UNDERSTANDING ENERGY

TRANSFORMATIONS

ENERGY IN FOOD
Enzymes and PH
Digestive System

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 Food and Energy
 Organisms must obtain energy to carry out life
processes
 Amount of energy in food is measured in
Calories
 Food also contains raw materials (nutrients)
used to build/repair body tissues

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 Food and Energy
 Nutrients supplied by food:
1. Water
2. Carbohydrates
3. Lipids
4. Proteins
5. Vitamins
6. Minerals

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 Functions of Digestive System
 Breaks up food – physically & chemically
 Stores food for a short time
 Absorbs digested nutrients and passes them
into circulatory system
 Stores & eliminates undigested materials from
body

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 Functions of Digestive System
 Types of digestion:
1. Mechanical – physical breakdown of food by
non-chemical means
2. Chemical – the use of enzymes & other
chemicals to break down food

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 Functions of Digestive System
 Consumers must be able to break down food
into molecules that can be absorbed & used by
cells
 In many multicellular organisms, this is
accomplished by a digestive system

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 Enzymes & Digestion
 Enzyme – specialized proteins that act as
biological catalysts
 Catalyst – substance that speeds up chemical
reactions & remains unchanged by the reaction
 All the activities of living things are controlled
by chemical reactions
 Without enzymes, these reactions would not
happen and the organism would die

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 Enzymes & Digestion
 Activation energy – amount of energy needed
to get a chemical reaction started
 Chemical reaction – the breaking down and/or
forming of new compounds

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 Enzymes…
 Are: a 3-dimentional protein
 Have: a specific area that attaches to the
chemical compound undergoing a change
(active site)
 Fit: like a puzzle piece to one type of
compound (substrate)

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 Enzymes…
 Need: specific pH range

 Require: constant body temperature to work

correctly

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 Enzyme-Substrate Complex
 When the enzyme bids with its specific
substrate, changes occur in the enzyme at the
active site
 This change is called induced fit and it
enhances the ability of the enzyme to break
down the substrate

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 Enzyme-Substrate Complex
 Denature – a change in the shape of an
enzyme; caused by change in pH or fever
 If the enzyme is missing or denatured, the
reaction cannot happen
 Example: lactose intolerance

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 Enzyme Inhibition
Inhibitors – keep something from working correctly
 Competitive:  Allosteric
• Chemicals that resemble • Chemicals that bond to a
the enzyme’s normal another part of the
substrate enzyme
• Compete with substrate • Changes shape of active
site

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Digestive System
Pathway of the Digestion

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 Pathway of Digestion
 Digestion begins in the mouth with:
1. Mechanical – teeth and tongue chop/mix food
2. Chemical – salivary glands add enzyme
amylase to break down starches into simple
sugars

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 Pathway of Digestion
 Food moves into pharynx at back of throat;
opening for 2 tubes that lead to 2 systems
1. Esophagus – digestive
2. Trachea – respiratory
 Epiglottis – flap of

tissue that covers

opening not being used

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 Pathway of Digestion
 Peristalsis – one way movement of materials
through digestive system; controlled by
smooth muscle contraction
 Food moves down esophagus into stomach:

1. Has a pH of 2 (hydrochloric acid)

2. Secretes enzyme pepsin (acts on proteins)
3. Mechanical & physical digestion

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 Pathway of Digestion
 After ~2 hours, food leaves stomach and enters
small intestine:
1. 7 m long – 2.5 cm diameter
2. Multiple enzymes secreted to break down
lipids and nucleic acids
3. Other enzymes used to complete break down
of carbs and proteins
4. Most absorption of nutrients occurs

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 Pathway of Digestion
 Anatomy inside of small intestine:
• Villi – fingerlike projections that absorb nutrients from
small intestine

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 Pathway of Digestion
 Accessory organs of small intestine:
1. Pancreas – secretes enzymes that work on
carbs, protein and lipids; helps regulate blood
sugar; also secretes sodium bicarbonate that
neutralizes stomach acid
2. Liver – produces bile to dissolve fats
3. Gall bladder – stores bile

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 Pathway of Digestion
 Accessory organs of digestive system:

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 Pathway of Digestion
 After 4-6 hours what is left of your food enters
large intestine:
1. ~1.5 m long – 6 cm diameter
2. 3 sections – cecum, colon & rectum
3. Absorbs water and salts
4. Colonies of E.coli break down rest of
undigested material and produce Vitamin K
(needed for blood clotting)
5. Solid waste is stored in rectum & excreted
though anus
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 Pathway of Digestion
 Anatomy of large intestine:

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