Introduction
The digestive system begins in your mouth where the tongue and teeth work together to break up the food. A watery liquid called saliva makes the food wet and soft, and it has a chemical that helps digest the food.
As you swallow the food goes down a tube called the gullet. This tube goes into your stomach. The stomach is a large muscle that stirs up the food. More liquids and chemicals help digest the food and break them down into simple substances.
After the food has been ground and stirred in the stomach it moves to the small intestine. The small intestine is very long and coiled up. If you stretch it out, it would be about 7 metres long. In the small intestine, the food is mixed with more chemicals and liquids. The pieces of food become very small; too small to see. These very small pieces are called nutrients and are absorbed into the blood. The blood (circulatory system) carries these nutrients to all parts of the body.
The undigested food goes into the large intestine. In the large intestine, most of the water is removed from the food. The undigested food is then passed out of the body as waste through an opening called the anus.
Task
View the video clips under the 'Process' tab.
After you have watched the video, list down possible problems a person may face if any of the digestive parts is not functioning properly.
The organs of the digestive system include the following:
1. Mouth
2. Gullet
3. Stomach
4. Small Intestine
5. Large Intestine
6. Anus
Process
Here are two video clips for your pleasure viewing. Enjoy!
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h2VW8USCAA align:left]
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-1PuS2NVOw align:left]
You may visit http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/DSmovie.html#cat20580 to find out more information on the digestive system.
Evaluation
After you are done with the activity, complete the following feedback on your science journal.
(1) What is your main takeaway from the videos?
(2) Did you find this webpage useful?
(3) How was it useful or not useful?
Conclusion
Every part of the digestive system plays a crucial role in ensuring proper digestion of your food intake. If any parts is missing, the whole system will not be able to function properly.
Additional activity:
Do a concept map or mind map on the digestive system and complete the homework given to you in class.