AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NOIDA

CLASS VII (2022-23)

SCIENCE
CH-2 NUTRITION IN ANIMALS
HANDOUT-I

DEFINE ANIMAL NUTRITION.

• Animal nutrition includes nutrient requirement, mode of intake of food and its utilisation in the
body.

WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS PROCESSES INVOLVED IN NUTRITION OF HUMANS?

• INGESTION - The process of taking food into the body.
• DIGESTION - The process of breakdown of complex components of food into simpler
substances.
• ABSORPTION - The process by which digested food passes into the body fluid (blood etc.).
• ASSIMILATION – The process by which absorbed food substances are utilized by the body for
producing energy and growth.
• EGESTION – The process of removal of undigested and unabsorbed food material from the
body.

“DIFFERENT ORGANISMS HAVE DIFFERENT INGESTION MECHANISMS.” EXPLAIN.

• Different animals have different organs to take in food and hence different ingestion
mechanisms.
• Bees and humming-birds suck the nectar of plants.
• Infants of mammals suckle on their mother’s milk.
• Snakes like the python swallow their whole prey.
• Some aquatic animals filter tiny food particles floating nearby and feed upon them.

Table 2.1 Various modes of feeding

Animal Mode of feeding Organs
Ant Biting and chewing
Bees and Butterfly suck the nectar of flowers Long feeding tube
Eagles Tearing flesh Beaks (modified mouths)
Housefly Sucking
Hummingbirds suck the nectar of plants
Infants of mammals suckle their mother’s milk
Lice Suck blood
Mosquitoes Suck blood/siphoning
Snail Scraping
Snakes swallow their preys as ‘whole’

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DESCRIBE THE FEEDING MECHANISM OF STARFISH.
• Starfish feeds on animals covered by hard shells of calcium carbonate.
• After opening the shell, the starfish pops out its stomach through its mouth to eat the soft
animal inside the shell.
• The stomach then goes back into the body and the food is slowly digested.

DEFINE DIGESTION.
• The breakdown of complex components of food into simpler substances (soluble and
absorbable) is called digestion.

WHAT IS ALIMENTARY CANAL? WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS PARTS INVOLVED IN IT?
• Alimentary canal is a long continuous tube running from the buccal cavity to the anus, in which
digestion and absorption takes place.
• The alimentary canal includes:
(1) the buccal cavity (mouth),
(2) food pipe or oesophagus,
(3) stomach,
(4) small intestine,
(5) large intestine,
(6) rectum and
(7) the anus.
• It also has three associated glands: salivary glands, liver, and pancreas.
• The food moves forward through peristalsis.
• The food components gradually get digested as food travels through the above compartments.

DEFINE HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.

• The organs of the alimentary canal and the associated glands together form the digestive
system.
(1) The organs are: the buccal cavity (mouth), oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large
intestine, rectum and the anus.
(2) The associated glands are: salivary glands, liver, and pancreas.
• The inner walls of the stomach and the small intestine, and the various glands associated with
the canal such as salivary glands, the liver and the pancreas secrete digestive juices.
• The digestive juices convert complex substances of food into simpler ones.

WHAT ARE THE SIMPLE PRODUCTS FORMED AFTER DIGESTION?

FOOD COMPONENT SIMPLER COMPONENT

(1) Carbohydrates Sugar
(2) Fats Fatty acids, Glycerol
(3) Proteins Amino acids

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 WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FOOD IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT?

THE MOUTH AND BUCCAL CAVITY:

• Food is taken into the body through the mouth. The process of taking food into the body is
called ingestion.
• Digestion begins in the buccal cavity. The buccal cavity contains:
(1) Teeth – These help in chewing the food and breaking it down mechanically into small
pieces.
(2) Tongue - It mixes saliva with the food during chewing and helps in swallowing food.
(3) Salivary Glands – These secrete saliva that breaks down the starch into sugars.

THE FOODPIPE/OESOPHAGUS:
• The swallowed food coming from mouth moves down the oesophagus.
• Food is pushed down by movement of the wall of the food pipe - peristalsis.
• No digestion occurs here.

THE STOMACH
Structure
• It is a thick-walled bag and shaped like a flattened J.
• It is the widest part of the alimentary canal.
• It receives semi-digested food from the food pipe, partially digests it, and then pushes
chyme into the small intestine.
Function
• The inner lining of the stomach secretes mucous, hydrochloric acid and digestive juices.
• The mucous protects the lining of the stomach.
• The acid kills many bacteria that enter along with the food and makes the medium in the
stomach acidic and helps the digestive juices to act.
• The digestive juices break down the proteins into simpler substances.
• Both mechanical and chemical digestion happen here.

