52 SCIENCE ESSENTIALS 9 FOR NSW Stage 5

3.1 Digestion Mouth

Animals are unable to make their own food, as plants
do, so they must eat other organisms to obtain the
nutrients or substances they need to survive. When
food is eaten, most of it cannot be used by the body
as it is. The food must be broken down to simpler
substances that can be taken into and used by
body cells. Think about that Big Mac. The proteins,
carbohydrates and fats in it contain complex
molecules made up of simpler building blocks.
Proteins are made up of amino acids. Carbohydrates
are made up of simple sugars, such as glucose. Fats
and oils are made up of fatty acids and glycerol. It is
the role of the digestive system to break down these
complex substances into their simpler building
blocks.
salivary gland
tongue
oesophagus salivary glands
Digestion starts in the mouth. Here food is broken
down by chewing. This is referred to as mechanical or
physical digestion. Large pieces of food are ground
up into smaller pieces. This increases the surface area
of the food on which saliva can work, and allows the
food to be swallowed easily.
Saliva is produced by the salivary glands in the
mouth. It contains salivary amylase (AM-ill-aze). This
is one of many different digestive enzymes found in
the digestive system. An enzyme speeds up the rate
of a reaction, without being used up itself, so it can be
used again and again. The action of digestive
enzymes splits large food molecules into smaller
ones. Amylases such as salivary amylase break down
starch to maltose, a sugar containing two units of
glucose. Enzymes that break down proteins to amino
acids are called proteases (PRO-tee-azes). Lipases
(LIE-pazes) break down fats and oils to fatty acids
and glycerol.
The tongue mixes the food with salivary amylase
and rolls it into a ball ready to be swallowed. As this
happens the entrance to the nasal cavity is sealed.
A flap of skin called the epiglottis covers the entrance
to the trachea or windpipe so that the food passes
into the oesophagus and not the lungs.

Oesophagus
The tube leading from the mouth to the stomach is
liver
called the oesophagus (uh-SOF-a-gus). It is lined
gall bladder stomach
with muscles that contract behind the food and relax
duodenum in front of it. This pushes the ball of food down into
pancreas the stomach. These muscular contractions are called
large peristalsis (per-i-STAL-sis). They occur in all parts of
intestine
the digestive tract, which is the name of the series of
small digestive organs joined together.
intestine
Stomach
A ring of muscle surrounds the entrance to the
caecum stomach. It is called a sphincter muscle. Once food
enters the stomach, this muscle contracts, sealing off
rectum the oesophagus and preventing food moving
appendix backwards. The stomach is a sack-like bag with
muscular walls. The movement of the muscular walls
churns the food in the stomach and mixes it with
gastric juice, which contains the enzymes pepsin and
rennin. Both pepsin and rennin break down proteins.
Rennin makes milk more solid so it stays in the
stomach for longer. This is important for babies

