Biology Notes Life on Earth + Digestive System Essay Example For Students

Biology Notes Life on Earth + Digestive System Essay Topic: patterns in nature Compare the digestive systems of mammals. Include: grazing herbivore, carnivore and a predominantly nectar feeding animal Major parts of mammalian digestive systemsgrazing herbivore GOAT carnivore CATpredominantly nectar feeding animal HONEY-POSSUM Mouth- no incisor or canine teeth depend on firm dental pad in front of hard palate, lower incisors, lips, and tongue to take food into mouths use molar teeth to grind food to increase surface area so that it is more exposed to digestive chemicals that help to break it down. These molars are used again to chew even further when the cud is regurgitated. mouth of a cat contains a pharynx, soft palate, hard palate and variety of teeth (incisors, canine, premolars and molars) takes its food in with teeth and lips Some chew the pieces, others swallow them whole saliva moistens food so it is easier to swallow tongue pushes food back through the pharynx into the esophagus tongue has range of papillae, including filiform (doesn’t contain taste buds), fungiform, vallate and foliate- elongated snout and long tongue covered in papillae that collect the pollen tongue moves in and out of mouth 2-3 times a second and is supported by the teeth, which are all very tiny, except for the two front teeth in the bottom jaw which act as main supporters for the tongue When tongue re-enters the mouth it scrapes against roof of mouth which contains ridges that scrape off the pollen Teeth- no upper teeth incisor or canines teeth they use are lower incisor teeth, alo ng with the dental pad in front of the hard palate, tongue and lips which are all depended on to take food into mouth- mouth of a cat contains a variety of different teeth: Canines– grab, hold tear prey Incisors– scrape meat off bones Molars and premolars– crush meat so it is easier to swallow See picture 1- only a few, tiny teeth incisors and canines are narrow and pointed cheek teeth flat with round tips lack of strong teeth because of no need to bite or crush food See picture 6 Esophagus- tube-like passageway from mouth to stomach opens into the stomach at the point where rumen and reticulum meet helps transport both gases and cud- begins at end of pharynx, continues down neck next to the trachea, through diaphragm, finally connecting with the stomach first passageway in digestive system, so often exposed to rough food which has not been fully chewed i. e. pieces of bone surface therefore has to be resistant to damage, so is lined with stratified squamous epithelium. See picture 2- simple tube that moves food from mouth to stomach At entry from esophagus to stomach the lining of the esophagus changes from stratified squamous (picture 2) to tall column shaped cells StomachGoat’s stomach has four compartments (see picture 3): 1) rumen: largest compartment. Here food is moistened and churned around to break down into smaller pieces Capacity: 11 -22 litres depending on food eaten 2) honey-combed reticulum: located just below entrance from esophagus into stomach. Part of the rumen, only separated by thin fold. Bacterial cellulases act on food here and food is made into round balls called cud which is regurgitated into mouth and chewed into small particles. Capacity: 1-2 L 3) omasum: after cud has been regurgitated and cellulose broken down, it is re-swallowed and moves into the omasum, consisting of layers of tissue that grind up cud and remove some water from it. Capacity: approx 1L 4) abomasum ‘true stomach’: functions similarly to human stomachs. Contains hydrochloric acid and enzymes that break down food particles before entering small intestine. Capacity: approx. 4L- stomach of a cat is designed to store large amounts of food and begin digestive process esophagus carries food into the stomach, where it enters through a valve called the cardiac sphincter lining of stomach has many folds called gastric folds, which elp crush and grind food stomach lining also secretes acids and enzymes which break down the food Once stomach digestive process is done, the partly digested food exits the stomach through the pyloric sphincter area and then enters first part of the small intestine (duodenum) Most food leaves the cat’s stomach within 12 hours after entering- two chambers: the main chamber and the diverticulum (the smaller chamber) stomach wall is lined with ridges and also epithelial cells which produce mucus, but no pep sinogen is secreted so no protein is digested in the stomach stomach merely acts as a storage place for nectar and pollen Small intestine- as partly digested food enters first part of small intestine (duodenum), enzymes produced and secreted by the pancreas break down nutrients from food into simple compounds These compounds are absorbed mainly from the jejunum and ileum (2nd and 3rd part of small intestine), into the blood stream lining of wall is covered in many small fingerlike projections called villi see picture 4, which increase surface area for absorption- small intestine is lined with villi (for larger surface area for absorption) see picture 4 has blood vessels which take nutrients to other parts of the body three sections: duodenum, jejunum and ileum Duodenum – section where Jejunum – largest part of small intestine, section where most of the absorption takes place Ileum – final section of small intestine, where absorption process ends- Honey-Poss um lacks a Caecum, which makes it difficult to identify where small intestine finishes and where large intestine starts we do know that pollen is digested in both the small and large intestines. Caecum- located at point where small and large intestines meet Digestion in caecum is done by microorganisms which break down the cellulose fibres in plant material. caecum of a goat can hold up to 1 litre! small, comma-shaped pouch which hangs just below the point where the ileum meets the large intestine compared to most carnivores, caecum of a cat is very small, and its function is unknown- Honey-Possum does not actually have a caecum Large intestine- Undigested food and unabsorbed nutrients leaving small intestine move into large intestine functions include water absorption and further digestion of food by microorganisms large intestine of a goat is made up of the colon and rectum- large intestine connects the small intestine to the anus larger in diameter than small intestine, bu t shorter in length made up of caecum, rectum and colon (longest section) Main functions are water absorption, keeping the body’s hydration level constant, and to store faeces waiting to leave the body- Honey-Possum has no Caecum, which makes it hard to tell where small intestine finishes and large intestine starts we do know that pollen is digested in both small and large intestines faeces waiting to leave body is stored at the end of the large intestine Digestive juices and