KS4 Biology: Digestion Part One

KS4 Biology
Digestion - Part One
1 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

Contents
Digestion – Part One
Energy from food

The digestive system
Teeth
Enzyme properties
Digestive enzymes
Summary
Energy from food:
The 7 food groups represent

large chemicals.
fats minerals water fibre

proteins vitamins carbohydrates
These chemicals are often chains of smaller, more useful

chemicals, joined together.

Energy molecules in food
One example is carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are made of long chains of identical

small sugar molecules.
sugar molecule
carbohydrate

Small sugar molecules
The small sugar molecules are very useful.
The body has to break these large food molecules up

into single or small chain sugar molecules. These are
used to make…
ENERGY

How can we release energy from food?
Problem One - releasing smaller sugars
Physical means like slicing and cleaving food does not

break down the long chain molecules and release the
sugars.
This is because we can’t release sugars from carbohydrates

by physically breaking them up.

Chemical breakdown
The chain of sugars is held together by…
chemical bonds
Chemical bonds require a chemical technique if they

are to be broken.

Problem with food size
Problem 2 - The food we start with is often large in size.
Being large, the food tends to be unable to dissolve.

We say it is large and insoluble.

Food solubility
The food needs to be soluble so that it can dissolve in

the blood and thus, be transported around the body.
The smaller the food, the more likely they will dissolve.
So the digestive system has to cope with both these

problems.
Soluble product
Digestion
Blood vessel
Contents
Energy from food

Teeth
Enzyme properties
Digestive enzymes
Summary
The digestive system:
The digestive system, being an organ system, is

made of a group of organs all working together.
Each organ has a particular function and only by

working together will they get the job done.

External digestive system
The only visible parts of the digestive system are the

entry and exit points.
Mouth Anus
The sound of a rumbling stomach and the fact that

food looks very different when it leaves, compared to
when it enters mean that the body must be doing
something to the food during its journey.
What happens to the food in our bodies?

What happens to the food in our body?
It is digested.
This means it is broken down.
This digestion happens in 2 ways.
As we know all food has a physical shape and is

made of chemicals. These chemicals are held
together by chemical bonds.

Chemical and physical digestion
Our digestive system uses both:
chemical digestion
physical digestion
As we move through the digestive system, we will see one or

both of these methods in action at any one time.
physical chemical
The shape of the food must be This allows useful chemicals

physically changed so that it can to be released and dissolve
fit through the small diameter of in the blood. To be broken
the digestive system. down chemically, the bonds
must be broken.
In we go!
Digestion is the chemical and physical breakdown of

large insoluble molecules into small soluble molecules.
Let’s take a close look at how this happens… Open wide

The digestive tract
All food enters our digestive system through the

mouth and waste material leaves through the anus.
The digestive system is really mouth

one long tube with an opening
at each end.
Stretched out it is a 9m tube!
anus

Our guts
But how does a 9m tube fit into a space,

which is less than a metre long?
It is extremely folded!
In addition, the tube passes through organs on its

route from the mouth to the anus.

Digestive system diagram

Physical digestion
The mouth is where digestion begins. Here we find both

chemical and physical methods of digestion.
We will consider physical digestion first.
If you look in the mirror and smile, you immediately notice

your teeth.
You will also realise that your teeth are different shapes.
You have 4 basic types of teeth; each type is designed

for a different role.

Contents
Energy from food

Teeth
Enzyme properties
Digestive enzymes
Summary
Teeth:
Each is designed to do a different job.
premolar molar
canine incisor
central latent
incisor incisor
canine
1st premolar
2nd premolar
1st molar
2nd molar
3rd molar

Diagram of a tooth

Tooth size and shape
The shape and size of each tooth is related to the

function they have in digesting food.
If we look at the teeth of other animals many of them

too have these 4 types of teeth.
However, the number of each type, their size and their

shape differ between species.
This is because other organisms have different diets.

Mammalian tooth types
Canine
Sharp pointed teeth, which are used to bite and tear food.
Incisors
Small rectangular shaped teeth, which are found

between the canines. They are used for cutting food.
Premolars
Found behind the canines and are used to grind soft food.
Molars
Found behind the premolars and are used to grind hard food.

Action in the mouth
Together, these teeth can break up most foods that

we put into our mouths. The mechanical act of
chewing food is part of physical digestion.
Once the teeth have digested the food, it may be small

enough to be swallowed. However, some food can be
sharp and it would be uncomfortable to swallow. The
food also needs chemically breaking down.
Therefore, the mouth produces a substance that solves

both of these problems at the same time.

Saliva
These glands (a special type of tissue)

produce saliva, a sticky liquid.
As mentioned, the saliva has two jobs.
Being a liquid, it softens the food and allows the digested

food to be rolled into a ball just before it is swallowed.
It also contains a chemical known as an enzyme.

Contents
Energy from food

Teeth
Enzyme properties
Digestive enzymes
Summary
Enzyme properties:
What is an enzyme?
Enzymes are chemicals, which act to speed up chemical

reactions. They are produced from glandular tissue,
which is found all over the body.
In order to understand how an enzyme works, you have

to think of it as having a particular shape.
Somewhere on the surface of the enzyme is an

important region known as the active site.

What’s so special about enzymes?
We will use the shape below to represent on particular enzyme.
Active site
enzyme
In order for an enzyme to be able to speed up or

catalyse a reaction, it must attach to the
chemicals that are reacting. It does so using its
active site.

Specificity of enzymes
The red areas on these

+ two reacting chemicals
represents the areas
where the active site of
the enzyme will attach.
The enzyme will attach to
both at the same time.
Enzymes are very specific.
Enzymes can only speed up certain reactions.