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because most liquids move through the stomach
after about 10 minutes, so with rennin present, the
milk can be properly digested.
Gastric juice also contains hydrochloric acid,
which is needed for these enzymes to work. The walls
of the stomach are not corroded by the acid because
glands in the walls of the stomach secrete mucus,
which coats and protects them.
When food leaves the stomach it is a soupy liquid
called chyme. Another sphincter muscle, at the base
of the stomach, opens to allow the chyme to move
into the duodenum. It takes about 6 hours for an
average meal to pass through the stomach. Some fats
can remain in the stomach for 30 hours.
Duodenum
The duodenum (du-o-DEE-num) is the first 30 cm of
the small intestine. Here, bile and pancreatic juice
continue digestion. Bile is a greenish-yellow fluid
made in the liver. It is stored in the gall bladder,
which is found on the surface of the liver and empties
into the duodenum through the bile duct. It contains
bile salts, which turn fats and oils into tiny droplets
(an emulsion). This provides a larger surface area for
pancreatic lipase to work on. This enzyme is
produced by the pancreas and breaks down fats and
oils to fatty acids and glycerol. Bile also contains
sodium hydrogen carbonate (baking soda), which
neutralises the acidic chyme, so that the enzymes in
the small intestine can work. Bile salts convert
vitamins A, D, E and K, as well as cholesterol, into
forms that can be used by the body. Vitamins are
essential substances that your body needs to be
healthy. Cholesterol is a substance found in your
blood and brain. It is an important part of
membranes in animals.
As well as lipase, the pancreas also produces
pancreatic protease, which continues the digestion of
proteins. It also contains pancreatic amylase, which
breaks down starch to maltose and glucose.
Digestion in other animals
Not all animals have the same digestive system as
humans. For example, cows are called ruminants and
have a four-chambered stomach.
Food is swallowed into chambers 1 and 2, where
bacteria cause the food to ferment, and the cellulose
in plant cell walls is broken down. Chamber 1, called
the rumen, is a storage chamber for unchewed food.
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CHAPTER 3: Health and nutrition 53
The food is then shaped into balls and regurgitated or
passed back to the mouth for chewing. The food is
swallowed again and this time completes its passage
through chamber 2 again and then chambers 3 and 4
as fluid and fine particles.
small
intestine
oesophagus
1
3 2
4
rumen
Cows also have a 50-metre-long intestine to
continue breaking down cellulose. By comparison,
your small intestine is only about 8 metres long.
Herbivores (animals that eat plant material) often
have a large appendix. This is a small finger-like
extension of the caecum (SEE-cum)a small sac that
is connected to the large intestine. The bacteria in the
appendix continue the digestion of cellulose. Your
appendix has no digestive function. It can sometimes
become infected and may need to be removed.
In birds, food moves from the stomach to a gizzard
before going to the intestine. The gizzard is quite
muscular and contains rocks and grit. These help to
grind up the food, since birds dont have teeth.
Some animals like the hydra have a body that is a
single tube with one opening that acts as a mouth
and an anus. A hydra stings its prey with tentacles
which then push the prey into its mouth. Cells lining
the internal walls of the body produce enzymes that
digest the prey and absorb (take in) small food
particles. The hydra then contracts its body to thrust
any wastes out of its mouth.
mouth tentacles
Tentacles feed
External cells
sting prey.
prey into mouth.
digestive cells lining
the inside of the
food particles body cavity
 54 SCIENCE ESSENTIALS 9 FOR NSW Stage 5

1 Enzyme action
INVESTIGATION

Aim Method
To design an experiment to test one of the following Part A
hypotheses: Follow the instructions on the packet to make junket using
A An enzyme is affected by temperature. full-cream milk.
B An enzyme is affected by pH. How long did it take for the junket to solidify the milk?
C An enzyme only works on one particular substance. What temperature was the milk?
D The amount of enzyme affects how quickly a reaction How much junket did you use?
takes place. How much milk did you use?
E The amount of food present affects how quickly a Did you stir it?
reaction takes place.
Record the answers to these questions in your notebook.
F Churning (stirring) the food causes an enzyme reaction
to occur faster. Part B
You will use junket tablets, which are used to solidify The junket you just made is the control or the point of
milk to make desserts. Junket tablets contain the comparison for your own experiment. You will now vary
enzyme rennin. the way the junket is made to test your chosen hypothesis.
Risk assessment and planning The apparatus in this practical has been provided for you.
What are you going to do? How are you going to make
1 Hypothesis A or B requires the use of a Bunsen burner
your experiment a fair test?
or acids and bases. What safety precautions will be
necessary? Results
2 How should you dispose of the junket once it is made Was your hypothesis correct? Explain why or why not.
so that it doesnt make the the sink smell? Discussion
Apparatus 1 Which variable were you testing?
junket tablets assorted beakers 2 Was your experiment a fair test? Which variables did
full-cream milk thermometers you control or keep constant?
stirring rod Bunsen burner equipment 3 What could be done to improve the experiment?
different acid and base solutions (only for hypothesis B) Conclusion
different types of milk, e.g. skim, soy, UHT, and various Report your findings in a two-minute presentation to
other liquids (hypothesis C) the class.

INQUIRY
2 Digestion show and tell
Collect your own equipment using materials in your home 3 Show how bile acts like a
to demonstrate one of the following: detergent, breaking down
1 Show how muscles contract behind a ball of food and fats and oils into smaller
relax in front of it to push the food along the digestive droplets called an emulsion.
tract. Hint: Could your hands be the muscles?
2 Show if your body position makes a difference to
whether you can swallow food or drink water.

