SHORT QUESTION ANSWERS

Q#1.Why does the body need fuel?

Ans. The fuel for human body is food. Body needs fuel for energy, for growth and to keep working
properly.

Q#2.(a)What is meant by balanced diet?

(b)Why is water important in a balanced diet?

Ans.(a) The diet in which all the necessary dietary components are present in correct proportion is
called balance diet.
(b) Water is an essential part of a balanced diet because all chemical reactions in the body take
place in solution.

Q#3.Why is it important to eat a balanced diet?

Ans. Our body needs different types of food in the right quantity. If one type of food is missing, a
person can become ill. On the other hand, large quantity of particular type of food can make a
person unfit. Therefore, a balanced diet is required to maintain a healthy body.

Q#4.What is a deficiency disease? Give one example of a

deficiency disease?
Ans. DEFICIENCY DISEASE:
An illness that is caused when a vitamin is missing from our diet is called a deficiency disease.
EXAMPLE: A deficiency of vitamin C causes scurvy, a disease that makes the gums swell and
bleed, and slows down the healing of wounds.

Q#5.(a) What do enzymes do?

(b)What food types are broken down by enzymes?
i) Protease (ii) Amylase (iii) Lipase
Ans. (a) ENZYMES:
Enzymes help to break down large food molecules, thereby bringing about digestion of food.
(b) i) Protease breaks down proteins into amino acids.
ii) Amylase breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugar like glucose.
iii) Lipase breaks down fats into fatty acids and glycerol.

Q#6. What is a biological catalyst?

Ans. A biological catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction, but is not broken down or changed by it. It
lowers the amount of energy required for a chemical reaction to take place.

Q#7.(a)Describe the structure of a starch molecule?

(b) What happens to starch when it is digested?

Ans. (a) A starch molecule is made up of several glucose molecules joined together like a string of
beads.
b) Starch breaks down into glucose molecules which can be easily absorbed into the blood
stream.
Q#8.What is peristalsis ?
Ans. The wall of alimentary canal has muscles which tighten and relax to produce wave like
contractions. These contractions cause a squeezing action called peristalsis.

Q#9.What do you know about appendix?

Ans. This is a small organ lying at a point where small and large intestines join. In humans,
appendix stores good bacteria to replace those lost from the digestive system during illness.

Q#10What is anaemia? What happens to a person suffering from anaemia?

Ans. If we do not have enough iron in our diet, fewer red blood cells will be produced. This
condition is called anaemia. A person suffering from anaemia looks pale and feels tired.

Q#11.Write a short note on villi?

Ans. The wall of small intestine is folded and covered with thousands of tiny finger like projections
called villi. Villi have very thin walls and increase the surface area of the small intestine for better
absorption of food molecules in the blood stream.

Q#12. What are carbohydrates?

Ans. Hydrated carbons are called carbohydrates. These are chemicals that supply energy. They
include sugars and starch.

Q#13. Write three important roles of fats in our body?

Ans. (i) The thin layer of fat under skin acts as an insulator.
(ii) They keep the body warm.
(iii) Fats provide energy to our body.

Q#14.Discuss the role of proteins in our body ?

Ans. Proteins are needed to build new body tissue when we are growing. They are also used to
repair damaged tissue. If you cut yourself, new skin is made by proteins.

Q#15.What is roughage?
Ans. Roughage is the part of our diet that is not digested. It is mainly cellulose walls of plant cells.
Roughage helps retain water, keeping the faeces soft.

LONG QUESTION ANSWERS

Q#1Discuss digestion of food in mouth, oesophagus and stomach?

Ans. MOUTH
Food enters the mouth and is broken up and chewed by teeth. Saliva produced in the salivary
glands, is mixed with food to make it easy to swallow. Saliva also contains amylase, an enzyme
which digests starch into simple sugar called maltose. The tongue rolls chewed food into small balls
which are swallowed into oesophagus.
OESOPHAGUS:
The oesophagus is a short tube connecting the mouth to the stomach. Balls of food are pushed into
stomach by peristalsis. No digestion happens here.
STOMACH:
The stomach is muscular sac with valves at each end to control flow of food into and out of
stomach. In the stomach food is churned up by peristalsis and mixed with gastric juice. Gastric juice
contains protease enzymes which begins the digestion of proteins, and hydrochloric acid to kill
harmful bacteria present in food. Food may stay for 1 to 6 hours in the stomach .

Q2.Discuss small intestine and large intestine?

Ans.SMALL INTESTINE
The first part of small intestine is called duodenum. Bile is added to the food through bile duct. Bile
is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Pancreatic juice from the pancreas is also
added to the food in the duodenum. The walls of small intestine produce intestinal juice which
contains a variety of enzymes to digest food. These are amylase to digest starch, protease to digest
proteins, lipase to digest fat into fatty acids and carbohydrase to digest carbohydrates into glucose.
The end products of digestion are glucose, amino acids, fatty acids and glycerol. These molecules
are easily absorbed in the blood .
LARGE INTESTINE
The material that passes through large intestine consists mainly water, vegetables, fibre and
cellulose. Water is absorbed through walls of large intestine in to blood, leaving semi solid faeces.

Q3.What are enzymes? Write the important characteristics of enzymes and also write two
factors which can affect the working of enzymes.

Ans. Enzymes are biological catalysts.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ENZYMES:
i. They speed up a chemical reaction but are not broken down or changed by it.
ii. Enzymes break down large molecules into small ones.
iii. Enzymes like proteases break down protein into amino acid molecules. Lipase is an enzyme
that breaks down fats into fatty acids.
iv. When our food is churning around in our stomach and intestine, enzymes are hard at work
breaking down food molecules.
FACTORS AFFECTING WORKING OF ENZYME:
The working of enzymes is affected by changes in temperature and acidity. Each enzyme works at a
particular temperature and level of acidity.