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Human digestive systemIB MYP Biology: Flashcards

What these 13 flashcards ask

  • What is the difference between mechanical and chemical digestion?
  • What is peristalsis?
  • Which enzyme in saliva starts the digestion of starch?
  • What are the two jobs of the stomach in digestion?
  • Why does the stomach produce hydrochloric acid?
  • Where is bile made and where is it stored?
  • Describe the two functions of bile.
  • Which organ makes amylase, protease and lipase to release into the small intestine?
  • Name the products of digestion of protein and of fat.
  • Name three ways a villus is adapted for absorption.
  • What happens in the large intestine?
  • What is egestion?
  • Why must large food molecules be digested before they are absorbed?

Exam questions on Human digestive system

  1. A man in Nairobi has a gallstone that blocks the tube carrying bile from his gall bladder to his small intestine. After eating a meal of fried chicken and chips he feels sharp pain and later passes pale, greasy faeces.
    Explain why the man's body digests fat more slowly while the bile duct is blocked.2 marks
  2. A student in Mumbai builds a model of the gut wall. She fills a 10 cm length of Visking tubing (a partially permeable membrane) with a mixture of starch solution and glucose solution, ties both ends and places it in a beaker of distilled water at 37 °C. After 30 minutes she tests the water in the beaker. Benedict's solution turns brick-red when heated with it, but iodine solution stays orange-brown.
    The student now repeats the investigation at 20 °C, 37 °C and 50 °C to find how temperature affects how quickly glucose leaves the tubing. Identify the independent variable and state one variable she must control.2 marks
  3. In coeliac disease the lining of the small intestine is damaged and the villi become flattened. A teenager in Sao Paulo with untreated coeliac disease loses weight and feels weak even though she eats plenty of food.
    Explain why she loses weight even though she eats plenty of food.3 marks
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Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).