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 CHAPTER 3: Health and nutrition 55

INQUIRY
3 Summary table
Copy this table to make a summary of the digestive system so far. Complete any missing boxes. Leave room in your
notebook for more rows to be added to your table in the next section.
Organ Activity Substance produced Result
mouth saliva containing salivary Teeth and tongue carry out mechanical
amylase digestion, breaking the food down to smaller
pieces. Starch digestion starts in the mouth.
oesophagus Food moves to the stomach Nothing is produced.
by the action of peristalsis.
stomach pepsin
rennin
hydrochloric acid
mucus
duodenum Nothing is produced, but
it receives substances
from other areas.
pancreas Continues the breakdown of starch.
pancreatic proteases
pancreatic lipases
gall bladder Bile is stored here and then Nothing is produced.
carried through the bile duct
to the duodenum.

Dr Chris McSweeney life and rural animals. A friend convinced him to

WO TS
RK

study veterinary science at university, and after

AT TIS

Dr Chris McSweeney is a senior completing his degree he worked at a large animal

research scientist with CSIRO at the
N

practice for two years. Chris then decided to study

IE

University of Queensland. He is for his PhD and developed practical ways to treat
SC

researching how bacteria can more livestock poisoned after eating toxic plants.
effectively digest plant cell walls (fibre). Chris enjoys what he does. He gets to work with
There are 100 million sheep and 20 million cattle talented people, and travel around the world
in Australia, which eat about 1.5 million tonnes of meeting other scientists. His work is challenging
fibre each day. Half of the fibre is not digested because he is solving problems faced by the
properly, and forms dung and methane. The livestock industry today.
methane produced contributes to greenhouse
gases, so improving the fibre digestion of cattle
and sheep could improve the environment.
Chris has been looking at ways to genetically
alter the rumen bacteria so that they break down
plant cell walls more effectively. This would
provide ruminants with more nutrients than they
would normally receive from the food they eat,
and therefore reduce the amount of food they
need. This could save the livestock industry
$180 million each year.
Chris spent many holidays on sheep properties Dr Chris McSweeney samples the rumen from an
in Queensland and developed an interest in rural African antelope.

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56 SCIENCE ESSENTIALS 9 FOR NSW Stage 5

SKILL
Group work
Not everyone in a group works in the same way. For
example, some sit back and let others complete the task,
some get lost in discussion and never finish the task, and
some take over, not listening to others. To solve these
problems it is often good for each person to have a role to
perform, and to rotate these roles each time group work is
suggested.
Suggested group roles
Timekeeper: reminds the group of the time, so that all
of the task can be completed.
Reporter: summarises the groups ideas and presents
them to the class or group.
Recorder: writes down all the groups ideas.
Task controller: reminds the group of the tasks that still
need to be done.
Participant controller: prevents one person taking over
and ensures everyone is able to have their say without
being interrupted.
Encourager: tries to make positive statements about
group members comments, so that all participants feel
their efforts are valued.
The number of roles will vary depending on the size of
thegroup:
3 person group: timekeeper, recorder, reporter
4 person group: add a task controller to the above
5 person group: add a participant controller
6 person group: add an encourager.
1 As a group of 4 you will spend one lesson only in the
library researching possible problems that can occur
with the digestive system. The possible problems you
could be given to research by your teacher include:
appendicitis, diverticulitis, gallstones, gastric ulcers,
gastritis, gastroenteritis, food poisoning, mumps,
heartburn, cancer of the oesophagus, stomach or bowel
2 After researching, report back to the class on your
findings. It is not always easy to pay attention when a
group or person is presenting their information. To make
sure you are attentive, complete the following in point
form for each group.
a List three pieces of information that were
mentioned.
b List one interesting thing that you have found out but
which you did not know at the start.
c How well do you think the group completed the task
set? Give them a mark out of 5 as follows:
Not completed 1
Poor2
Satisfactory3
Better than most 4
Outstanding5
d Assess yourself during the presentation by
answering the questions below.
Did you:
listen quietly to the group?
not talk to others while the group was presenting
their work?
make eye contact with the group members?
smile and encourage the group to present
their work?
ask any questions of the group?
How many?

