Animal tissues, organs and systems flashcards 2.2 (unfinished)
What is the main function of the digestive system?
To digest food and absorb the nutrients obtained from digestion
What is the role of the pancreas and the salivary gland in the digestive system?
The pancreas and the salivary glands are glands which produce digestive juices containing enzymes
What is the role of the stomach in the digestive system?
Produces hydrochloric acid - which kills any bacteria present and provides the optimum acidic pH for the protease enzyme to function
What is the role of the small intestine in the digestive system?
The small intestine is the site where soluble food molecules are absorbed into the bloodstream
What is the role of the liver in the digestive system?
Produces bile (stored in the gallbladder) which emulsifies lipids and allows the lipase enzyme to work more efficiently
What is the role of the large intestine in the digestive system?
Absorbs water from undigested food, producing faeces
What is the role of enzymes in the digestive system?
Enzymes act as biological catalysts which speed up the rate of biological reactions (the breakdown of food) without being used up
How does the shape of an enzyme affect its function?
Enzymes have a specific active site which is complementary to their substrate
What is metabolism?
The sum of all the reactions in a cell or organism
What types of metabolic reactions do enzymes catalyse?
- Building larger molecules from smaller molecules e.g. glucose to starch
- Changing one molecule to another e.g. glucose to fructose
- Breaking down larger molecules into smaller molecules e.g. carbohydrates to glucose
What is the lock and key hypothesis of enzyme function?
The shape of the enzyme active site and the substrate are complementary, so can bind together to form an enzyme-substrate complex
How does temperature affect enzyme action?
Up to a certain point, increasing temperature increases enzyme action, as molecules have a higher kinetic energy. Above a certain temperature, the shape of the active site is altered and the enzyme becomes denatured, so it can no longer catalyse the reaction. The optimum temperature is around 37°
How does pH affect enzyme function?
The optimum pH for most enzymes is 7 (apart from proteases in the stomach). If the pH is too extreme, the shape of the active site may be altered and the enzyme may no longer work
Where are carbohydrases, proteases and lipases produced in the body?
- Carbohydrases: amylases - salivary gland and pancreas, maltase - small intestine
- Proteases: pepsin - stomach, others - pancreas and small intestine
- Lipases: pancreas and small intestine
What is the role of carbohydrases in the digestive system?
Carbohydrases break down carbohydrates into monosaccharides and disaccharides. Amylase breaks down starch into maltose, and maltase breaks down maltose into glucose
