Nutrition in Animals Class 7 Questions with Answers: Complete Guide

What is Nutrition in Animals? Understanding the Basics

Nutrition in animals is the process by which they take in food, digest it, absorb nutrients, and use them for energy, growth, and repair. Unlike plants that make their own food through photosynthesis, animals depend on other organisms for nutrition.

Key points:

• Nutrition provides energy for movement and body functions
• It supports growth and repair of tissues
• Animals have different feeding habits based on their diet

Class 7 NCERT Science explains nutrition as a vital life process. Understanding this helps students answer questions about how animals survive and thrive.

Types of Nutrition in Animals: Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores

Animals are classified by their feeding habits:

• Herbivores: Eat only plants (e.g., cow, deer)
• Carnivores: Eat only other animals (e.g., lion, tiger)
• Omnivores: Eat both plants and animals (e.g., humans, bears)

Each type has adaptations suited to their diet:

Knowing these helps answer nutrition in animals class 7 questions with answers related to diet and digestion.

How Animals Digest Food: The Digestive System Explained

Digestion is the breakdown of food into smaller molecules that can be absorbed and used by the body. Animals have specialized digestive systems:

• Ingestion: Taking in food
• Digestion: Breaking down food mechanically and chemically
• Absorption: Nutrients enter the bloodstream
• Egestion: Removal of undigested waste

For example, in humans (omnivores), digestion starts in the mouth with chewing and saliva enzymes. In cows (herbivores), digestion involves a complex stomach to break down tough plant fibers.

Worked Example: If a cow eats 10 kg of grass, only part is digested and absorbed. The rest is egested as dung.

Understanding digestion helps answer questions about how animals get energy from food.

Special Nutrition Modes: Parasites and Saprophytes in Animals

Not all animals get nutrition by eating plants or animals. Some have special modes:

• Parasites: Live on or inside other animals and take nutrients from them (e.g., tapeworms, leeches)
• Saprophytes: Feed on dead organic matter (less common in animals, more in fungi)

Parasites have adaptations like hooks and suckers to attach to hosts. They may cause harm but depend entirely on their host for nutrition.

These modes are important for Class 7 students to understand diversity in animal nutrition.

Comparing Nutrition Types: A Quick Reference Table

Here is a comparison of nutrition types in animals to help you revise quickly:

Use this table to answer nutrition in animals class 7 questions with answers efficiently.

Practice Questions: Nutrition in Animals Class 7 with Answers

Here are some important questions with answers from the NCERT Class 7 Science chapter:

1. What is nutrition?

• Nutrition is the process of taking in food and using it for energy and growth.

2. Name the three types of nutrition in animals.

• Herbivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous.

3. How do carnivores differ from herbivores in their teeth?

• Carnivores have sharp teeth for tearing flesh; herbivores have flat teeth for grinding plants.

4. What is digestion?

• Digestion is the breakdown of food into simpler forms that can be absorbed.

5. Give an example of a parasitic animal.

• Tapeworm.

Try answering these to prepare well for your exams.