Which statement correctly defines chemical digestion?

Which statement correctly defines chemical digestion?

• A. Absorbs nutrients in the small intestine.
• B. The breakdown of carbohydrates through saliva which contains the enzyme amylase.
• C. The production of bile.
• D. Chewing.

Answer: (B)

Chemical digestion uses enzymes to break chemical bonds in food, turning large molecules into smaller, absorbable ones. This is different from mechanical digestion, which merely grinds and crushes food. In the mouth, saliva carries the enzyme amylase, which begins breaking down carbohydrates by cleaving starch molecules into smaller sugars. This enzymatic action is exactly what chemical digestion refers to. Though digestion continues later in the digestive tract with other enzymes, the key idea here is that chemical digestion involves the enzymatic breakdown of nutrients, starting with the carbohydrate breakdown in saliva. Absorption happens after digestion, not during it, so that option describes a later step. Bile production is a digestive aid that helps emulsify fats but doesn’t itself perform the chemical breaking of bonds. Chewing is mechanical, not chemical, digestion.

Chemical digestion uses enzymes to break chemical bonds in food, turning large molecules into smaller, absorbable ones. This is different from mechanical digestion, which merely grinds and crushes food.

In the mouth, saliva carries the enzyme amylase, which begins breaking down carbohydrates by cleaving starch molecules into smaller sugars. This enzymatic action is exactly what chemical digestion refers to. Though digestion continues later in the digestive tract with other enzymes, the key idea here is that chemical digestion involves the enzymatic breakdown of nutrients, starting with the carbohydrate breakdown in saliva.

Absorption happens after digestion, not during it, so that option describes a later step. Bile production is a digestive aid that helps emulsify fats but doesn’t itself perform the chemical breaking of bonds. Chewing is mechanical, not chemical, digestion.