THE SMALL INTESTINE

• The small intestine is highly coiled and is about 7.5 metres long.
• It receives chyme from the stomach.
• Complete digestion of food happens here.
• It is also the major region of absorption.
Digestion in the small intestine
It receives secretions from the liver and the pancreas.
Besides, its wall also secretes juices.
(1) Liver
 The liver is a reddish-brown gland situated in the upper part of the abdomen on the
right side.
 It is the largest gland in the body.
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  It secretes bile juice that is stored in a sac called the gall bladder.
 The bile plays an important role in the digestion of fats. Bile emulsifies fats into small
droplets.
(2) Pancreas
 The pancreas is a large cream coloured gland located just below the stomach.
 It produces pancreatic juice which acts on carbohydrates, fats and proteins and
breaks down complex molecules into simpler ones.
(3) The partly digested food now reaches the lower part of the small intestine where the
intestinal juice completes the digestion of all components of the food. The
carbohydrates get broken into simple sugars such as glucose, fats into fatty acids and
glycerol, and proteins into amino acids.

Absorption of digested food in the small intestine

The digested food can now pass into the blood vessels in the wall of the intestine. This process is
called absorption.
• The inner walls of the small intestine have thousands of finger-like outgrowths called villi.
• The villi increase the surface area for absorption of the digested food.
• Each villus has a network of thin and small blood vessels close to its surface.
• The surface of the villi absorbs the digested food materials.
• The absorbed substances are transported via the blood vessels to different organs of the
body.
The food that remains undigested and unabsorbed enters into the large intestine.

ASSIMILATION
• The absorbed substances are transported via the blood vessels to different organs of the
body.
• Here they are used to build complex substances such as the proteins required by the body.
• This is called assimilation.
• In the cells, glucose breaks down with the help of oxygen into carbon dioxide and water,
and energy is released.

LARGE INTESTINE
The large intestine is wider and shorter than small intestine.
It is about 1.5 metre in length.
• Its function is to absorb water and some salts from the undigested food material.
• The remaining waste passes into the rectum and remains there as semi-solid faeces.
• The faecal matter is removed through the anus from time-to-time.
• This is called egestion.

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Q. WHERE DOES DIGESTION BEGINS IN HUMANS?
• In humans, digestion begins in the buccal cavity. The buccal cavity contains:
• TEETH – These help in chewing the food and breaking it down mechanically into small pieces.
• TONGUE - It mixes saliva with the food during chewing and helps in swallowing food.
• SALIVARY GLANDS – These secrete saliva that breaks down the starch into sugars.

Q. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FOOD IN MOUTH?

• Food is broken down into small pieces.
• Starch digestion begins here.
• Saliva breaks down the starch into sugars and lubricates food.

Q. WHICH PART OF AILIMANTARY CANAL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR:

• KILLING OF BACTERIA – Stomach (HCl Acid)
• FORMATION OF FAECES – Large Intestine

Q. WHAT IS BILE?
• Bile is a yellowish-green digestive juice.
• It is produced by liver and stored in the gall bladder.
• It helps in digestion of fats and makes the chyme alkaline.

III. Differentiate between:

(a) Small Intestine and Large Intestine
(b) Liver and Pancreas

IV. Give Reasons:

(a) Grass-eating animals chew continuously.
(b) Villi are present in the inner walls of the small intestine.
(c) Digestion starts in buccal cavity.
(d) Hydrochloric Acid is released in stomach.
(e) Tongue plays a vital role in digestion.
(f) Gastric juices are important.
(g) Amoeba pushes out pseudopodia.

V. Answer the following questions:

(a) What functions does a tongue performs? (List any 3) (3)
(b) Draw a well-labelled diagram of amoeba showing the processes of ingestion and
egestion. (3)
(c) Where is bile produced? Where is it stored? Which component of food does it help to
digest? (1+1+1=3)
(d) Explain the location and function of villi. (2)
(e) Explain the basic process of digestion of food and release of energy in amoeba with the
help of a diagram. (1+1+1=3)
(f) List the simplest forms of the following nutrients when they are broken down after
digestion is completed in small intestine: (1+1+1=3)
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 (1) Carbohydrates
(2) Fats
(3) Proteins
(g) Draw a neat well labelled diagram showing the process of ingestion, digestion, and
egestion in Amoeba. (3)
(h) How do ruminants digest food? (3)
(i) State the role of the following in the process of digestion in humans: (3)
(1) Hydrochloric Acid (2) Oesophagus (3) Villi
(j) Name any two ruminant animals. (2)
(k) Humans cannot digest grass. Justify. (2)
(l) Label the following system:

