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Natural sciences

Grade 9

Life processes: healthy life

Module 2

Digestion

  • Food that is consumed must be broken down into smaller soluble particles that can be absorbed into the blood stream. This process is known as digestion .
  • The digestive process consists of the following:
  • Ingestion – food is taken in
  • Digestion – food is broken down
  • Absorption – food particles in the bloodstream
  • Egestion – excretion of undigested food
  • Digestion may be mechanical (chewing of teeth and peristalsis) or chemical (enzymes).

1. What is peristalsis?

2. Which adaptation of human beings makes peristalsis possible?

3. What are enzymes?

4. Where do enzymes come from?

5. What happens to food particles after they have been absorbed into the bloodstream?

The human digestive system

  • Study the sketch and write down the captions and their functions:

Regions of the digestive tract

Mouth:

    1. Teeth chew food mechanically until fine so that enzymes can operate.
  • Saliva from the salivary gland contains mucus to form the chewed food into a BOLUS , as well as AMYLASE , which digests starch. The mucus facilitates swallowing.

Throat to stomach:

    1. The bolus is swallowed through the pharynx or throat and follows the oesophagus or gullet to the stomach. PERISTALSIS propels the food, even against the force of gravity.
  • The EPIGLOTTIS prevents food from slipping into the trachea (windpipe) and thus preventing choking.

Stomach:

    1. The powerful muscles of the stomach grind the food to CHYM within a few hours.
  • Enzymes and gastric juice help with the further breakdown of food particles.
  • The chym is passed through the pyloric sphincter to the small intestine / ileum.

Ileum:

    1. GALL from the liver helps with the digestion of fats by emulsifying it.
  • PANCREATIC JUICE from the pancreas contains many enzymes that assist in completing digestion.
  • The intestinal wall is folded and has millions of small projections known as VILLI .
  • The villi are responsible for the ABSORPTION of nutrients.

Large intestine:

    1. This is divided into a rising section, a horizontal section and a descending section.
  • The COLON reabsorbs water, minerals and vitamins to conserve body fluid.
  • Undigested remains are stored temporarily in the last part of the large intestine, the RECTUM, until DEFECATION occurs through the ANUS.
  • ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW: DIGESTIVE TRACT

1. Explain the role of the liver in the processing of toxic substances.

2. Amylose signifies starch. What is amylase?

3. What are the building blocks referred to in an earlier table?

4. What is the gastric juice referred to earlier and from where is it derived?

5. Why doesn’t acid destroy the wall of the stomach?

6. What is an ulcer? How does it develop?

7. What is a sphincter?

8. What is a spastic colon and how is it caused?

9. What is the role of roughage in the digestive process?

10. What purpose do the millions of villi in the small intestine serve?

11. Explain how the ileum is adapted to its purpose.

12. Complete the captions to clarify the structure of the villus:

Structure of a villus

Beneficial bacteria of the digestive tract

A variety of harmless bacteria are present in the alimentary canal. Some assist in the digestion of food by producing enzymes, while other bacteria produce vitamin K, which plays a role in blood clotting.

Questions & Answers

what is biology
Hajah Reply
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments
AI-Robot
what is biology
Victoria Reply
HOW CAN MAN ORGAN FUNCTION
Alfred Reply
the diagram of the digestive system
Assiatu Reply
allimentary cannel
Ogenrwot
How does twins formed
William Reply
They formed in two ways first when one sperm and one egg are splited by mitosis or two sperm and two eggs join together
Oluwatobi
what is genetics
Josephine Reply
Genetics is the study of heredity
Misack
how does twins formed?
Misack
What is manual
Hassan Reply
discuss biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles
Joseph Reply
what is biology
Yousuf Reply
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environment.
Wine
discuss the biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles in an essay form
Joseph Reply
what is the blood cells
Shaker Reply
list any five characteristics of the blood cells
Shaker
lack electricity and its more savely than electronic microscope because its naturally by using of light
Abdullahi Reply
advantage of electronic microscope is easily and clearly while disadvantage is dangerous because its electronic. advantage of light microscope is savely and naturally by sun while disadvantage is not easily,means its not sharp and not clear
Abdullahi
cell theory state that every organisms composed of one or more cell,cell is the basic unit of life
Abdullahi
is like gone fail us
DENG
cells is the basic structure and functions of all living things
Ramadan
What is classification
ISCONT Reply
is organisms that are similar into groups called tara
Yamosa
in what situation (s) would be the use of a scanning electron microscope be ideal and why?
Kenna Reply
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is ideal for situations requiring high-resolution imaging of surfaces. It is commonly used in materials science, biology, and geology to examine the topography and composition of samples at a nanoscale level. SEM is particularly useful for studying fine details,
Hilary
cell is the building block of life.
Condoleezza Reply
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Source:  OpenStax, Natural sciences grade 9. OpenStax CNX. Sep 15, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11069/1.1
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