Digestive

System

Digestion Lab
We are going to use household items to
model the digestive system.

Digestion Lab
Substances in food that provide raw
materials and energy the body needs to
live
Our digestive system turns the
chemical energy in these nutrients into
energy we can use

Digestion Lab
Procedure
1. Label four plastic sealable bags with
the following:
protein (lunchmeat)
vegetable (lettuce)
starch (crushed cracker)
dairy (cheese)

Digestion Lab
Procedure
2. Use a cotton swab to lightly coat the
inside of the bag with vaseline.
3. Measure out 60 mL of vinegar in a
graduated cylinder and pour into the
bag

Digestion Lab
Procedure
4. Add 1 drop of food coloring to one
side of the bag so the drop slides
down the vaseline.
5. Using the balance, mass 10 g of your
groups food item.
6. Add the 10 g of food to the correct bag
and seal.

Digestion Lab
Procedure
7. Shake the sealed bag from side to
side 50 times.
8. Compare each bag and make an
inference about how fast each is
digesting
9. At the end of the period, make sure
the bags go in the trash.

Digestion Lab
Questions. Write these answers in your
spiral:
1. Which food type was digested the
fastest? ______________________
2. Which food type needed more
digesting time? _________________

Digestion Lab
Questions. Write these answers in your
spiral:
3. What did the plastic bag represent in
this model?______________________
4. What did the vaseline represent in this
model?__________________________

Digestion Lab
Questions. Write these answers in your
spiral:
5. What did the vinegar represent in this
model?______________________
6. What is at least one limitation of this
model? _________________________

Stomach and Intestine Slides

Now using the microscopes. Look at
the slides labeled stomach and small
intestine.
In your spiral, diagram what you see.

Organs of the Digestive System

Mouth
Rectum
Esophagus
Anus
Stomach
Pancreas
Small intestine
Gall Bladder
Large intestine
Liver

Functions of the Digestive

System
Digests food into molecules the body
can use (physical or chemical change)
Absorbs nutrient molecules and carries
them around the body (physical
change)
Eliminates waste material from unused
nutrients

Digestion
body breaks down food into small
nutrient molecules
mechanical
chemical

Mechanical Digestion
Food is physically broken down into
smaller pieces
Begins in the mouth
Teeth chewing/tearing
Movement of
smooth muscles

Chemical Digestion
Chemicals produced by the body break
foods into their smaller nutrients
mouth
stomach

Absorption
Process by which nutrient molecules
pass through the wall of your digestive
system into your blood
The lining of the small intestine is covered
in villi that aid in absorption

Elimination
Materials that are not absorbed leave
the body as waste
The waste material left over after food
is digested must leave the body to
prevent illness

Which is not a function of the

digestive system?
a)

b)

c)

d)

Breaking down food into

molecules the body can
use
Absorbing food
molecules into the blood
to deliver to the body
Changing waste into
molecules the body can
use
Eliminating undigested
waste from the body

Mouth
Digestion begins in the mouth
Mechanical teeth
Chemical - saliva

Esophagus
Muscular tube that connects your
mouth to your stomach
moves food down into your stomach
using involuntary muscle
contractions (peristalsis)
Lined with mucus that
allows food to slide down

The Stomach
J-shaped muscular pouch
Most mechanical digestion takes place
in the stomach
Chemical digestions also takes place
Stomach secretes digestive juice
(enzymes) that break down food

Average adult stomach holds 2 liters

Mucus keeps the acids from burning a
hole in your stomach

Stomach

Modeling
Place the marble in the end of the tube
and squeeze it down into the balloon.

Modeling
What do you think this could be a model
of?

esophagus
What is the tube?
stomach
What is the balloon?
food
What is the marble?
What is the soap? saliva and mucus

Which is not an example of

mechanical digestion?
a) Teeth chewing food
b) Tongue breaking up
food
c) Smooth muscles in
stomach churning
food
d) Hydrochloric acid
breaking down
proteins

Small Intestine
Where most of the chemical digestion
takes place
Where most of the absorption takes
place
Covered in villi which
enlarge the surface area

Small Intestine
a) Most digestion happens here.
b) Intestinal juice (full of enzymes)
breaks down food.
c) Digestive Helpers
Liver, Gall bladder, Pancreas
d) Digested food is absorbed
through the villi into a network of
blood vessels that carry the
nutrients to all parts of the body.
e) By the time food leaves the small intestine, it is
empty of all nutrients except water.

Small Intestine

The villi increase the

surface area that can
absorb nutrients

Where does most digestion take

place?
a)
b)
c)
d)

Mouth
Stomach
Small intestine
Liver

Liver
Breaks down medicines and other
chemicals
Produces bile that breaks up fat
particles
The gall bladder
stores bile

Pancreas
Produces enzymes that flow into the
small intestine
Secretes insulin
Causes diabetes when it does not make
insulin

Large Intestine

Last section of the digestive tract

Food spends 18-24 hours here
Where water is absorbed
Vitamins B & K are made by bacteria in
the large intestine

Rectum and Anus

Rectum end of the large intestine,
forms the solid waste
elimination

Anus muscular opening at the end of

the rectum
elimination

Which cell parts are like the

digestive system?
Which one makes energy?

mitochondria
Which one allows materials to pass in and out?

cell membrane
Which one helps get rid of waste?

lysosomes

The Digestive System Interacts

with:
muscular system (smooth
muscle) to move and digest food
respiratory system to provide
oxygen
circulatory system to move
nutrients