If the shape of the reacting chemicals does not match the
shape of the active site, the enzyme will not be able to work.

The environment matters
Therefore, enzymes are specific to certain reactions.
Enzymes are also very particular about the environment

that they work in.
To understand this, think of how you do homework.
You probably have a certain place to

work, or you work at a certain time,
you may like listening to music whilst
you work or else you can only work if it
is completely silent.

Enzymes and pH
Different enzymes work best in different conditions.
If the condition is wrong, their active site can change

shape. Say one particular enzyme works best in acidic
conditions (pH less than 7). If the pH rises and the
conditions become alkaline, the enzyme changes shape
and stops working. It can no longer fit with the reacting
particles of the chemical reaction.
pH< 7 pH 10

Food groups and enzymes
The bulk of the food that enters the digestive system is

from the three main food groups:
proteins carbohydrates fats
Therefore, it is not surprising that the digestive system

has enzyme-producing glands that relate to these
three types of food.
Remember that the shape of the chemicals within the
different food groups will be different. Therefore the
shape of the enzymes that digest these chemicals will
also be different.

Contents
Energy from food

Teeth
Enzyme properties
Digestive enzymes
Summary
Digestive enzymes:
Carbohydrates are chains of identical sugar molecules.

The enzyme that digests carbohydrates must be able to
break the chemical bonds between the individual sugar
molecules.
sites of enzyme attack
sugar
The product of the chemical breakdown of carbohydrates

is sugar. The sugar is known as glucose.
Enzymes that digests carbohydrates are known as

carbohydrases.

Enzyme driven reaction
The digestion of carbohydrates can be represented

by the following equation.
carbohydrase
Carbohydrates Sugars
carbohydrase

Proteins and amino acids
As with carbohydrates, proteins are made of chains of

chemicals. However, instead of the chain containing
identical molecules, in protein these molecules are
different.
Protein is made up of chains of amino acids. There
are over 20 different kinds of amino acid.
sites of enzyme attack

amino acids
Imagine a bead necklace made up of over 20

different kinds of bead.
Enzymes for digesting proteins
The enzymes that digest proteins must

be able to break the chemical bonds
between the different amino acids. sites of
amino
acids enzyme
Enzymes that digest protein are known attack
as proteases.
The digestion of proteins can be represented by the

following equation.
protease
Protein Amino Acids

Fat in our food
Fats are made up of a molecule of glycerol phosphate

attached to three fatty acid molecules.
The enzymes that digest fats must be able to break the

chemical bonds between the glycerol phosphates and the
fatty acids.
Fats are also known as lipids.
fatty
acids
site of
enzyme
attack
glycerol
phosphate
Enzymes for digesting fat
The enzymes that digest fats must be able to break

the chemical bonds between the glycerol phosphates
and the fatty acids.
Fats are also known as lipids.
Enzymes that digest fat (lipid) are known as lipases.
Fat digestion can be represented by the following equation:
lipase
Fat Fatty Acids + Glycerol Phosphate

Carbohydrase in saliva
Of these three enzymes, the only one that is released

within the mouth is carbohydrase. This is partly because
the conditions within the mouth are suitable for
carbohydrase action.
It works best within an alkaline (pH > 7) environment.
The carbohydrase in saliva in combination with other

digestive carbohydrases added later from the pancreas
and the small intestine complete carbohydrate digestion.

Digestive action of the mouth - summary
Carbohydrates
Fats
Proteins
physical chemical
digestion digestion
The food could now

pass down either the
trachea (windpipe) or
the gullet/oesophagus.
physically chemically and

digested physically digested
sugars

Contents
Energy from food

Teeth
Enzyme properties
Digestive enzymes
Summary
Multiple-choice quiz

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KS4 Biology

Digestion - Part One

1 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

Digestion – Part One

Energy from food

The 7 food groups represent

fats minerals water fibre

These chemicals are often chains of smaller, more useful

3 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

One example is carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are made of long chains of identical

4 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

The small sugar molecules are very useful.

The body has to break these large food molecules up

5 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

Problem One - releasing smaller sugars

Physical means like slicing and cleaving food does not

This is because we can’t release sugars from carbohydrates

6 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

The chain of sugars is held together by…

Chemical bonds require a chemical technique if they

7 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

Problem 2 - The food we start with is often large in size.

Being large, the food tends to be unable to dissolve.

8 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

The food needs to be soluble so that it can dissolve in

So the digestive system has to cope with both these

Digestion – Part One

Energy from food

The digestive system, being an organ system, is

Each organ has a particular function and only by

11 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

The only visible parts of the digestive system are the

The sound of a rumbling stomach and the fact that

What happens to the food in our bodies?

12 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

This means it is broken down.

This digestion happens in 2 ways.

As we know all food has a physical shape and is

13 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

As we move through the digestive system, we will see one or

The shape of the food must be This allows useful chemicals

Digestion is the chemical and physical breakdown of

Let’s take a close look at how this happens… Open wide

15 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

All food enters our digestive system through the

The digestive system is really mouth

Stretched out it is a 9m tube!

16 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

But how does a 9m tube fit into a space,

In addition, the tube passes through organs on its

17 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

18 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

The mouth is where digestion begins. Here we find both

We will consider physical digestion first.

If you look in the mirror and smile, you immediately notice

You have 4 basic types of teeth; each type is designed

19 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

Digestion – Part One

Energy from food

Each is designed to do a different job.

21 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004

22 of 44 © Boardworks Ltd 2004