Distinguish ingestion, digestion and absorption
Identify the process by what moves or changes.
Exam scope and assessment notes
Core and Extended · Biology 0970, 2026–2028. Use the stated specimen features and evidence. Diagrams are schematic. Written practice is self-checked; human subject-teacher review, supervised practical competence and cumulative assessment remain pending. Cambridge states that IGCSE 0970 has the same subject content as IGCSE 0610, with 9–1 grading. This StudyForA pathway maps the 2026–2028 syllabus only. This 9–1 graded qualification is available only in a limited number of administrative zones. Confirm that your centre can enter you for this code and exam series with Cambridge International. Cambridge has published a separate syllabus for 2029. StudyForA has not reconciled that version yet; this page supports exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028 only.
Before you begin
- Recall large and small nutrient molecules, cell membranes and enzyme specificity.
- Use the stated diagram keys and evidence; models are not to scale.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What happens in ingestion?
What you will learn
- Identify the process by what moves or changes.
- Explain why one organ can support several processes.
Three different events
Ingestion is taking substances such as food and drink into the body. Digestion breaks food down physically and chemically. Absorption is movement of nutrients from the intestines into the blood in the Core model.
Cutting a food piece is digestion, not absorption. Taking a drink into the mouth is ingestion; later movement of its water across the intestinal lining is absorption. The same material can take part in several stages at different times.
Use location and action together
The mouth ingests and starts digestion. The stomach mixes food and supports chemical digestion. The small intestine continues digestion and is the main region of nutrient absorption.
Do not say an organ has only one process because a diagram assigns it one headline. A useful explanation identifies both the action and its location, rather than merely listing a name.
Pause and explain
Which event is absorption?
Worked example
A sequence shows drinking, starch breakdown and glucose crossing an intestinal wall. Name the three events.
Show the worked solution
- Taking in drink: ingestion.
- Breaking starch down: digestion.
- Crossing gut lining: absorption.
Answer Ingestion; digestion; absorption.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Define ingestion, digestion and absorption in one sentence each.
Give me a hint
Use entry, breakdown and movement.
Compare my reasoning
- Ingestion: taking in.
- Digestion: breakdown.
- Absorption: intestinal nutrients to blood.
Ingestion takes in food/drink; digestion breaks food down; absorption moves nutrients from intestines into blood.
Look for these in your work
- All three distinct.
- Correct directions.
Which processes are represented by chewing an apple and then absorbing its soluble nutrients?
Give me a hint
Look at each action separately.
Compare my reasoning
- Chewing physically digests.
- Crossing the intestinal wall absorbs.
Physical digestion, followed by absorption.
Look for these in your work
- Two correct stages.
- No entry/breakdown swap.
A poster says “the small intestine only absorbs; digestion occurs only in the stomach”. Improve it.
Give me a hint
Enzyme action also continues in the intestine.
Compare my reasoning
- Small intestine continues chemical digestion.
- It also absorbs nutrients.
- Stomach is not the only digestive region.
The small intestine supports both chemical digestion and absorption; the stomach is one of several digestive regions.
Look for these in your work
- Both intestinal functions.
- Reject the exclusive claim.
Common mistakes
- Digestion is not the same as crossing the gut wall.
- An organ can support more than one process.
What can you explain now?
Which event is absorption?
Compare with the explanation
Glucose crosses the intestinal lining into blood.
A nutrient moves across the gut wall.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Classify a new event using the action rather than the organ name alone.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.