Study notes on Food for CTET and DSSSB Exams

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Here we are providing you Study notes on Food which will be helpful for Upcoming CTET and DSSSB Exams.

Food:

Sources of food–Fruits, vegetables, grains, cereals etc. all come from plants and food items like milk, eggs, meat, chicken, fish, prawns, beef, pork etc. come from animals. Some plants have two or more edible (eatable) parts eg. Seeds of mustard plants give us oil and leaves are used as vegetable.
Plants prepare their food by the process of photosynthesis i. e preparation of food in the presence of water, sunlight, co2 and chlorophyll. They are the produces as they prepare their own food. There are some animals which eat only plants or plants products. They are called herbivores. Some animals eat other animals. They are called carnivores. Some animals eat both plants and other animals. They are called omnivores.

Since we all need food we need to provide food it’s a large number of people in our country. So for this, regular production, proper management and distribution of food is necessary. When plants of the same kind are grown and cultrate at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop eg. Crop of wheat means that all the plants grown in a field are that of wheat. Two broad cropping patterns can be identified (i) Kharif crops which are sown in the rainy season (june to September) eg. Peddy, maize, soyabean, groundnut, cotton etc. (ii) Rabi crops which are grown in the winter season (October to march)eg. Wheat, gram, pea, mustard and linseed.
Some agriculture practices are-
(i) Preparation of soil
(ii) Sowing
(iii) Adding manure and fertilizers
(iv) Irrigation
(v) Protecting of weeds
(vi) Harvesting
(vii) Storage

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(i) Preparation of soil–It is the first step before growing a crop. The soil is loosened which help in the growth of earthworms and microbes present in the soil which in turn decompose dead plants and animals. In this way various nutrients held in the dead organisms are released back into the soil. Which are again absorbed by plants. The process of loosening and turning of the soil is called tilling or ploughing. The ploughed field may have big pieces of soil called crumbs which need to be broker.
The field is leveled for sowing as well as for irrigation purposes. Sometimes manure is added the soil before tilling. Which helps in proper mixing of manure with soil. The soil is watered before sowing. To get better yields, the soil is broken to the size of grains. This is done through main fools such as-

(a) Plough–It is made wood and is drawn by a pair of bulls or other animals. It contains a strong triangular iron strip called ploughshare. The main part of the plough is a long log of wood vouch is called ploughshaft. There is a handle at one end of the shaft and the other end is attached to a beam which is placed on the bulls’ neck. One pair of bulls and a man can easily operate the plough.

(b) Hoe It is a simple tool which is used for removing weeds and for loosening the soil. It has a long rod of wood or iron. A strong, broad and bent plate of iron fitted to one of its ends and works like a blade and is pulled by animals.

(c) Cultivators Now a days ploughing is done by tractor–driven cultivator. It saves before and time.

(ii) Sowing Before sowing, good quality seeds are selected. To separate damaged seeds from good quality seeds, put seeds in water. The damaged seeds become hollow and are thus lighter. Therefore they float on water. The seeds are then sown through funnel shaped tool from where they pass down through 2-3 pipes having sharp ends. These ends pierce into the soil and place seeds there. Seed drill can also be used for sowing with the help of tractors. This tools sows the seeds uniformly at proper distances and depth. It ensures that seeds get covered by the soil after sowing. It prevents damage caused by birds and saves time and labor. An appropriate distance between the seed is important to avoid overcrowding of plants. This allows to plants to get sufficient sunlight, nutrients and water from the soil.

(iii) Adding manure and Fertilizers Continuous growing of crops makes the soil poores in certain nutrients, therefore farmers have to add manure to the fields to replenish the soil with nutrients. This process is called manuring. Manure is an organism substance obtained from the decomposition of plants or animals wastes through microorganism. The decomposed matter is used as organic manure. Fertilizers can also be used to increase the fertility of soil. They are the chemicals substances produced in factories eg. ammonium sulphate, super phosphate, potash, NPK (Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) but they make soil less fertile and cause water pollution. The use of manure improves soil texture as well as its water retaining capacity. It replenishes the soil with all the nutrients. Another method is crop rotation which can be done through crop rotation (growing crops alternately). Rhizobium bacteria presenting the nodules of the roots of leguminous plants also feel atmosphere nitrogen. Manure enhances the water holding capacity of the soil. They make the soil porous due to which exchange of gases becomes easy and it increases the number of friendly microbes and also improves the texture of the soil.

(iv) Irregatios water along with minerals and fertilize in are is absorbed by the plants and helps in good germination. To maintain the moisture of the soil for healthy fop growth, fields have to be watered regularly. The supply of water to crops at different interest is called irrigation. The sources of irrigation are wells, tube wells, pounds, lakes, rivers, dams and canels. Various traditional ways of irrigation are moat (pulley-system), chain pump, dhakli and rahat (lever system) pumps are commenly used for lifting water. Diesel, biogas, electricity and solar energy is used to sum these pumps. The modern methods of irrigation are-

(a) Sprinkler system in which having rotating nozzles on top are joined to the main pipeline at regular intervals. When water is allowed to flow through the main pipe under pressure with the help of a pump, it escapes from the rotating nozzles. It gets sprinkled on the crops as if it is raining.

