Nutrition

Contents & notes: what this topic covers

Under Nutrition, the JAMB Biology syllabus expects you to study:

• 2. Nutrition a. Modes of nutrition i. Autotrophic ii. Heterotrophic b. Types of Nutrition c. Plant nutrition i. Photosynthesis ii. Chemosynthesis iii. Mineral requirements (macro and micro-nutrients) d. Animal nutrition i. Classes of food substances; carbohydrates, proteins, xi fats and oils, vitamins, mineral salts and water ii. Food tests (e.g. starch, reducing sugar, protein, oil, fat etc.) iii. The mammalian tooth (structures, types and functions) iv. Mammalian alimentary canal v. Nutrition process (ingestion, digestion, absorption, xi and assimilation of digested food). x xx Ca

Study notes & guidance

Study Nutrition using a recommended Biology textbook that follows the JAMB syllabus. Work through the contents listed above one by one, make brief notes in your own words, and then practise as many questions on this topic as you can — in Biology, understanding and steady practice matter far more than memorising. Use the objectives below as a checklist: if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Objectives — candidates should be able to

After studying Nutrition, you should be able to:

1. Compare autotrophic and heterotrophic modes of nutrition.
2. Provide examples from both flowering and non- flowering plants.
3. Compare the photosynthetic and chemosynthetic modes of nutrition;
4. Differentiate the following examples of heterotrophic feeding: - holozoic (sheep and man) - Parasitic (roundworm, tapeworm and Loranthus) - saprophytic (Rhizopus and mushroom) - carnivorous plants (sundew and bladderwort) - determine their nutritional value.
5. Differentiate the light and dark reactions, of photosynthesis.
6. Determine the necessity of light, carbon (IV) oxide and chlorophyll in photosynthesis.
7. Detect the presence of starch in a leaf as evidence of photosynthesis.
8. Identify macro-and micro-elements required by plants.
9. Recognise the deficiency symptoms of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.
10. Indicate the sources of the various classes of food;
11. Determine the nutritional value of food
12. Relate the importance and deficiency (e.g., scurvy, rickets, kwashiorkor etc.) of each class of food;
13. Determine the importance of a balanced diet.
14. Detect the presence of a food type from the result of a given experiment.
15. Describe the structure of a typical mammalian tooth
16. Differentiate the types of mammalian tooth and relate their structures to their functions.
17. Compare the dental formulae of man, sheep and dog.
18. Relate the structure of the various components of the alimentary canal and its accessory organs (liver, pancreas and gall bladder) to their functions.
19. Identify the general characteristics of digestive enzymes
20. Associate enzymes with digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats and
21. Determine the end products of these classes of food. ndidates should be able to:

These objectives are from the official JAMB syllabus. Use them as a checklist — if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Source: official JAMB UTME Biology syllabus (IBASS, jamb.gov.ng). Reproduced for study use. Last checked: 17 Sept 2026. Always confirm the current syllabus on the official portal.