Over to you 6 List three adaptations that herbivores have to

digest cellulose in their food. Are these
1 What is digestion and why is it necessary in adaptations structural, functional or behavioural?
your body? Explain.
2 What are carbohydrates, proteins and fats broken
down to? You should now be able to
LV EM

draw a labelled diagram of

G

3 What are enzymes and why are they needed in

IN

the digestive system? What are amylases, lipases the digestive system. You
SO BL

and proteases? should also be able to indicate

O
PR

4 Explain whether you think plants would need to where substances such as
carry out digestion. carbohydrates, proteins and fats
5 What is bile and why is it needed in your body? are broken down along the digestive tract.

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 CHAPTER 3: Health and nutrition 57

The thin walls of each villus enclose a network of

3.2 Small and large
intestines
After the food has moved though the duodenum,
digestion continues in the small intestine. There,
several enzymes complete the breakdown of proteins
to amino acids. Other enzymes complete the
digestion of carbohydrates to sugars such as glucose.
Finally, several lipases complete the digestion of fat.
At this stage, the broken-down food is in a form
thatallows it to be absorbed or taken into the
bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine.
In this way the digestive system is connected to the
circulatory system.
Villi
The walls of the small intestine are lined with finger-
like projections called villi (singular villus).
The villi increase the surface area of the small
intestine walls so that more food substances can be
absorbed. Villi are only about 1 mm long. However
there are about 5 million villi in the small intestine,
providing about 30m2 (square metres) of surface area
where absorption can occur.
wall of
outer
muscle small intestine
capillaries. Food substances move into the cells that
line the walls of the villi and then pass into the
capillaries. Contractions of the villi help this
movement. The capillaries then empty into a vein
that links to the rest of the bloodstream.
Food substances are carried in the plasma of the
bloodstream to the cells. Glucose from carbohydrates
moves into the body cells where it is used in
respiration. It reacts with oxygen to produce water,
carbon dioxide and energy. Broken-down fats are
used to make cell membranes and various cell
structures. Any leftover fats are also used in
respiration or stored as fat in body tissue. Amino
acids from proteins enter the cells and are
reassembled to produce the various proteins such
asenzymes needed for cellular activities.
If there are more food substances than the body
can use, they are carried to the liver to be stored.
Asmall amount of glucose can be stored as glycogen.
A glycogen molecule is made up of many glucose
molecules joined together. Any excess glucose is
converted to fat. Beneath your skin and around most
organs are fat cells that can store fat inside them. Fat
not used by the body is stored in these cells. Amino
acids that are not used are broken down by the liver
(see the next chapter).

The large intestine

ridges covered The material that ends up in the large intestine is
by villi
made up of cellulose, plant fibres, mucus and lots of
inner water. Most of the water is reabsorbed by the large
muscle
intestine. If this material passes through the large
intestine too quickly and not enough water is
removed, diarrhoea (die-oh-REE- a) can occur. If
there is not enough fibre in the large intestine to
villi stimulate peristalsis, constipation can occur.
The large intestine also removes elements such as
calcium and iron that may be in too high a
concentration. It also removes bile salts. The bile salts
are taken back to the liver for re-use. The remaining
material is called faeces (FEE-seas). It passes into the
network of
capillaries last part of the large intestine called the rectum,
inside the where it is stored before passing out of the anus.
villi
A healthy large intestine contains large amounts of
bacteriaabout half the mass of the faeces. The
faeces also contain pigments that result from the
breakdown of red blood cells in the liver. These
pigments make the faeces brown.