(b) Drop system in which water falls drop by drop just at the position of the roots. This way water is not wasted at all.

(v) Protection from weeds The undesirable plants that grow naturally along with the crop are called weeds. The best time for he removal of weeds is before they produce flowers and seeds. The manual removal includes physical removes of weeds by uprooting or cutting the close to the ground from time to time. This done with the keep of khurpi. A seed drill is also used to uproot weed. They are also contracted by using certain chemicals called weedierdes eg. 2, 4-D. They do not damage the crops.
(vi) Harvesting The cutting of crops after it is mature is called harvesting. It is done either manually by sicky or by a machine called harvester. In the harvested crop, the grain seeds need to be separated from the chaff. This processor is called threshing farmers with small holdings of land do the separation of grain and chaff by winnowing

(vii) Storage If the crop grains are to be kept for longer time, they should be safe from moisture, insects, rats and microorganism. If freshly harvested grains are stored without drying, they may get spoil or attacked by organism, losing their germination capacity. So before storing them, they should be dried in the sun to reduce the moisture in them. This prevents the attack by insect pests, bacteria and fungal. Large scale storage of grains is done in silos and granaries to protect them from pests like rats and insects. Dried neem leaves are also used for storing grains at home. For storing large quantity of grains in big go down, specific chemical treatments are required to protect them from pest and microorganism.

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Component of Food:

Each kind of dish or food we eat is made up of many ingredients whish we get from plants or animals. They contain come components called nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals) In addition food contain dietary fibers and water also.

(a) Carbohydrates :They are found in our food are in the form of starch and sugars.
Test for starch After putting 2-3 drops of dilute iodine solution on a food item, if color change to be black indicates the presence of starch. Some sources of carbohydrates are potatoes, sweet potatoes, wheat, rice, bajra, sugarcane, papaya, melon, mango, maze etc. They are also called ‘energy giving food’.

(b) Proteins : Proteins are needed for the growth and repair of our body. Food containing proteins are often called’ body building food’ Sources of proteins are- gram, moong, beans, soyabeans, peas, meat, fist, paneer and eggs etc.

Test for proteins Make a paste of food item to be tested. Put it in a clean test tube and io drops of water to it and shake the test tube. There with a dropper, add two drops of copper sulphate solution and ten drops of caustic soda to the test tube. Shake it well and let the test tube stand for a few minutes and observe. A white colour indicates the presence of proteins in the food item.

(c) Fats :Fats also give us energy. Fats give much more energy as compared to the same amount of carbohydrates. They are also called ‘energy giving foods’. Some sources are groundnuts, nuts, milk, butter, ghee, til, meat etc.

Test for fats Rub the food item on a piece of paper. An oily patch on paper shows that the food item contains fat, Sometimes food items may contain same water so after rubbing keep for drying. If there is water, it may dry up after same time. If no oily patch shows up after this, the food item does not contain any fat.

(d) Vitamins: Vitamins help in protecting our body against diseases- vitamins also help in keeping our eyes, teath, and gums healthy. Some vitamins are vitamins A, (milk,fish), vitamins B (liver), Vitamins C (orange, tomato, guava, lemon and aml(a), Vitamin D (milk, butter, egg, fish, sunlight). Vitamin K and E. There is also a group of vitamins called vitamins called vitamin B- complex. Vitamin A keeps are skin and ayes healthy. Vitamin V helps body to fight against many dieseases. Vitamins D helps out body to use calciums for bones and teeth.

(e) Minerals :Minerals are needed by one body in small amounts for proper growth and to maintain good health. Most food items usually have more then one nutrients same of minerals are iodine, phoshphorus, iron, calceium. Besides these nutrients, our body needs dietaty fibers and water. Dietary fibres are also known as roughage and is mainly provided by plants products in our food eg. whole grain, pulses, fresh fruits and vegetables. Roughage does not provide any nutrient to our body but is an aseutial components of our food and add to its bulk. It help our body to get rid of undigested food
Water helps our body to absorb nutrients from food. It also helps in throwing out some wastes from body as urine and sweat.

Balance diet The diet that contains all the nutrients that our body needs in right quantity is called balanced diet. Food should be cooked properly so that its nutrients are not lost. Many useful proteins and considerable amount of minerals are lost if excess water is used during cooked and is then throw away. Vitamin C gets easily destroyed by heat during cooking.

Deficiency diseases Disease that occus due to lack of nutrients over a long period are called deficiency diseases.Deficiency of proteins causes stunted growth, swelling of face, discolouration of hair, skin diseases and darkness.

Deficiency of carbohydrate and protein makes a person very thin and lean. Deficiency of different vitamins and minerals may result in certain diseases of disorders.

