alleryStart learning →Why is the human stomach kept strongly acidic?
ATo speed up the action of its enzymes
BTo absorb nutrients into the bloodstream
CTo store food until the body needs it
DTo reabsorb water from the food eaten
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. To speed up the action of its enzymes
1. The stomach is an extremely acidic environment, with a pH between 1.5 and 2.5.
2. That acidity is there to speed up the action of the enzymes working on the food.
3. Those gastric juices continue the digestion the mouth began.
4. Absorption of nutrients happens later, across the wall of the small intestine.
_Source: OpenStax Biology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 34 "Animal Nutrition and the Digestive System", section Monogastric: Single-chambered Stomach_
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