Unit 5 Reflection

Fed State Poster

In this unit we learned about the digestive system, metabolism, diabetes, endocrine system and the lymphatic system.  We learned that there are six basic functions of digestion, ingestion, secretion, mixing/propulsion, digesting, absorption, defecation. The digestive system has many accessory organs and we found out the pathway that food takes. ATP is the universal carrier for metabolism and it can be generated by the oxidation of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids. It takes three stages for energy to be extracted from food. We learned more about diabetes and what causes it.  Diabetes is when your body cant properly control blood glucose levels and you body cant make enough insulin, and it cant respond to it. Type 1 diabetes is when the body doesn't produce insulin at all and they must take insulin by injecting it. Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance and is more common then type 1 diabetes.  The endocrine system controls the processes involved in movement and physiological equilibrium.  We learned about the organs in the endocrine system and their hormones. We were taught about the lymphatic system and how it is involved in immunity, lipid absorption and fluid recovery.  Lymph is a clear colorless fluid that flows throughout lymphatic vessels.  The main organs of the lymphatic system are Lymph nodes, thymus, tonsils and spleen. In this unit we did a lab where we measured out our digestive tracts with strings, and we found out that it is a lot longer then we thought it was.

strings across the top are digestive tracts

The Digestion System Lab

In this lab we measured out the length of each part of the digestive system and at the end we added up all of the lengths and got the length of our digestive tracts. The main takeaways I got from this activity is that the intestines are a lot longer than I imagined.  With all of the digestive lengths put together it was very long.  For our small intestine we multiplied our height times 4, which is pretty long so for it to be able to fit in our abdomen it needs to be very bunched up and folded.  The small intestine is very long but it is not as wide as the large intestine.  The large intestine is much wider than the small intestine but it is shorter, for this your large intestine was about your height so we used out height and measured out the yarn.  My guess to how long it takes for food to move through your entire digestive system would be about 8 hours.  I looked it up and it says it takes between 24-72 hours for food to move through the entire system.  My guess was very off, but a big factor to how long it takes is the type of food it is.  Digestion is different from absorption because digestion is breaking down food into smaller pieces and absorption is taking the needed nutrients. Your intestines are where absorption takes place and digestion involves the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, anal cavity and the anus.  I don't have any questions about digestion, I want to learn more about how different people can't digest foods, but others can like for example celiac disease.

New Years Goals

My first goal for the new year is I need to start putting more time aside to study.  I need to be more on track with when my tests and quizzes are and plan ahead to make sure that I have enough time to go over everything and have time to study well. I also need to study more thoroughly for all of my classes. My second goal is I need to get more sleep.  For me to get more sleep I need to go to bed earlier, which means I have to get my homework done earlier so I am not up late trying to finish it.  I usually procrastinate when I get home from school, but I want to start getting my homework done quicker so I have more time so I can go to bed earlier.  It will also help me be more awake during school.