3.3 Digestions and Absorption
3.3 Digestions and Absorption
3.3 Digestions and Absorption
Date: ________________________
Comments:
Page 1 of 34
(a) Endopeptidases and exopeptidases are involved in the hydrolysis of proteins.
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Name the other type of enzyme required for the complete hydrolysis of proteins to amino
acids.
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(1)
(b) Suggest and explain why the combined actions of endopeptidases and exopeptidases are
more efficient than exopeptidases on their own.
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(c) The diagram shows the co-transport mechanism for the absorption of amino acids into the
blood by a cell lining the ileum.
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The addition of a respiratory inhibitor stops the absorption of amino acids.
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(Total 6 marks)
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(ii) There are large numbers of organelle Y in this cell. Explain how these organelles help
the cell to absorb the products of digestion.
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(b) This diagram shows the cell magnified 1000 times. Calculate the actual length of the cell
between points P and Q. Give your answer in µm. Show your working.
Answer ...................................... µm
(2)
(c) Coeliac disease is a disease of the human digestive system. In coeliac disease, the
structures labelled Z are damaged.
Although people with coeliac disease can digest proteins they have low concentrations of
amino acids in their blood.
Explain why they have low concentrations of amino acids in their blood.
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(2)
(Total 7 marks)
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S The figure below shows the processes involved in absorbing amino acids into a capillary
3 from the small intestine.
(i) Name processes A, B and C. In each case, give the evidence for your answer.
A Process ...............................................................................................
Evidence .............................................................................................
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B Process ..............................................................................................
Evidence .............................................................................................
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C Process ..............................................................................................
Evidence .............................................................................................
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(ii) Explain how process B creates the conditions for process A to occur.
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(Total 5 marks)
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Some people have a medical condition called pancreatitis. This can lead to their pancreatic duct
4 becoming blocked. As a result, a high concentration of amylase is found in their blood.
At 12-hour intervals, a doctor measured the concentration of amylase in the blood of a person
suffering from a blocked pancreatic duct. He also measured the concentration of amylase in the
blood of a healthy person.
0 1800 800
12 2200 750
24 2500 700
36 2000 750
48 1400 800
(a) (i) The changes in concentration of amylase in the blood of a person with a blocked
pancreatic duct are different from those of a healthy person during the period shown
in the figure above.
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(2)
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(ii) In a person with a blocked pancreatic duct, starch digestion is affected.
Explain how.
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(2)
(b) Healthy people have amylase in their blood. This does not cause any harmful effects in the
body.
Explain why.
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(c) Pancreatitis can lead to the release of protein-digesting enzymes into the blood. This is
harmful to the body.
Suggest one reason why.
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(2)
(Total 8 marks)
Lactose is a disaccharide found in milk. In the small intestine, it is digested into glucose and
5 galactose by the enzyme lactase. Molecules of lactase are located in the plasma membranes of
cells lining the small intestine.
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(b) (i) Name one other digestive enzyme that is located in the plasma membranes of cells
lining the small intestine.
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(ii) Give an advantage of lactase and other digestive enzymes being located in the
plasma membranes of cells lining the small intestine, rather than being secreted into
the lumen of the small intestine.
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(c) The absorption of galactose from the small intestine is reduced if the absorbing cells are
treated with a respiratory inhibitor, such as cyanide. Suggest an explanation for this.
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(2)
(Total 5 marks)
(a) Dietary recommendations are that lipid intake should make up 30% of energy intake. The
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recommended energy intake for most women aged 19-49 is 8100 kJ day–1.The energy
content of lipid is 37.8 kJ g–1. Calculate the recommended lipid intake per day for these
women. Show your working.
Answer ................................................... g
(2)
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In humans, triglycerides are the main form of dietary lipids. They are digested in the gut and the
products of digestion are absorbed by the small intestine.
S (b) Describe a biochemical test that could be performed on a sample of food to determine
whether it contained triglycerides.
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(2)
(c) The diagram shows the events that occur in the absorption of monoglycerides and fatty
acids. These molecules enter the epithelial cells of the small intestine by diffusion. Once
inside they are reassembled into triglycerides in organelle Q. The triglyceride molecules are
formed into chylomicrons in organelle T. Chylomicrons are made from many triglyceride
molecules surrounded with protein molecules. The chylomicrons leave the cell and enter
vessel S.
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(ii) Name
R; .......................................................................................................
S. ........................................................................................................
(2)
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S (iii) Describe the role played by organelle U in the formation of chylomicrons.
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S (iv) Suggest how the chylomicrons leave the epithelial cell. Give a reason for your
answer.