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Vitamins	Deficiency Diseases	Symptoms
Vitamin A	Night blindness	Poor vision and loss of vision in darkness (night)
Vitamin B	Beri beri	Feels extremely weak Swelling of legs, Loss of appetite and weight
Vitamin C	Scurvy	Spongy and bleeding gums, loose teeth General weakness and pain in the muscles and joints
Vitamin D	Rickets	Bones become soft and bent Bowed legs due to malformation of leg bones Pain in bones; soft bones are more susceptible to fracture

Other Modes of Nutrition in plants As we know that green plants prepare their own food by a process called photosynthesis in the presence of co2, water, sunlight and a green pegment called chlorphyll present in the leaves. This type of nutrition is called autotrophile nutrition and the plants are called autotrophs. There are some plants which do not have chlorophyll. They cannot synthesise their food. They use heterotrophe mode nutrition eg. cuscutta. It does not have chlorophyll. It takes readymade food from the plants on which it is climbing. The plant on which it climbs is called a host. Since it deprives the host of valuable nutrients, it is called a parasite. There are a few plants that trap insects and digests them eg. pitches plant. Such insect eating plants are called insectivorous plants. Sometimes we see white, green, brown patches on bread. These organism are called fungal they have different mode of nutritior in which they secrete digestive juices on the dead and decaying matter and convert it into a solution and then obsorb nutreints from it. This mode of nutrition in which organisims take in nutritients from dead and decaying matter is called saprotrophic nutrition and these plants are called saprotrophs–some orgainsims live together and share shelter and nutrients. This is called symbiotic relationship eg. certain fungal live in the roots of trees. The tree provides nutrients to the fungus and in return, receives help from it to take up water and nutrients from the soil. eg in lechens, a chlorophyll cotaining parture which is an alga and a fungus live toghter.

Nutrition in Animlas- Animals nutrition includes nutrients requirement, made of intake of food and its utilization in the body. The complex substances like carbohydrates cannot be utilized in the body. So they are broken down into simple substances. This breakdown of complex components of food into simple sentence is called digestion.

Digestion in Human: We take in food through the mouth which passes through a continuous canal:

(a) Buccal cavity The process of taking food into the body is called ingestion. We chew the food with teeth and saliva present in the mouth breaks down the food starch into sugar. Tongue saliva with the food during chewing and helps in swallowing food.

(b) Food pipe/oesophagus–It runs along the neck and the chest. Food is pushed down by movement of the wall of the food pipe.

(c) Stomach–It is a thick walled bag and is the widest part of the alimentary canal. It receives food from food pipe at one end and opens into the small intestine at the other. The inner living of the stomach secretes mucos which protects the lining of the stomach, hydrochloric acid which kills many bacteria that enter along with the food and makes the medium of stomach acidic and digestive juices that break down the proteins into simple substances.

(d) Small intestine–It is highly coiled and is about 7.5m long. It receives secretions from the liver and pancreas. Its wall also recrets juices. The gland liver is situated in the upper part of the abdomen on the right side. It is the longest gland in the body. It secretes bite juices that is stored in a sac called gall bladder and digests fats. The pancreatic juices acts on carbohydrates and protein and changes them into simple forms. The partly digested food now reaches the lower part of small intestine where the intestinal juice complete the digestion of all components of the food. The carbohydrates get broken into simple sugars such as glucose, fats into fatty acids and glycerol and proteins into armic acids. Now absorption of food takes place through villy (finger like outgrowth in small intestine) that increase the surface area. Each villes has a network of thin and small blood vessels close to its surface that absorbs the digested food. The absorbed substances are transported via blood vessels to different organs of the body where they are used to build condex dunstances such as the proteins required by the body. This is called ascimilation in the cells, glucose breaks down with the help of oxygen into co2 and water and energy is released.

(e) Large intestine–The food that remains undigested and unabsorbed then enters into the large intestine which is about 1.5m long. It absorbs water and some salts from the undigested food material. The remaning waste is removed through anus. This is called egestion.

Digestion in grass–Fating Animals–Animals like cows, buffaloes and other grass eating animals chew food continuously even when they are not eating grass. They quickly swallow the grass and store it in a separate part of stomach called ruman where the food is partially digested and is called cud. But later the cud returns to the mouth in small lumps and the animal chew it (rumenation) and so these animals are called ruminants. The grass is rich in cellulose (a type of carbohydrate) which cannot be digested. Rumenants have a large sac structure between small and large cutestive the cellulose of food is digested here by the action of certain bacteria.

Digestion in amoeba–It is a microscopic single celled organism found in pond water. It constantly changes its shape and position and pushes out one or more finger like projections called pseudepodia or false feet for movement and capture of food. It feed on microscopic organisms. When it senses food, it pushes out pseudopodia around the food particle and engulfs it. The becomes trapped in a food vacuole.

Digestive juices are secreted into it and the food is broken down into simple substances and the digested food is absorbed. The undigested food or residve is expelled out by the vacuole.

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