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Primary Science · Year 6Chapter 3 · The circulatory system and transport
Year 6 Science · The circulatory system and transport · Lesson 3.4

Year 6 Science: Transport of nutrients and water

Part of the Year 6 Science the circulatory system and transport chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

3.4

Transport of nutrients and water

Year 6
A3: describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans
Story. Ali eats a meal and drinks a glass of water. “Where does the food go after I swallow it?” he asks. The nurse says, “The food is broken down, and the useful parts go into the blood. The blood then carries them to every body cell.”

Animals, including humans, cannot make their own food. After food is digested, the small nutrient molecules pass into the blood through the wall of the small intestine. This is how nutrients enter the blood.

The blood then carries the dissolved nutrients, and water, to every body cell. Oxygen from the lungs is also carried by red blood cells. Body cells make carbon dioxide and other waste, which the blood carries away.

heartpumps the bloodlungsbodyto the lungs: oxygen-poor bloodcarbon dioxide is given outback to the heart: oxygen-rich bloodto the body: oxygen-rich bloodback to the heart: oxygen-poor blood
A loop diagram of the circulation: blood moves between the heart, the lungs and the body.

The table shows the substances that the blood carries, and where each one goes.

SubstanceWhere it goes
Nutrients from digested foodabsorbed into the blood in the small intestine, carried to all body cells
Waterabsorbed into the blood, carried to the body cells and the organs that remove waste
Oxygentaken in by the lungs, carried by red blood cells to the body cells
Carbon dioxidemade by body cells, carried in the blood to the lungs to be breathed out
Urea (waste)made in the liver, carried in the blood to the kidneys, removed in urine

Key ideas

  • Nutrients from digested food pass into the blood in the small intestine.
  • The blood carries nutrients and water to every body cell.
  • Oxygen is carried by red blood cells; carbon dioxide and waste are carried away from the cells.
  • The liver makes urea, and the kidneys remove it from the blood.
Worked example 3.4.1
Which substance from digested food passes into the blood in the small intestine? Write the word.

Method. Read the first row of the table.

  1. Read the row. Nutrients from digested food are absorbed into the blood in the small intestine.
    nutrients
  2. Write the word. So the substance is nutrients.
    nutrients
  3. Write the answer.
    nutrients

Check. Digested food is broken down into nutrients. ✓

Worked example 3.4.2
Which organ takes oxygen from the air into the blood? Write the word.

Method. Read the second row of the table.

  1. Read the row. Oxygen is taken in by the lungs and carried by red blood cells.
    lungs
  2. Write the word. So the organ is the lungs.
    lungs
  3. Write the answer.
    lungs

Check. The lungs are the organs for gas exchange. ✓

Worked example 3.4.3
Which gas is carried in the blood from body cells to the lungs? Write the words.

Method. Read the table.

  1. Find the substance. Carbon dioxide is made by body cells, and carried to the lungs to be breathed out.
    carbon dioxide
  2. Write the words. So the gas is carbon dioxide.
    carbon dioxide
  3. Write the answer.
    carbon dioxide

Check. Carbon dioxide is breathed out. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: the blood does not make the nutrients. It carries them. The nutrients are absorbed from the digested food.

Exam tip

Exam tip. When you describe transport, say what is carried, where it comes from, and where it goes.

Try it (with your teacher, or a grown-up at home). Make a simple list of the foods you ate today. For each food, name one nutrient in it that the blood would carry to the cells. Use a food label, if one is available, and discuss your list with a grown-up.

Exercise 3D  Transport of nutrients and water

1
FWhich substance is absorbed into the blood in the small intestine? Write the word.
2
FWhich gas do the lungs take into the blood? Write the word.
3
FWhich gas do body cells make, and send to the lungs to be breathed out? Write the words.
4
FWhich organ makes urea? Write the word.
5
FWhich organs remove urea from the blood? Write the word.
6
FWhich part of the blood carries dissolved nutrients around the body? Write the word.
7
FWater is absorbed into the blood, then carried to the body cells. Is this true? Write yes or no.
8
PSWhich substance is carried by red blood cells to the body cells? Write the word.
9
PSName the process that breaks food down into small nutrients that can pass into the blood. Write the word.
10
PSCarbon dioxide goes from the body cells to the lungs in the blood. Is this true? Write yes or no.
11
RExplain why the blood needs to carry nutrients to every body cell. Write one sentence.
12
RExplain why the blood carries waste away from body cells. Write one sentence.
13
RChallenge: write the order of the places that oxygen passes through from the lungs to a body cell. Write the four words.

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