The Digestive System Lab

1. In this lab, we used different colored yarn and measured some of the parts that make up our digestive system. It was very interesting to be able to see a visual of just how long our digestive tract is. When looking at how long all of the yarn and string was together, it was so amazing to think that that's about how long all of our digestive tracts would be. Through reading the instructions while doing the lab, I reinforced what I learned from the lecture with the function of each part of the digestive system being explained. It was a very fun and interesting lab to do.

2. I am 5 feet and 7 inches and in meters, I am 1.7018. When I did the calculations to find out how long my digestive tract was in meters, I found out it was 9.04 meters. My digestive tract would clearly be much taller than me. The abdomen appears very small and so I believe that the digestive system is able to fit inside of it because it is very compacted. Although your small intestine is very long, about 16 feet in length, it is able to fit into the abdomen because it tightly compacted.

3. I believe that it would take about an hour to two hours for food to move through your entire digestive system. After looking up how long it takes, most sources showed that it takes about 30-40 hours (WOW I was off). One factor that I believe would have a great impact on digestion time is what kind of food that you have consumed. If it a fibrous and nutritious food, then I imagine that it would take less time for the food to be digested. However, if you have consumed a junk food such as chips or candy, I believe that it would not be as easy to digest.

4. Digestion is when the food is being broken down, while absorption is when the nutrients are absorbed from the food you have eaten. Most chemical digestion and absorption occur in the small intestine. Your liver helps to produce bile for large fats while the pancreas produces enzymes. These enzymes are critical in digestive, as they help to break the food down. Each enzyme has a different part that is trying to break down. For example, the enzymes peptidase is used to break down proteins in the digestive system.

5. I would like to gather more of an understanding of how absorption works in the digestive system. I have learned that it occurs mostly in the small intestine but I would like to know more of the specific organs involved and how the process works specifically. I would also like to know more factors that affect digestion time and specific foods that are harder to digest than others.