Life Science Notes Term 3

Digestive System:
• Person needs foot to obtain nutrients to provide energy with nutrients
• Purpose:
o Absorb nutrients from food
o Food broken up into molecules small enough to be absorbed into blood
stream
Main Processes:
1. Ingestion – Takes food through the mouth
2. Digestion – Large molecules broken down into soluble food (transported to blood
stream)
3. Absorption – Digested soluble food molecules move through wall of digestive system
to blood stream
4. Assimilation – Cells use food molecules
5. Egestion – Undigested food excreted as feces
i. Excretion – Process where metabolic waste is expelled from body
Structure:

• The alimentary canal / digestive tract is a one way tube stretching through the body.
o It starts at the mouth and end at the anus.
o Approximately 9 meters long
• Consist of:
1. Mouth
2. Oesophagus
3. Stomach
4. Small intestines
5. Large intestines
6. Rectum
7. Anus
NB: Food moves down the oesophagus through peristalsis

2 Types of digestion:

Chemical
Mechanical

Physical break down of food into smaller When the chemical bonds in food molecules are
pieces. broken, with the aid of enzymes, to form smaller
molecules.
 Starts in the mouth where the teeth bites
(incisors), tear (canines) or grinds (molars) the
food.
Also takes place in the stomach where the
muscles contract and mixes the food with
stomach juices (process=churning).
Also starts in the mouth where enzymes in saliva
(salivary amylase) begins to break down food.
Stomach secretes digestive juices that also
contains hydrochloric acid.

Note:

The small intestine contains hair like ourgrowths known as

• Villi
o Absorbs nutrients
o

Summary of digestive system:

In Depth:

• Teeth – chew food into small pieces during mechanical digestion.

• Tongue – mixes food with saliva to make it easier to swallow.
- contains taste buds.
• Salivary glands – produce saliva that makes food softer and contains an enzyme
 • that digests starch.
• Stomach – a muscular sack that produces enzymes to digest proteins
▪ (food stays in the stomach about 2 hours depending on the type of
food)
• Small intestines – secretes digestive enzymes to digest sugars, proteins, fats and oils.
• Approximately 6 m long and consists of 3 parts (duodenum,
• jejunum and ileum). Contains folds to increase surface area for
• absorption.
• Appendix – no known function in humans.
• Large intestines – consists of 3 parts (colon, rectum and anus).
- Colon is where water and mineral salts are absorbed.
- Rectum is where faeces is stored temporarily.
- Anus is the opening through which faeces leaves the body.

Accessory Organs:

• Liver:
o Right side of body, under diaphragm
o Consists of 2 lobes (right larger than left)
o Can regenerate itself
• Functions include:
o Produce bile
o Stores glucose as glycogen
o Stores vitamins
o Stores blood and iron
o NB: bile formed from broken down red blood cells

• Gall bladder:
o Attached to bottom of the liver
• Function:
o Stores bile – bile emulsifies fats
▪ aids peristalsis in intestines
▪ neutralizes chyme
▪ It is an antiseptic

• Pancreas:
• Found under stomach on the left side
• Both endocrine and exocrine gland
o endocrine: secretions released directly into
▪ blood stream, e.g. hormones
 o Insulin and Glucagon – controls blood sugar levels
o exocrine: secretions released into ducts, e.g.
▪ digestive juices
o release pancreatic juices for digestion of starch, proteins and fats
o neutralise chyme

Healthy Diet:

Health Issues:
• An unbalanced diet can cause different health issues.
• Malnutrition – not getting the correct nutrients in
• Undernourished – getting to little nutrients in
• Overeating – taking in too many nutrients (obesity)

• Kwashiorkor
o Due to diet lacking protein (diet consisting mainly of starch)
• Symptoms:
o Swelling of abdomen, hands and feet
o Black spots on body
• Marasmus
o Lack of nutrients – undernourished
o Generally affects children
o Usually due to poverty
• Symptoms include:
o Looks very skinny
o Lack of energy
o Stunted growth (including stunted mental growth)
o Dry skin
o Brittle hair

• Anorexia nervosa
o Eating disorder (abnormal fear of gaining weight)
o Limit food intake and/or over exercise
• Symptoms include:
o Underweight or extreme weight loss
o Low blood pressure
o Fatigue
o Low body temperature
o Irregular or absence of menstruation
o Constipation
o Brittle nails
o Dry hair/skin

