Chapter 6: NUTRITION (Keywords)

1 Nutrition: process by which organisms obtain energy and nutrients from

2 Nutrients:
3 Autotrophs:
4 Photoautotrophs:
5 Holophytic nutrition
food, for growth, maintenance and repair of damaged tissues.
the important substances which are required for nourishment of
an organisms.
organisms that are able to synthesise complex organic
compounds from raw, simple inorganic substances (water and
air) by using light or chemical energy. These organisms
manufacture their own food by photosynthesis or
chemosynthesis.
chlorophyll containing organisms that utilise solar energy for
building organic substance.
= Photoautotropic nutrition

6 Chemoautotrophs : organisms synthesise organic substances by utilising chemical

energy.
7 Heterotrophs: organisms that are not able to synthesise their own nutrients but
they obtain the nutrients from other organisms.
8 Holozoic nutrition: organisms feed by ingesting solid organic matter that digested
and absorbed into the bodies.
9 Saprophytism: organisms feed on dead and decaying organic matter.

10 Parasitism: organisms obtains nutrients (absorbs readily digested food) by

living on / in the body of another living organisms (the host)
11 Diet: the food and drink that we consume.

12 Balanced diet: diet that contains the correct proportions of all the different
classes of foods for the requirement of body.
13 Metabolisme: the sum of all biochemical reactions that occur in the cells of
living organisms.
14 Metabolic rate : a measure of the energy demands of the living body over
a specified period of time. Unit – kilojoule (kJ)
15 Energy value / calorific the quantity of heat produced when one gram of food
value of food: is completely oxidised. Unit – Joules per gram (J g-1) or
calories.
16 Carbohydrates: food that provide energy

17 Proteins: Build new tissues / important in growth and repairing damaged

tissues
18 Fats: Food that provide energy / storage of extra foods

19 Water: act as medium for biochemical reaction / transportation of

substances
20 Vitamins: prevent diseases / efficient metabolism / important for normal
growth
21 Minerals: important for normal growth and development of teeth, bones
and muscles
22 Roughage / Dietary fibre: prevent constipation / stimulate peristalsis
23 Malnutrition: Result from taking an unbalanced diet. Certain nutrient are
excess, lacking or in the wrong proportions.
24 Scurvy: Lack of Vitamin C. Characterized by bleeding gums and loose
teeth
25 Marasmus: Lack of protein, the child becomes very thin and looks old for
his age
26 Kwashiokor: Lack of protein, stunted growth, belly swells, loss of appetite

27 Ricket: Lack of calcium and phosphorous. The child’s bones are soft
and can bend out of shape
28 Osteoporosis: Lack of calcium, phosphorous and Vitamin D. The elderly’s
bones become porous and easily break
29 Assimilation: The process whereby some of the absorbed food materials are
converted into new protoplasm or used to provide energy
30 Digestion: The process by which large food molecules are broken down
into small, soluble and diffusible molecules that can be
absorbed by the body cells
31 Excretion: The process by which metabolic waste products and toxic
materials are removed from the body of an organism. E.g.
sweating, sweat is a metabolic waste product
32 Egestion: The removal of undigested matter from the body. Egestion
would be like pooing-you’re egesting faeces which are
basically undigested food. [Different to excretion! See
excretion.
33 Peristalsis: The rhythmic wave-like contractions of the walls of the gut

34 Photosynthesis: The process in which light energy absorbed by chlorophyll is

transformed into chemical energy
35 Grana: Place where light reaction occurs

36 Stroma: Place where dark reaction occurs

37 Photolysis: Breakdown of water molecules into hydrogen ions and

hydroxyl ions
38 Reducing sugars: Sugars that produce a red precipitate when boiled with
Benedict’s solution. E.g. glucose, maltose, fructose, lactose
39 Rodents: Herbivores: rabbit, rat, squirrels. Have anaerobic bacteria in
caecum
40 Ruminant: Herbivores: cow, sheep, camel. Have anaerobic bacteria and
protozoa in stomach.
41 Enzymes: Biological catalysts made of protein. They alter the rate of
(mostly catalyse) chemical reactions without themselves being
chemically changed at the end of the reactions
42 Amylase: Enzyme that hydrolyses starch into maltose

43 Pepsin: Hydrolyses protein into polypeptide

44 Trypsin: Hydrolyses polypeptides to peptides

45 Erepsin: Hydrolyses peptides to amino acids

46 Rennin: Enzyme that changes soluble protein (caseinogen) in milk into

insoluble protein (casein)
47 Bile: Greenish fluid that emulsify fats. Made in the liver, stored in
the gall bladder
48 Deamination: The breakdown of excess amino acids

49 Aneroxia nervosa: An eating disorder in which one refuses to eat as they have a
distorted body image that causes them to perceive themselves
as overweight
50 Bulimia nervosa: An eating disorder in which one starts to consume large
amounts of food at once and is followed by purging to rid
themselves of the food they ate.
51 Gastritis: A condition whereby the stomach lining becomes inflamed

52 Obesity: A disease caused by an increase in body weight because of

excess body fats
53 Pasteurisation

54 Salting

55 Pickling

56 Hydroponics Plants are grown in salt solution rather than soil

57 Aeroponics Plants grow in soil free environment. No medium required.

58 Biological Control