Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v4 - JHS 1
THE HUMAN BODY SYSTEM
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THE HUMAN BODY SYSTEM
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Subject: Science
Class: JHS 1
Term: 1st Term
Week: 15
Grade code: B7.3.1.1.3
Strand code: 3
Sub-strand code: 1
Content standard code: B7.3.1.1
Indicator code: B7.3.1.1.3
Theme: SYSTEMS
Subtheme: THE HUMAN BODY SYSTEM
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Digestion is the process by which the body breaks down the food we eat (e.g., banku with okro soup, fufu with light soup, waakye, kenkey, rice and stew) into small soluble substances that can be absorbed into the blood and used for energy, growth, and repair. Knowing the end products of digestion helps learners understand why we must eat a balanced diet and how the body benefits from different food types.
A. Meaning of Digestion Digestion is the breakdown of large, insoluble food molecules into small, soluble molecules that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Mechanical digestion: physical breakdown (chewing, churning). Chemical digestion: breakdown using enzymes and digestive juices. B. Why Food Must Be Digested Many food nutrients are too large to pass through the intestinal wall. Digestion makes them: small enough to pass through the wall of the small intestine, soluble so they can be transported in blood/lymph. C. Main Food Nutrients and Their End Products (Core of the Indicator) 1) Digestion of Starch (Carbohydrate) Starch is a complex carbohydrate found in foods like banku, kenkey, fufu, rice, yam, cassava, plantain, bread. During digestion, starch is broken down into simple sugars.
End product of starch digestion: Glucose (a simple sugar) (At JHS level, we accept: *starch → sugar (glucose)*)
Simple flow: Starch → (enzymes) → sugars → glucose
Key enzymes (for understanding): Amylase (saliva and pancreas) helps break starch into smaller sugars. Other enzymes complete it to glucose in the small intestine. 2) Digestion of Proteins Proteins are found in beans, fish, meat, eggs, milk, groundnuts, soybeans. Proteins are large molecules made of many building blocks.