The Digestive System

In this activity, you and your partner will…

1. Try to answer some questions about the digestive

system, to see what you may already know!

2. Label and color a diagram of the digestive organs.

3. Read and take notes about each part of the digestive

system.

Part A -Try to Answer!Write your answer/best gues

on your sheet.

1. How long are your intestines?

2. How long are the intestines of a full grown horse?

3. How long does chewing take?

4. How long does swallowing take?

5. Food sloshes in the stomach. How long can this last?

6. How long does it take for food to move through the intestine? 7. Food drying up and hanging out in the large intestine can last how

long?

8. How many pounds of peanut butter do Americans eat in a year?

9. How many pounds of chocolate do Americans eat in a year?

10. In your lifetime, your digestive system may handle how many tons of

food?

1. How long are your intestines? 25 feet

2. How long are the intestines of a full grown horse? 89 feet

3. How long does chewing take? 5-30 seconds

4. How long does swallowing take? 10 seconds

5. Food sloshes in the stomach. How long can this last? 3-4 hours

6. How long does it take for food to move through the intestine? 3 hours7. Food drying up and hanging out in the large intestine can last how long? 18 hours to 2 days

8. How many pounds of peanut butter do Americans eat in a year? 700 million pounds

9. How many pounds of chocolate do Americans eat in a year? 2 billion

pounds

10. In your lifetime, your digestive system may handle how many tons of

food? 50 tons of food

Answers!

Part B -Parts of the Digestive System

Label your diagram and color code it as indicated on your sheet. • Teeth/Mouth• Esophagus• Stomach• Small Intestine• Large Intestine• Pancreas• Liver• Gallbladder • Rectum

Part C - The Digestive System

o Function: moves and breaks down food into smaller, usable nutrients.

o Nutrients: the body needs to absorb different nutrients in order to function

oProteinsoCarbohydratesoFatsoWateroVitaminsoMinerals

Part D -Types of Digestion

o Chemical - Chemical changes actually change the food into different substances

o Chewing a cracker – the cracker is broken into smaller pieces and the saliva in our mouth produces a chemical change – the starches in the cracker are changed to sugars

o Mechanical - The physical process of breaking food into smaller pieces.o Chewing food, stomach mashing and pounding food

during peristalsis.

Part E –Organs of the Digestive System

oRead each slide carefully.oWrite down the main function

for each part of the digestive system.

Mouth

Teeth grind and spit breaks up food

Salivary glands secrete 1-2 liters of spit a day

Esophagus

Moves food to stomach through peristalsis

Peristalsis- the muscular action of material moving through the digestive system by wave-like action of smooth muscles.

Stomach

Chemicals break down the food

The stomach is lined with a thick mucus so the stomach acid does not eat away at itself.

Small Intestine

Absorbs nutrients22 feet long

Villi (small structures in the small intestine) contain folds that absorb the nutrients.

Large Intestine

Absorbs water

Most of the solid material (poo) that remains is compacted and stored.

Liver

Filters blood & produces bile

Bile is a chemical that helps break down food.

Go Rattlers!

Pancreas

Produces insulin and glucagon

Without these chemicals from your pancreas your body would die of starvation.

Gallbladder

Stores bile made by the liver; secretes bile

to small intestine

Rectum

Stores feces (solid waste product)

THE END