Animal and Human Nutrition: Why We Need Food

Explain why animals and humans need nutrition, how they obtain it by eating rather than making food, and identify the main reasons bodies require nutrients.

Identify the seven main food groups and nutrient types, explain their functions in the human body, and plan balanced meals.

Compare how different animals obtain nutrition based on their diets (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores), adaptations, and trophic relationships.

Identify major bones in the human body and explain how the internal skeleton provides upright structure, support, and shape.

Explain how specific bony structures shield delicate, vital organs from impacts and injury.

Explain how joints allow flexible connection between bones and how antagonistic muscle pairs contract and relax to create movement.

Compare endoskeletons, exoskeletons, and hydrostatic skeletons across vertebrates and invertebrates, describing how each supports and protects the animal.

Apply scientific enquiry methods—fair testing, pattern seeking, data logging, and evidence-based conclusions—to study nutrition, skeletal structures, and muscular performance.