdown is
not enough, so chemical breakdown is necessary.
- Enzymes are required for chemical breakdown of food. Acting as a biological catalysts, enzymes
increase the rate of digestion and allow digestion to occur at body temperatures.
- Enzymatic digestion of protein, from protein to peptide to amino acid. Enzymatic digestion is in
specific location and with specific conditions for each reaction, such as highly acidic environment
in stomach.
- Different enzymes have different optimal pHs. Most enzymes work extracellularly
- Pepsin digest protein into shorter polypeptides. Lipase digest lipids into fatty acids and glycerol.
Amylase digest polysaccharides into disaccharides

Describe the digestion of food in the human digestive system

- Chewing food increases surface of food
- Starch digestion begins in mouth by amylase
- Protein digestion begins in stomach
- Acidic condition in stomach provides optimum pH for enzymes
- Stomach muscle contration causes mechanical digestion
- Alkaline condition in small intestine provides optimum pH for enzymes
- Bile salts help to emulsify fats
- Amylase digest starch into maltose, from the salivary glands
- Lipase breaks down lipids into fatty acids and glycerol, from the pancreas
- Pepsin digests protein into shorter polypeptides