1895 -- 8th Grade Final Exam & Answers -- Subject Biology

A Completed 8th Grade Final Exam 

Salina, Kansas, 1895

Here is a completed 8th Grade Final Exam -- Subject: Biology 

Biology (Time, 45 minutes) 

1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion? 

a.) Saliva is secreted in the mouth by the salivary glands. Saliva is a somewhat alkaline fluid that moistens the mouth, softens food, and aids in digestion. The submaxillary glands are located around the mouth under the lower jaw, the sublingual glands are located beneath the tongue, and the parotid glands are found in front of each ear. The buccal glands, in the cheeks near the front of the mouth, also secrete saliva. 

b.) Gastric juice is a thin, strongly acidic (pH varying from 1 to 3), almost colorless liquid secreted by the glands in the lining of the stomach. Its essential constituents are the digestive enzymes pepsin and rennin, hydrochloric acid, and mucus. Pepsin converts proteins into simpler, more easily absorbed substances; it is aided in this by hydrochloric acid, which provides the acid environment in which pepsin is most effective. Rennin aids the digestion of milk proteins. Mucus secreted by the gastric glands helps protect the stomach lining from the action of gastric juice. Gastric secretion is stimulated by a number of hormones and chemical substances, by the presence of food in the stomach, and by a number of psychological factors, such as the smell of a favorite food. 

c.) Bile is a yellowish-brown or green fluid secreted by the liver in the bile duct. This liquid carries away waste from the processes of the liver and helps in the digestive process. 

2. How does nutrition reach the circulation? 

Nutrients reach the circulation by absorbtion thru the intestinal walls. The main purpose of the intestines it to take the partially digested food from the stomach and convert it into energy. The small intestine is about 20 feet long. The small intestine is divided into three sections, the duodenum, the jejunum and ileum. The small intestinal glands secrete intestinal juices that helps with the digestive process. The liver dumps bile into the small intestine through the bile duct. The pancreas secretes pancreatic enzymes into the small intestine. Bile and the pancreatic enzymes break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates. This partially digested mixture empties into the large intestine through an opening the ileocecal valve. The large intestine is about 4 1/2 feet long. The large intestine is divided into six parts. They are the cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon, and the rectum. The large intestines main purpose is to further digest the food, releasing nutrients into the blood and to absorb fluids. 

3. What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys? 

a.) The liver is the center for the storage of vitamins and nutrients which were disolved and digested in the intestines. The nutrients are carried to the liver by two large veins. Blood passes through the liver at a rate of about 1 1/2 quarts per minute. At any given time the liver contains about 10% of all the blood in your body. The liver is divided into two main parts called lobes. The liver is protected by the bottom part of the ribs on the right side of your chest and the liver weighs between 3 and 4 pounds.The liver also works to make bile. Bile is used to break down fats in the small intestine. The bile is stored in the gall bladder until it is needed to help digest the food you eat. If you eat a real fatty food your body will need more bile to help digest those fats than it would need in comparison to a salad or some fruit. 

b.) The kidneys are bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located near the middle of the lower back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are sophisticated trash collectors. Every day, the kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. The waste and extra water become urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The bladder stores urine until you go to the bathroom. The wastes in the blood come from the normal breakdown of active muscle and from the food we eat. Our body uses the food for energy and self-repair. After our body has taken what it needs from the food, waste is sent to the blood. If our kidneys did not remove these wastes, the wastes would build up in the blood and damage our body.

4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in the case of laceration? 

If the laceration is in an arm or a leg, I would apply a tourniquet around the limb between the laceration and the heart, tightening it until the flow was stopped, loosening the tourniquet every 10 minutes to let blood pass to nourish the cells beyond the tourniquet, at the same time applying pressure over the laceration with a cloth pad to staunch the loss of blood. 

A laceration of the arteries of the neck obviously cannot be tourniqueted, so the only thing that can be done is to apply pressure with a cloth pad. Loss of blood and oxygen to the brain can quickly lead to death.

5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of health.
a.) Regular meals of a variety of foods, both animal and vegetable. I like a lot of vegetables and fruits. b.) Regular Exercise, which I get a lot of on the farm every day. Regular exercise keeps the muscles, heart and lungs in good tone. 

c.) Regular Rest of from 7 to 8 hours sleep a night 

d.) Regular personal hygiene, brushing teeth, washing skin and hair with good soap, etc. everyday. We usually get one good bath a week at home, heating well water on the stove, but in summer we swim in the river every day, and wash there. 

e.) Regular times of ease, prayer and meditation each day also help me to think about and solve the problems of the day. God sometimes gives me answers to problems that I can't solve by myself, and teaches me to ask for help with things I don't know, from my parents and my teacher, and others that do know. It is great fun learning things that I don't know!

--- end of 1895 8th Grade Final Exam and Answers 

Time to take this exam: 45 Minutes