(m) There are numerous finger-like outgrowths in the inner wall of small intestine. What
are these? Explain their role/function in digestion. (3)

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 AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NOIDA
CLASS VII (2023-24)
SCIENCE
CH-2 NUTRITION IN ANIMALS
WORKSHEET

LEVEL-1

Q1. Choose the correct option for the following questions:

(i)Digestive juices present in saliva converts
(a) starch into simple sugars
(b) proteins into amino acids
(c) complex sugars into simple sugars
(d) fats into fatty acids and glycerol

(ii)The bile plays an important role in the digestion of

(a) carbohydrates
(b) fats
(c) sugar
(d) starch

(iii)The largest gland in the human body is

(a) liver
(b) pancreas
(c) stomach
(d) oesophagus

(iv)The digestive food is absorbed in

(a) large intestine
(b) stomach
(c) liver
(d) small intestine

(v)The process in which the absorbed food is used for producing energy is called
(a) ingestion
(b) absorption
(c) assimilation
(d) digestion

(vi) Assertion- the digestive tract and the associated glands together constitute the digestive
system
Reason- the digestive juices convert complex substances of food into simple ones.
a) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is correct explanation for assertion.
b) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is not correct explanation for
assertion.

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c) Assertion is correct statement but reason is wrong statement.
d) Assertion is wrong statement but reason is correct statement.

(vii)Assertion- our mouth has the salivary glands which secrete saliva.
Reason- the salive do not breaks down the starch into sugar.
a) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is correct explanation for assertion.
b) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is not correct explanation for
assertion.
c) Assertion is correct statement but reason is wrong statement.
d) Assertion is wrong statement but reason is correct statement.

(viii) Assertion- after eating the sweets, food and other things washing of mouth and teeth are very
important.
Reason- the chocolates, sweets, soft drinks and other sugar products are the major culprits of
tooth decay.
a) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is correct explanation for assertion.
b) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is not correct explanation for
assertion.
c) Assertion is correct statement but reason is wrong statement.
d) Assertion is wrong statement but reason is correct statement.

(ix)Assertion- the inner lining of the stomach secretes mucus HCl and digestive juices.
Reason- the stomach is thick-walled bag having S shape.
a) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is correct explanation for assertion.
b) Assertion and reason both are correct statement and reason is not correct explanation for
assertion.
c) Assertion is correct statement but reason is wrong statement.
d) Assertion is wrong statement but reason is correct statement.

Q2. Answer the following:

(i) Which organ of the body secretes bile?
(ii) Name the organ of the body which stores bile?
(iii) Which organ of the body secretes bile? Where is bile stored?
(iv) Which organ helps in getting the taste of food we eat?
(v) Name four different tastes which can be detected by our tongue?
(vi) What is alimentary canal?
(vii) Name the various organs of the human digestive system?
(viii) Name the type of micro-organism that digests cellulose (a carbohydrate) present in the
(grass) food of a ruminant?

LEVEL 2
(i) How many teeth does an adult man have?
(ii) What is the action of saliva on food?
(iii) What is the role of mucus and hydrochloric acid in stomach?
(iv) Distinguish between egestion and assimilation?
(v) What is the function of pseudopodia in amoeba?

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 LEVEL 3

Q1. Label the following parts in figure and name them.

(a) The largest gland in our body.
(b) The organ where protein digestion starts.
(c) The organ that releases digestive juice into the small intestine.
(d) The organ where bile juice gets stored.

Q2. Boojho and Paheli were eating their food hurriedly so that they could go out and play
during the recess. Suddenly, Boojho started coughing violently. Think of the reasons why he
was coughing.
Pharynx is a common passage for both food and air. A cartilaginous flap called epiglottis closes
the opening of wind pipe while eating and thus prevents the entry of food into the wind pipe.
Sometimes, when one eats hurriedly, talks or laughs while eating, the epiglottis remains open. The
food may enter the wind pipe and coughing helps to clear it.

Q3. Choose the odd one out from each group and give reasons.
(i) liver, salivary gland, starch, gall bladder
(ii) stomach, liver, pancreas, salivary gland
(iii) tongue, absorption, taste, swallow
(iv) oesophagus, small intestine, large intestine, rectum.

Q4. Boojho took some grains of boiled rice in test tube ‘A’ and Paheli took boiled and
chewed rice in test tube ‘B’. Both of them poured 1 – 2 drops of iodine solution into the test
tube and observed the colour change. What colour change would they have observed? Give
reasons for your answer.

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