Adapted from L. Miriello by S.

Sharp

Ahmed El Hefny 23/11/2011 IB Biology Guided Reading Chapter 41

1. What are essential amino acids and essential fatty acids? Essential amino acids and fatty acids are needed by the body and needed to be ingested from an external source because of the fact that the body cannot synthesize them on its own. These essential acids are vital towards all biological functions such as movement and even life. Without these acids, the organism would suffer and ultimately die. An example of these acids in humans would be 20 essential amino acids such as Glutamine. 2. Contrast vitamins and minerals. Minerals are macronutrients, meaning that they are needed in the body in an amount greater than 0.005% of the body. An example of these minerals would be calcium, needed for bone structure and teeth formation, and iron needed for oxygen transport in hemoglobin. Vitamins are micronutrients meaning that they are needed in the body in small amounts, and they are needed in a quantity of less than 0.005% of the body mass. Their main function is that they work as co-factors for enzymes, and these enzymes cannot function without them. An example of a vitamin would be Vitamin A, referred to as Retinal, oxidized from Retinol. A deficiency in this vitamin would cause xerophthamia and night-blindness. An excess would cause symptoms of brain tumors. We obtain this from the chain Beta Carotene found in carrots. 3. Define the following terms: a. Ingestion: Taking in food by absorbing it or consuming it. b. Digestion: the process of breaking down food by mechanical and enzymatic action in the stomach and intestines into substances that can be used by the body. c. Enzymatic hydrolysis: a process during digestion when the macromolecules are absorbed and taken from the food ingested by splitting them up through an enzymatic addition of water. d. Absorption: Process by which a substance enters the body or certain organs.

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Adapted from L. Miriello by S. Sharp

e. Elimination: Organic reaction where two functional groups are split to form an organic product. 4. Contrast intracellular and extracellular digestion. Basically, intracellular digestion occurs within cells in the cytoplasm using existing enzymes inside the organelle. Extracellular digestion occurs outside the cell such as in the gut. 5. Label the diagram below of the human digestive system.

6. What are the accessory glands of the digestive system and why are they call accessory are they part of the digestive tract? Accessory glands are digestive tissues that are not direcly linked to the main gland itself, and is not part of the tract, and thus, is referred to as accessory because they arent part of the digestive tract. 7. What is peristalsis? Peristalsis is the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the muscles of the intestine or another canal, creating wavelike movements that push the contents of the canal forward.

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Adapted from L. Miriello by S. Sharp

8.

Use the diagram below to label and explain the process of swallowing.

9.

What are the three cell types of the gastric glands and what does each of them secrete? - Chief cells: Release digestive enzymes. - Parietal cell: Releases hydrochloric acids. - Mucus cell: Release mucus.

10. Why is it an advantage that pepsin is secreted in its inactive form? It is an advantage because if released in its active form they can cause injury to the gastric mucosa because they are proteolytic enzymes. 11. Describe the first part of the small intestine what activity is occurring here? The preliminary break down of food using digestive enzymes. 12. What is bile is its action mechanical or chemical digestion? A bile is an alkaline fluid secreted by the liver; mechanical digestion.

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Adapted from L. Miriello by S. Sharp

13. Complete the chart below use it as a study guide for the process of enzymatic digestion and the respective enzymes.

14. How does the body control the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine? The body controls the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine through an enzyme that signals the break down of food depending on the quantity needed. 15. What role does the liver play in homeostasis with regard to digestion? The liver is a large internal organ and is involved in various metabolic reactions, and thus, it generates a lot of heat. The liver maintains blood sugar level and creates urea as well. 16. What is the major role of the large intestine in the digestive process? The large intestine absorbs water from indigestible food such as cellulose and passes the waste to be excreted from the anus.

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Adapted from L. Miriello by S. Sharp

17. Does the appendix have a role in the human body? Not really, the appendix has little to no function and is an evolutionary vestigial structure that isnt needed anymore in the body. 18. How can you infer an organisms diet based on its teeth? The shape of the teeth predetermine the food to be ingested, for example a carnivore has razor-sharp teeth to tear through flesh and bone, while a herbivore needs wide and flat teeth to chew vegetation. 19. What general trends are noted in the digestive tracts of herbivores and carnivores? herbivores have longer tracts because they need more time to absorb the nutrients from the vegetation, while carnivores have a shorter one because they need to consume the nutrients from the meat more quickly. 20. What is different about the ruminants digestive system that adapts it to eating a diet of cellulose? They have symbiotic relationship between microorganisms such as bacteria and even protozoa that inhabit their gut and digest the cellulose.

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