Digestive Journey Notes & Questions | Class 5 Environmental Studies (EVS) | Drishti OS

Digestive Journey

What you'll learn

The path food takes through the body: mouth → food pipe → stomach → small intestine → large intestine.
Digestion breaks down food into tiny parts the body can use.
Undigested waste leaves the body as egestion.
NCERT Looking Around 5 — how our body uses food.

Key concepts

Level 1 — The digestive pathway

Verbal: Digestion is the process of breaking down food into simple substances the body can absorb and use.

Step	Organ	What happens
1	Mouth	Teeth chew food; saliva starts breakdown
2	Food pipe (oesophagus)	Pushes chewed food to the stomach
3	Stomach	Mixes food with digestive juices
4	Small intestine	Digested nutrients absorbed into blood
5	Large intestine	Absorbs water; forms waste

NCERT link: Following one chapati's journey from mouth to waste removal.

Level 2 — Absorption and waste

Verbal: Useful nutrients pass from the small intestine into the blood and travel to all body parts. What is left over becomes waste.

Real-life: Chewing food well helps digestion start properly in the mouth itself.

Term	Meaning
Digestion	Breaking food into simple, usable parts
Absorption	Nutrients passing into the blood
Egestion	Removing undigested waste from the body

Worked example

Why should we chew food well before swallowing?

Step 1 — Chewing breaks food into smaller pieces.
Step 2 — Smaller pieces mix better with saliva and digestive juices later.
Answer: Good chewing makes digestion easier and faster.

Trace the path of a bite of chapati from mouth to waste removal.

Step 1 — Mouth: chewed and mixed with saliva.
Step 2 — Food pipe: pushed down to stomach.
Step 3 — Stomach: mixed with digestive juices.
Step 4 — Small intestine: nutrients absorbed into blood.
Step 5 — Large intestine: water absorbed; waste formed and removed.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it happens	Fix
Digestion happens only in the stomach	Oversimplifying	Digestion starts in the mouth and continues through several organs
All food parts are absorbed	Ignoring waste	Undigested parts become waste and leave the body
Food pipe digests food	Confusing organ roles	Food pipe only pushes food to the stomach
Swallowing without chewing is fine	Habit, not understanding	Chewing well helps digestion start properly

Quick check

Name the organs in order that food passes through.
What happens in the small intestine?
Why is chewing important?
Stretch: What would happen if food were swallowed without any chewing at all?

Revision tip: Draw a simple flow chart: Mouth → Food pipe → Stomach → Small intestine → Large intestine → Waste out.

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Digestive Journey.

Digestive Journey