Equipment

Pg 28 of demonstrations model gut

Demo digestion - Boiling tube
15 cm length of visking tubing
2% starch solution
2% diastase solution
Iodine solution (to test for starch). For further information on preparing and using iodine solutions see
CLEAPSS Recipe Cards and Hazcards
Benedicts solution (to test for reducing sugar)
Four test tubes
Water bath
Goggles

Model molecules

TOPIC 7: Human Nutrition

Alimentary Canal

Which is the odd one out?

Intestine

Lungs

Stomach

Mouth

What happens in digestion?

Lets model digestion!!

KEY WORDS
Ingestion - the taking of substances, e.g. food and drink, into the body
through the mouth
Mechanical digestion - the breakdown of food into smaller pieces without
chemical change to the food molecules
Chemical digestion - the breakdown of large, insoluble molecules into small,
soluble molecules
Absorption - the movement of small food molecules and ions through the
wall of the intestine into the blood
Assimilation - the movement of digested food molecules into the cells of
the body where they are used, becoming part of the cells
Egestion - the passing out of food that has not been digested or absorbed,
as faeces, through the anus

A long tube!
We can think of the digestive system as
if it were a long tube

Breaking up of food
During its journey down the tube, food
is gradually broken down into smaller
parts until it can be absorbed by the
blood. This is called digestion.

The journey begins in the mouth

Ingestion
Putting food into the mouth is called
ingestion (feeding).

Teeth
The incisors help us to
bite the food into
large chunks the food

The molars help to

grind the food into
even smaller
pieces.

Saliva
Salivary glands produce saliva which makes
the food moist and easier to swallow

Saliva also contains enzymes, which are

chemicals which break down the food
chemically.

Gullet/oesophagus/food pipe
The gullet is a tube with a muscular
wall that squeezes the food into the
stomach

Gullet/oesophagus/food pipe
It takes around 10 seconds for food to
travel from the mouth to the stomach

Stomach
The stomach is a stretchy muscular bag
which mixes the food with hydrochloric
acid and pepsin, an enzyme which helps
to digest protein molecules

Stomach
The stomach churns the
food for about 2 4 hours

Small intestine
The stomach squirts food into the small
intestine.

Small intestine
Here food is mixed with digestive juices
from the liver and pancreas.

Small intestine
Bile from the liver breaks up fat.

Small intestine
Pancreatic juice contains enzymes that
digest carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

(small intestine)

Small intestine
As food passes
along the long
tube of the small
intestine, its
molecules become
small enough to be
absorbed into the
blood through the
intestine walls.

Surface area
The lining of the small intestine has a
large surface area to help this to
happen.
villi

Small intestine
The small intestine is about 6 metres
long and food spends up to 6 hours here.

Large intestine
The large intestine absorbs water from
what remains of the food.

Large intestine
Semi-solid (if youre lucky!) faeces are
formed after 12-36 hours in the large
intestine.

Rectum
Faeces are stored in the rectum until
there is a convenient moment to get rid
of them!

Anus
They exit through your anus. This is
called egestion.

Peristalsis
Throughout its journey, the food is
squeezed down the digestive system by
muscular walls in a process called
peristalsis. >

1. Complete WS1 using page 77 of the text book to help

you.
2. Add the following labels onto your diagram;
a)Mechanical digestion
b)Ingestion
c)Chemical digestion
d)Absorption
e)Assimilation
f)Egestion

The process of digestion

The intestines