• Bulimia
o Characterised by periods of binging(over-eating) and then purging
o Have a fear of gaining weight – NOT always UNDERWEIGHT
• Symptoms include:
o Eroding of teeth enamel
o Yellowing of teeth
o Inflammation of oesophagus
o Heart palpitations even heart attack
o Chronic stomach problems
o Reflux problems

• Diarrhoea
o Passing of stools/faeces that are thin and watery
• Due to:
o Virus (called stomach flu)
 o Also, a symptom of disease such as cholera which is caused by a bacterium –
if not treated can lead to death
• Symptoms include:
o Stomach pain
o Fever / chills
o Nausea
o Inability to control bowels

• Ulcers
o Open sore in stomach wall (gastric ulcers) or parts of intestines
o Thick mucus layer is reduced so digestive acids eat away at stomach lining
• Caused by:
o Bacterial infection
o Long term use of anti-inflammatory medication such as aspirin or ibuprofen
• Symptoms include:
o Dull pain in stomach
o Weight loss
o Not wanting to eat due to pain
o Nausea or vomiting
o Bloating
o Heart burn
o Reflux problems

• Liver cirrhosis
o Scarring of the liver due to damage to the tissue
o Scar tissue replace the healthy tissue and liver can’t function properly
• Due to:
o Drinking too much alcohol
o Infection by Hepatitis C virus
• Symptoms include:
o Stomach pain
o Fever / chills
o Nausea
o Inability to control bowels
Excretory System:
Excretion – process in which:

• Waste removed from blood

• Body fluids regulated
o Waste products must be removed because they are harmful to body.

Main processes:

• Filtration: takes place in the kidneys (filters the blood to remove

waste products such as urea / unwanted salts and excess water)

• Absorption: useful substances is absorbed back into the bloodstream

• Diffusion: molecules move from a high to a low concentration

• Excretion: waste from chemical processes in the body is removed in a

liquid form, called urine

Consists Of:
• 2 kidneys
• Bladder
• Kidney tubes ( 2 ureters en 1 urethra)
• Renal vein – transports clean blood from the kidneys to the
• inferior vena cava
• Renal artery – transports blood with waste products to the
• kidneys (from the Aorta)
• Kidney – filter the harmful substances from the blood and forms
urine
• Ureters – transports urine from the kidneys to the bladder
• Bladder – stores urine
• Urethra – transports urine from the bladder to the outside

Diseases:
• Kidney failure:
o The kidney looses the ability to remove waste from the blood
o Harmful substances will build up in the body
o Blood pressure increase
o Excess fluid is retained
• Treatment:
 o Dialysis
o Kidney transplant

• Bladder infection:
o Caused by bacteria
o More common in females than in males
o (females have a shorter urethra and it is closer to the vagina and the anus –
easier for bacteria to enter)

• Kidney stones:
o Crystals forming when there is too little fluid in the urine and too much waste
o The crystals can move down the ureters where they can get stuck and cause
pain

Summary of Excretory System:

Nervous System:
• The body will detect changes on the outside and the inside and then respond to the
change.

• Anything that causes a response is a stimulus (Plural = stimuli)

• The nervous system receives and respond to stimuli
• The cells that receives a stimulus – Receptor cells

• The brain and the spinal cord = central nervous system (CNS)
• All nerves leaving the CNS = peripheral nervous system (PNS)
• The nervous system sends messages = electrical impulses along nerves

• Nervous system consists of:

• Neurons
1. Sensory neuron

• Conducts impulses from the receptors to the CNS

2. Motor neuron

• Conducts impulses from the CNS to the effectors

o Effectors = Muscles and glands (Bring about a response)
3. Interneuron (Connector)

• Connects sensory and motor neurons

• Receptors
• Ears – Sound
• Eyes – light
• Nose – smell
• Skin – touch
• Tongue - tast
 • Neuron consists of:
o Dendrite – take impulse to cell body
o Cell body
o Axon – take impulse away from cell body

Know how to draw



• Reacting to a stimulus
• Stimulus is observed
• Stimulus converted to an electrical impulse
• Impulses sent to brain
• Brain interprets the impulse and sends impulses to muscles to perform an action

• Certain reactions are reflex actions

- a reflex is a fast automatic response to a stimulus to prevent injury
- e.g. removing your foot when you step on a pin

How are stimulus Detected?