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(2)
(Total 11 marks)
Page 11 of 34
The diagram shows one method by which amino acids are absorbed from the small intestine into
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the blood. They are co-transported into the epithelial cell with sodium ions (Na+) at point X on the
diagram. Normally, the concentration of sodium ions inside the epithelial cell is low.
Dinitrophenol (DNP) prevents oxidative phosphorylation. When treated with DNP, the sodium-
potassium pump at Y no longer works. As a result, the concentration of sodium ions in the cell
rises and amino acid absorption stops.
(i) Explain why pump Y will not work in the presence of DNP.
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(ii) Explain why sodium ions and amino acids are not absorbed from the lumen of the small
intestine in the presence of DNP.
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(iii) By what mechanism would amino acids leave the epithelial cell at point Z?
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(Total 5 marks)
(a) Describe the role of the enzymes of the digestive system in the complete breakdown of
8 starch.
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(b) Describe the processes involved in the absorption of the products of starch digestion.
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(5)
(Total 10 marks)
Scientists fed different diets to three groups of monkeys of different ages. They fed half the
9 monkeys in each age group a diet in which all the triglycerides were saturated and half on a diet
in which all the triglycerides were unsaturated. All other aspects of the diets and living conditions
were kept as similar as possible. The scientists measured the plasma cholesterol concentration
of the monkeys. The table below shows their results.
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(a) The scientists concluded that a diet high in saturated triglyceride raises the concentration of
blood plasma cholesterol. Evaluate their conclusion.
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(3)
(b) The monkeys in this investigation were all of the same sex.
Explain how selecting monkeys of the same sex would help the scientists to draw reliable
conclusions.
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(2)
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(c) Is the research described relevant to human health? Explain your answer.
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(3)
(Total 8 marks)
Scientists investigated the effect of lipase and a 3% bile salts solution on the digestion of
10 triglycerides. The graph below shows their results.
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(a) Describe what curve Y shows about the effect of lipase and bile salts on the pH of the
mixture.
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(b) The concentration of lipase did not change during the course of the investigation.
Explain why.
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(c) One of the scientists decided to repeat the investigation at a temperature 10°C below the
original temperature.
Describe how you would expect his plotted curve to be different from curve Z.
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(1)
(Total 4 marks)
Page 17 of 34
Some people are lactose intolerant. The lactose in milk and milk products, such as cheese,
11 causes digestive discomfort in these people.
Scientists gave 159 adult volunteers, who had dia gnosed themselves as lactose intolerant, a
questionnaire to complete. The volunteers were asked,
(a) The scientists investigated the relationship between the lactose content of the food and the
amount of digestive discomfort.
(i) The figures in columns A and B were used to produce those in column C.
The scientists used column C rather than column B in their analysis. Suggest why.
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(ii) Describe the relationship between the lactose content of the food and the data in
column C.
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(iii) The scientists could not conclude that the discomfort was caused by the increase in
lactose content of the food. Explain why.
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(b) Suggest two reasons why the data in this table may be unreliable.
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(Total 6 marks)
(a) Give one piece of evidence from the table that indicates lactase activity is affected by diet.
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(1)
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(b) Some students suggested from these data that increasing starch in the diet was the most
effective way to increase lactase activity in lactase deficient people. Is this conclusion
valid? Explain your answer.
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(2)
(Total 3 marks)
A student investigated the effect of chewing on the digestion of starch in cooked wheat.
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He devised a laboratory model of starch digestion in the human gut. This is the method he used.
1. Volunteers chewed cooked wheat for a set time. The wheat had been cooked in boiling
water.
2. This chewed wheat was mixed with water, hydrochloric acid and a protein-digesting
enzyme and left at 37 °C for 30 minutes.
3. A buffer was then added to bring the pH to 6.0 and pancreatic amylase was added. This
mixture was then left at 37 °C for 120 minutes.
4. Samples of the mixture were removed at 0, 10, 20, 40, 60 and 120 minutes, and the
concentration of reducing sugar in each sample was measured.
5. Control experiments were carried out using cooked wheat that had been chopped up in a
blender, not chewed.
(a) What reducing sugar, or sugars, would you expect to be produced during chewing?
Give a reason for your answer.
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(b) In this model of digestion in the human gut, what other enzyme is required for the complete
digestion of starch?
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(1)
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(c) What was the purpose of step 2, in which samples were mixed with water, hydrochloric acid
and pepsin?
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(d) In the control experiments, cooked wheat was chopped up to copy the effect of chewing.
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(e) The figure below shows the student’s results.
Explain what these results suggest about the effect of chewing on the digestion of starch in
wheat.