Enzymes- Enzymes secreted by pancreas are important in digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats Bile produced by liver and stored and secreted by gall bladder helps soften the fat particles in preparation for digestion stomach contains bacteria and protozoa which break down cellulose walls, as well as hydrochloric acid, pepsin and lipase which break down plant proteins and fats- As food passes into stomach, the stomach lining secretes acids and enzymes needed to break down food pancreas and li ver supply enzymes needed to break down fats and proteins so they can enter into blood stream Bile that is stored in the gall bladder is mixed with the food in the duodenum to chemically break down food even further- honey possum’s stomach produces mucus from the epithelial cells that cover lining of the stomach wall. However, this mucus contains no protein digesting enzyme (pepsinogen) Faeces- Goat faeces are formed in end part of the colon comes out as small, dry pellets. See picture 5- faeces of a cat is stored in end section of large intestine called the rectum colour and texture varies depending on cat’s diet- Almost all pollen grains that are excreted in faeces are empty, as the content of the pollen is digested in stomach and intestines Why are they different? Mouth + Teeth The main difference in the mouths of the mammals’ digestive systems are the teeth. Essay on Analysis Of The Book Thief By Markus Zusak EssayA carnivore’s faeces vary in colour and texture, as their diet often changes between different species and breeds. When a nectar feeding mammal’s faeces is excreted, the pollen grains are empty, as the content of the pollen has been digested in the stomach and intestine to provide the nutrients needed for the animal to survive. Topic: life on Earth Describe the experiments of Urey and Miller and use available evidence to analyse the: a)Reason for their experiment(s) b)Result of their experiment(s) c)Importance of their experiment(s) in illustrating the nature and practice of science (i. e. scientific method) d)Contribution to hypotheses about the origin of life (supported? Refuted? ) In 1953 Professor Harold C. Urey of the University of Chicago and his graduate student Stanley L. Miller created an experiment to test the hypothesis made by Oparin and Haldane which stated that ‘organic chemicals were produced from non-living matter on the early Earth’ – Biology in Context. Miller set up a series of glass tubes and flasks connected in a loop with a lower chamber of water representing oceans and an upper chamber representing the atmosphere. The liquid was heated to make evaporation occur and electric currents were passed through the atmosphere chamber to simulate energy such as lightning that is thought to be common in the early atmosphere. The atmosphere was then cooled so that the water could condense and slowly return back into the first flask and the cycle would begin again. The tests were carried out for one week and at the end of the week Miller and Urey observed that 10-15% of the carbon had formed organic compounds and 2% of the carbon had formed amino acids (including glycine and alanine) that are used to make proteins. Sugars, lipids and some of the building blocks for nucleic acids were also formed. a)Reason for their experiment(s) The purpose of Urey and Miller’s experiment was to investigate whether it would be possible for non-living matter to create organic chemicals under the conditions thought to be present in the early Earth. They essentially designed their experiment to test the hypothesis made by Oparin and Haldane. The experiment was designed to simulate conditions of the unstable early Earth and to test for biological chemicals. b)Result of their experiment(s) Urey and Miller’s experiment proves that certain organic compounds such as amino acids, could be made under the conditions that scientists considered to be present on early Earth. However, the experiment does not prove that this is how life began or that this is the way those particular compounds were created either. It also does not prove that early Earth was how Oparin and Haldane suggested it. c)Importance of their experiment(s) in illustrating the nature and practice of science (i. e. cientific method) The scientific method is a process used when designing and carrying out an experiment. The first step is to ask a question about something that you observe, then to do background research on the topic. After this you must construct a hy pothesis, test it with an experiment and record your results. You must then draw a conclusion and state whether your hypothesis is true or not. Urey and Miller’s experiment illustrates the nature and practice of science through their thorough use of the scientific method. They took the hypothesis of Oparin and Haldane and developed a controlled experiment to test whether this hypothesis could be correct. After researching their idea they came up with the best way to experiment to get the most reliable results. After performing their experiment, they clearly recorded the data that they came up with without changing it. Their experiment was reproducible so that others can try it and come up with the same results. Although the results of their experiment are often argued over by different scientists around the world, Urey and Miller have created a stable base for further research into the origins of the Earth. d)Contribution to hypotheses about the origin of life (supported? Refuted? ) There are many theories about the origin of life. One theory – Spontaneous Generation – supports the idea that life spontaneously arises from non-living matter. This theory was accepted as ‘fact’ until it was scientifically tested by Francesco Redi in 1668, who discovered that maggots came from eggs laid by flies and did not just spontaneously arise. But it was not until 1862 that people stopped believing in spontaneous generation when Louis Pasteur convinced them that it does not occur. Another theory is that our DNA and RNA come from outer space and arrived here during the time of early Earth. A third theory is that life came from non-living matter on early Earth. This theory began from a hypothesis made by two scientists, Oparin and Haldane, but was not actually tested until 1953 by Miller and Urey. Urey and Miller contributed greatly to Oparin and Haldane’s hypothesis of the origin of life, as they were the first to actually test it. Their experiment half supported the hypothesis, as it proved that it is possible for non-living matter to produce organic chemicals under specific conditions. But it did not completely support the hypothesis, as their experiment did not prove that this was how life on Earth began, or that early Earth was how Oparin and Haldane suggested it. Urey and Miller’s experiment significantly contributed to Oparin and Haldane’s hypothesis of the origin of life, and provided a base for further investigation of this theory.