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Digestive System and Nutrition — HS Anatomy & Physiology practice questions

8 multiple-choice questions and 4 flashcards on Digestive System and Nutrition, about 5% of the HS Anatomy & Physiology bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by Nick Burton · last updated 2026-08-22 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

Digestive System and Nutrition is one of 13 chapters in CoStudy's HS Anatomy & Physiology bank, and it holds 8 of the bank's 150 multiple-choice questions — roughly 5% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free Digestive System and Nutrition practice questions

1 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

Mechanism of breathing:

  1. Pure muscle squeeze
  2. Just chest
  3. Inspiration: diaphragm contracts (flattens), external intercostals lift ribs → thoracic volume increases → pressure drops → air flows in; expiration largely passive (recoil)
  4. Mouth only
  5. Lungs squeeze themselves

Answer: C — Inspiration: diaphragm contracts (flattens), external intercostals lift ribs → thoracic volume increases → pressure drops → air flows in; expiration largely passive (recoil)

Boyle's Law: P × V = constant. Increase volume → decrease pressure → air flows in (down pressure gradient). Diaphragm (primary muscle), intercostals. Normal breathing rate: 12-20/min at rest. Forced expiration uses internal intercostals + abdominals.

Digestive System and Nutrition flashcards

1 cards from the 4 in this chapter.

Interactive digestive system — hover any organ.

The digestive system breaks food into absorbable nutrients. Alimentary canal (food passes through): mouth → esophagus → stomach → small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum) → large intestine → rectum → anus. Accessory organs (aid digestion but food doesn't pass through): salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, pancreas. Total length ~9 meters (30 feet) in an adult.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full Digestive System and Nutrition chapter runs 12 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

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