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 58 SCIENCE ESSENTIALS 9 FOR NSW Stage 5
2 Small intestine model
INVESTIGATION
Aim
To model how molecules are absorbed from the small
intestine into the bloodstream.
Risk assessment and planning
1 Read the list of apparatus you will be using for this
investigation. Discuss with your teacher whether there
are any chemicals that are caustic or could stain your
fingers. Which chemicals need special disposal?
2 You will be using cellulose tubing, which acts like the
wall of the small intestine. You will then determine
whether glucose, protein or starch molecules are able
to pass through the tubing. Which of these are complex
molecules? Which are simple molecules? Predict
which molecules are likely to pass through the
cellulose tubing.
Apparatus
cellulose tubing cut into three equal lengths of 20cm
10% glucose solution
starch solution
10% gelatine solution (protein)
iodine solution in a dropping bottle
glucose test tape
protein test tape: Albustix or Uristix
3 500mL beakers distilled water 8 After half an hour test the distilled water in each
3 plastic bread-bag clips filter funnel
3 pencils 3 paperclips
Method
Part A
1 Pour a small amount of distilled water into a beaker.
Test this water with the glucose test tape first, then
with the protein test tape and finally with a drop of
iodine. (Remember iodine turns starch blue-black.)
Empty the beaker and wash it out.
2 Tie a knot in one end of each piece of cellulose tubing.
Hold the other end under running water and roll the
tubing between your fingers and thumb to open the
tubing and form a tube.
3 Using a clean filter funnel, almost fill one of the tubes
with glucose solution so that you can seal the tube
using a plastic bread clip without glucose overflowing.
4 Fill the other two tubes in the same way, one with
starch solution and the other with gelatine solution.
5 Add 250mL of distilled water to each of the three
500mL beakers.
6 Into one beaker place the cellulose tubing filled with
glucose. Slip a paperclip through the bread clip and
loop it over a pencil to hold the tubing in the beaker
as pictured.
bread clip
pencil
cellulose
tubing
250 mL
water
7 Place the tubing filled with starch and the tubing filled
with gelatine into separate beakers of distilled water in
the same way.
beaker as you did in step 1. Repeat this after 24 hours.
Record your findings.
Results
1 Were your predictions correct? Which molecules were
small enough to pass through the cellulose tubing, and
was this what you expected?
2 What variable were you testing?
3 What variables did you control?
Conclusion
How does the cellulose tubing act like the small intestine?
Why does most food need to be digested before reaching
the small intestine?
Part B
Do different liquids, for example orange juice or milk, need
to be digested before passing through the wall of the
small intestine? Design an experiment to find out.
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INQUIRY
4 Modelling molecules
The following diagrams show the action of protease, amylase and lipase in the duodenum and the rest of the small
intestine. Look at the diagrams and explain the similarities and differences between these two organs.

Duodenum Rest of small intestine

Carbohydrates e.g. starch Sugars
intestinal
amylase
pancreatic amylase

double sugar single sugar, e.g. glucose

double sugar, e.g. maltose
Proteins Proteins

pancreatic intestinal
protease protease

amino acid molecules

Fats FA
Fats
lipase small FA
FA intestinal
enzyme FA
G FA G FA lipase
G FA G FA
FA
FA FA
FA
glycerol fatty acid

3 Your own design Over to you

INVESTIGATION

1 Add the following organs to your table in

Choose one of the following.
A Design an activity to show how a folded surface has
a greater area than a flat one.
B Design an experiment to show how the shape of the
surface of the intestines affects the absorption rate
of nutrients. For example you could cut agar jelly
stained with phenolphthalein into the shape of villi
and compare its absorption rate with the absorption
rate of other shapes. (Phenolphthalein changes
colour when it comes in contact with acid.)
C Design an experiment to show how rocks and grit in
the gizzard of a bird help to break down food.
D Design an experiment to show whether teeth are
more effective than rocks and grit in breaking down
food into smaller pieces. Link your findings to the
types of food eaten by birds and humans.
E Observe a rat dissection carried out by your teacher,
and describe and draw its digestive system.
Describe similarities and differences between the
rat and human digestive systems.
Inquiry 3, then complete the relevant columns:
small intestine, large intestine, appendix,
rectum, anus
2 Describe the structure of villi in your own words.
Why do villi help absorb nutrients from the
digestive system more effectively than a smooth
tube does?
3 What happens to the breakdown products of
proteins, carbohydrates and fats when they leave
the small intestine?
4 Describe the difference between the:
a duodenum and the small intestine
b small intestine and the large intestine.
5 How is the digestive system linked to the
circulatory system?
6 Why is it important to eat lots of fibre in
your diet?
7 A Big Mac contains 85mg of cholesterol. Find out
more about this fat and why you should limit the
amount of cholesterol in your food. Find out what
fats you should eat and in what foods they are
found.

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