1. Free nerve endings detect the stimulus(pin)
2. Impulse send to CNS via sensory neuron
3. Impulse send to effectors (muscles in foot) via the
motor neuron
 4. Muscles contract and you pull your foot away
5. At the same time impulse is sent to brain to interpret the feeling of pain

The brain
• Protected by:
• The skull
• 3 x membranes (meninges)
• Cerebro-spinal fluid
• Divided into:
• Cerebrum
• Cerebellum
• Medulla Oblongata
• Thalamus

• Cerebrum
• Divided into 4 lobes:
o Frontal
o Parietal
o Occipital
o Temporal
• Functions:
o Interpret information from all senses
o Voluntary movement
o Emotions
o Intelligence
o Memory
 • Cerebellum
o Muscle coordination
o Maintains balance / posture

• Medulla Oblongata
• Controls reflexes such as:
o Breathing
o Heart rate
o Blood pressure
o Swallowing
• Connects the brain to the spinal cord

• Thalamus
• Controls:
o Body temperature
• Sleep
• Feelings of hunger/thirst
• Aggression

The Eye:
The eye is protected by:
• Bony eye socket
• Eyelids and eyelashes (prevent foreign objects like dust/insects from penetrating the
eye)
The eye is held in place by:
• 6 muscles
Parts of the eye:
• Conjunctiva – contains pain receptors
• Sclera – the white part of the eye
• Cornea – transparent layer that is responsible for the refraction of light rays
• Iris – the colour part of the eye and forms the pupil. Contains muscles that contract
or relax to change the size of the pupil.
 • Pupil – black centre of the eye that is actually a hole and controls amount of light
entering the eye.
• Lens – transparent, bi-convex disc that focuses light rays on the retina.
• Retina – contains photoreceptors that convert light into electrical impulses.
- Rods: allow us so see in dim light/peripheral vision
- Cones: allow us to see in bright light and in colour
• Optic nerve – sends impulses to the cerebrum to be interpreted as an image.

How do we see?
1. Object reflects light.
2. Light enters the eye and is refracted by:
• Cornea
• Aqueous humour
• Lens
• Vitreous humour
1. Focused on the yellow spot on retina.
2. Photoreceptors convert light rays into electrical impulse.
 3. Optic nerve takes impulse to occipital lobe of the cerebrum.
4. Cerebrum interprets impulse as an image
NB: image on the retina is upside down.

• Diseases
• Blindness
• Lack of vision – cannot be corrected by glasses
• Can be caused by accidents (injure surface of the eye/retina becomes
detached/blood clots in the blood vessels) OR diseases(diabetes/glaucoma/cataracs)

Short-sightedness (Nearsightedness/Myopia)
• Can only see close objects clearly (closer than 6m)

• Farsightedness (Hyperopia)
• Can only see distant objects clearly
(further than 6m)

• Astigmatism
• Cornea is irregularly shaped
• Causes blurry vision
 The Ear:
The ear is divided into 3 parts:
1. Outer ear

• Pinna - Collects sound waves and direct them into auditory canal
• Auditory canal - Transmit sound waves to the eardrum
2. Middle ear

• Eardrum - Converts sound waves into vibrations

• Ossicles
o 3 tiny bones:
o Hammer (malleus)
o Anvil (incus)
o Stirrup (stapes)
o Amplify vibrations from eardrum and transmit vibrations to inner ear.
3. Inner ear

• Semi-circular canals – controls balance

• Cochlea
o Filled with fluid that starts to move due to pressure waves formed from
vibrations passed onto oval window from the ossicles.
o Contains receptors called: Organ of CORTI
o Generated electrical impulses
• Auditory nerve - Transport impulse from cochlea to the cerebrum to be
interpreted as sound.

How do we hear?
1. Pinna directs sound waves into the auditory canal.
2. Sound waves will cause the tympanic membrane to start vibrating.
3. Vibrations will be passed on to the ossicles.
4. Vibrations in ossicles will cause the oval window to vibrate.
5. This will cause the fluid in the inner ear to move.
6. This will stimulate the organ of Corti.
7. Organ of Corti will generate an electrical impulse.
8. Auditory nerve will take the impulse to the Cerebrum.
9. Cerebrum interprets the sound.
• Deafness
• Can be caused by:
o Wax build up in the ear canal (tympanic
membrane cannot vibrate)
o Damage done to ossicles (cannot vibrate)
o Cells in cochlea are damaged (loud
music/loud sounds)