Purpose
For this project, we were assigned to take two important functions from our body systems and examine them. My group and I chose to look closely at the digestive system and the excretory system. Nest you will learn how it was done.
Procedure
My group went through many steps so that we could completely understand how these two body systems functioned. We first researched what the are and what their purposes are. The digestive system is responsible for two very important things, digestion and absorption. Digestion is defined as the breakdown of food into small molecules. During the process of digestion, molecules are absorbed into the body to use for energy.
The excretory system's purpose in the body is to discharge bodily wastes that are produced by the body from the work of all of its functions.
The next step for our group was to find the organs that are involved in these processes and find what they specifically do.
Digestive:
Mouth- Breaks down large pieces of food entering our body so that they are small enough to pass through the esophagus.
Esophagus- The muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach.
Stomach- Breaks down food using the acids that are present in it. Also breaks down food by expanding and contracting.
Small and large intestine- These are long wound up tubes where most of the digestion process takes place. The small intestine I extremely long and is where most of the absorption occurs in this whole process. The large intestine is shorter but wider and breaks down the food further after the small intestine.
These are all very important parts of the digestive system that we chose to include in our project. We then used the materials available to us, such as scrap wood, pvc piping, and other scrap materials.
Excretory:
Dorsal aorta artery- This is one of the main arteries running through the body and it supplies the excretory system with deoxygenated blood to be processed.
Kidneys- Here the blood is processed into urine so that all of the unwanted nutrients and molecules are removed.
Ureters- Tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder.
Bladder- The bladder stores the urine until its is ready to be excreted from the body.
Urethra- The urethra carries the urine from the bladder to the outside of the body.
The excretory system's purpose in the body is to discharge bodily wastes that are produced by the body from the work of all of its functions.
The next step for our group was to find the organs that are involved in these processes and find what they specifically do.
Digestive:
Mouth- Breaks down large pieces of food entering our body so that they are small enough to pass through the esophagus.
Esophagus- The muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach.
Stomach- Breaks down food using the acids that are present in it. Also breaks down food by expanding and contracting.
Small and large intestine- These are long wound up tubes where most of the digestion process takes place. The small intestine I extremely long and is where most of the absorption occurs in this whole process. The large intestine is shorter but wider and breaks down the food further after the small intestine.
These are all very important parts of the digestive system that we chose to include in our project. We then used the materials available to us, such as scrap wood, pvc piping, and other scrap materials.
Excretory:
Dorsal aorta artery- This is one of the main arteries running through the body and it supplies the excretory system with deoxygenated blood to be processed.
Kidneys- