This is a community of those using "Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding"

Elementary Science Education

Digestive system

Viewing 0 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • #8644

      Bernard Nebel
      Keymaster

      The video (below) provides an overview of the digestive system. Have kids consider how a tree must be sawed into lumber for use as building material; other parts must be cut and split into pieces suitable for burning in a fireplace. Stress that the job of the digestive system is “cutting” what we eat into pieces useful for “burning” for energy or for building new cells.

      Further emphasize that the cut pieces serve no purpose in the gut. They must be transported to muscle, nerve, and other cells where they are actually used. Here, note the video saying the processed particles are absorbed into the blood. See diagrams of how the interior of the intestine is lined with tiny finger-like projections (villi) each one containing a capillary bed. (Type into your browser: capillary beds villi of gut images/.These structures in mass enable rapid absorption of materials from the gut into the blood stream. The circulatory (blood) system (see later) performs the necessary transport from gut to all other cells of the body.

      Please post questions or comments in the box below

Viewing 0 reply threads
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.