Science revision (B1, C1, P1)

Digestion

Biology revision

Digestion is the process of breaking down the nutrients in your food. This is so the nutrients can be absorbed.

Big molecules are broken down into smaller ones:

• The aim of breaking down food is so that all the nutrients can get from your food into your blood.
• The big chunks of food are digested by chewing and churning it in the mouth. This means it is physically digested.
• The molecules that are too big to pass through the cell membrane are broken down by chemical digestion.
• To do chemical digestion, it requires enzymes. Enzymes are biological catalysts that break down the bigger molecules into smaller ones.

There are three main types of digestive enzymes:

Carbohydrases:

• Carbohydrases break down the large carbohydrates into smaller ones. For example, starch is broken down into simple sugars.

Proteases: 

• These convert proteins into amino acids.
• Proteases are…