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(3)
(Total 9 marks)
Page 22 of 34
The diagram represents part of the human digestive system. The organs are labelled A−F.
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(1)
Page 23 of 34
(c) Maltose is hydrolysed by the enzyme maltase.
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(3)
(Total 5 marks)
Trypsin is a protease. It is produced in an inactive form inside some of the cells of the pancreas.
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(a) Name the part of a pancreatic cell that produces the inactive form of trypsin.
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(b) Suggest the advantage of producing trypsin in an inactive form inside cells in the pancreas.
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(c) After the inactive form of trypsin enters the small intestine, another enzyme removes a
short chain of amino acids from the end of the inactive trypsin molecules. This leads to the
formation of the active form of trypsin.
(i) Name the type of bond hydrolysed when the short chain of amino acids is removed.
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(1)
(ii) Sometimes trypsin can become activated inside a pancreatic cell. A competitive
inhibitor in the cell then binds to the trypsin and stops it working.
Explain how the competitive inhibitor stops trypsin working.
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(3)
(Total 7 marks)
Scientists investigated the relationship between the percentage of fat in the diet and the death
16 rate from breast cancer in 24 different countries. They plotted the data from each country on the
graph below.
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(a) Describe the information given by point A on the graph.
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(b) Describe how the scientists calculated the death rate from breast cancer for each country.
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(c) Some people have used the graph to conclude that a high percentage of fat in the diet
causes breast cancer. Evaluate this conclusion.
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(Total 5 marks)
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Mark schemes
(a) Dipeptidase/s;
1
Accept: membrane bound dipeptidase/s.
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Principle of:
gains 1 mark;
Page 27 of 34
(c) Suitable explanation given e.g.
Accept: converse arguments
(ii) creates low concentration of amino acids / Na+ in cell concentration gradient established
between lumen and cell (of amino acids or Na+)
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Page 28 of 34
(b) 1. Amylase is specific (to starch);
(ii) Enzymes not lost (with gut contents) / more effective absorption
of products formed by these enzymes;
1
Page 29 of 34
(iii) proteins are synthesised by U;
involvement of ribosomes;
protein isolation / transport (inside RER);
vesicle formation;
2 max
(a) Amylase;
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(Starch) to maltose:
Maltase;
Maltose to glucose;
Hydrolysis;
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(b) Glucose moves in with sodium (into epithelial cell);
Sodium removed (from epithelial cell) by active transport / sodium- potassium pump;
Into blood;
By (facilitated) diffusion;
Q Only allow diffusion mark in context of movement of glucose into
the blood.
5 max
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(a) Diet including saturated fats leads to higher plasma cholesterol concentrations;
9 Higher in all age groups;
But sample size is very small;
Standard deviations overlap / suggest wide variation;
3 max
(c) Monkeys and humans closely related therefore similar conclusions might be drawn;
High concentrations of plasma cholesterol lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular
disease in humans;
Don’t know if diet has the same effect in monkeys (as in humans) / could have
different effects because not the same species;
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[8]
(a) (i) Assumed that did not eat due to discomfort in the past;
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3. Large variation in lactose content of specific food items / e.g. variation in lactose
content of different soft cheeses;
(b) Not valid / cannot be certain because overlap in SD between high sucrose and high
starch;
(a) 1. Maltose;
13 2. Salivary amylase breaks down starch.
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(b) Maltase.
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(a) C.
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Ignore name of organ
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(b) E.
Ignore name of organ
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(c) 1. Active site (of enzyme) has (specific) shape / tertiary structure / active site
complementary to substrate / maltose;
Reject active site on substrate.
Must have idea of shape
Assume “it” = maltase
Accept (specific) 3D active site
Reject has same shape
(a) In one country where the percentage of fat (in the diet) is 35%, the death rate (from breast
16 cancer) is 20 per 100 000;
Must have reference to country
Accept … 1 per 5 000 / 0.02%
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(b) 1. No. of deaths from breast cancer divided by total population × 100 000;
2. No. of deaths from breast cancer divided by all deaths × 100 000;
3. Sample and count deaths from breast cancer in 100 000 people;
If sample not 100 000 then must scale appropriately
1 max
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(c) 1. Positive correlation;
2. But correlation does not show causation / some other (named) factor may be
involved;
3. Evidence against positive correlation e.g. different death rates at same % fat /
similar death rates at different % fat / some countries with higher death rate
have lower fat intake;
1. Accept description of positive correlation / directly proportional.
Accept positive relationship.
2. Do not accept casual in place of causal.
3. Answer must be consistent with data.
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