Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________

Student Exploration: Digestive System

Vocabulary: absorption, amino acid, carbohydrate, chemical digestion, chyme, complex

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. Why do we need to eat food? _________________________________________________

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2. How do you think our bodies break food down into useful nutrients? __________________

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Gizmo Warm-up
The digestive system is a group of organs that does three
things:
 First, the digestive system breaks food down into
useful nutrients, a process called digestion.
 Next, the nutrients move into the bloodstream, a
process called absorption.
 Finally, the leftover waste is removed from the
body, a process called elimination.

With the Digestive System Gizmo, you can arrange the organs of the digestive system any way
you like. To begin, look at the organs on the LARGE ORGANS tab. Place your cursor over each
organ to learn more about it.

1. Which organs allow nutrients to be absorbed? ____________________________________

2. Which organ stores and compacts waste before it is eliminated? ______________________

3. Which two organs help to break food down mechanically? _____________ _____________
 Activity A:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Build a digestive
 If necessary, click Clear screen.
system

Goal: Design your own digestive system.

1. Explore: Read the descriptions of the large organs, as well as those of the small organs on
the next tab. Fill in the names of the organs that serve the functions listed below:

__________________ This organ absorbs water and vitamin K from digested food.

__________________ This organ produces enzymes that break down nutrients.

__________________ These tiny blood vessels transport absorbed nutrients.

__________________ These cells produce hydrochloric acid (HCl).

__________________ These cells produce pepsin, which breaks down proteins.

2. Predict: How well do you think your system will digest food? Explain your reasoning.

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3. Prepare: Select the FOOD tab. The energy we get from food is measured in food calories
(Calories). Each Calorie is equal to 4,184 joules of energy. Calories are found in the three
main nutrients in food: carbohydrates (sugars and starches), proteins, and fats.

Drag the Cheeseburger above the mouth in your digestive system. How many Calories in
the cheeseburger come from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats?

Carbohydrate Calories: ________ Protein Calories: ________ Fat Calories: ________

4. Run the Gizmo: Click Play ( ), and observe the food moving through the digestive system.
The muscular contractions that push food through the system are called peristalsis. When
food has finished passing through the system, you will see a message.

A. What percentage of Calories were absorbed by your system? ________

B. What percentage of water was absorbed? ________

C. Based on these results, how well do you think this digestive system worked? Explain.

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6. Explain: How do mechanical and chemical digestion work together to break down food?

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 Activity C: Get the Gizmo ready:
Absorption  Click Reset and Clear screen.

Introduction: Digesting nutrients into simple carbohydrates, amino acids, and fatty acids is
important, but it doesn’t matter unless the nutrients get into the bloodstream to feed body cells.
This process is called absorption.

Question: How are nutrients absorbed?

1. Observe: Look through the descriptions of the large and small organs.

A. Which of the large organs allow nutrients and water to pass through their walls?

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B. Which of the small organs transport absorbed nutrients to the bloodstream?

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2. Analyze: Examine the results of your four experiments.

A. Which nutrients were absorbed by capillaries in the small intestine? _____________

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B. Which nutrients were absorbed by capillaries in the large intestine? _____________

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Bacteria in the large intestine break down some types of fiber—a difficult to digest
complex carbohydrate—into sugars that are absorbed in the large intestine.

C. Which nutrient was absorbed by small intestine lymphatic vessels? ______________

D. Did lymphatic vessels absorb anything from the large intestine? ________________

3. Draw conclusions: Based on your experiments, where should the capillaries and lymphatic
vessels be placed to maximize the absorption of nutrients from food?

Capillaries: ________________________________________________________________

Lymphatic vessels: _________________________________________________________

Introduction: Now that you have explored a model of human digestion, it is time to apply what
you have learned to the real human digestive system.

Goal: Describe the human digestive system.

1. Label: Based on what you have learned, identify the organs of the human digestive system.

2. Think and discuss: Why is it important that the mouth and stomach are near the start of the

digestive system? __________________________________________________________

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Activity D (continued from previous page)

3. Match: Match each structure, chemical, or process to its function.

_____ Amylase A. Upper section of the small intestine

_____ Peristalsis B. Muscular tube connecting the throat and stomach

_____ Duodenum C. Organ that produces a variety of digestive enzymes

_____ Lymphatic vessel D. Chemical that breaks up large fat droplets

_____ Anus E. Muscular contractions that push food through the

_____ Large intestine F. Enzyme that starts to digest proteins in the stomach

_____ Esophagus G. Opening through which wastes are eliminated

_____ Pepsin H. Produces hydrochloric acid in the stomach

_____ Pancreas I. Transports absorbed fatty acids to the bloodstream

_____ Parietal cell J. Organ that absorbs water and vitamin K

_____ Bile K. Enzyme that breaks down starches into simple

4. Infer: The diagram at right shows part of a villus. A villus is a tiny,

A. What are the names of the vessels labeled A and B in the

diagram? __________________________________________

B. What do you think is the function of a villus? ______________

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5. Evaluate: In humans, the small intestine can be over 8 meters (26 feet) long. Why do you

think this organ is so long? ___________________________________________________

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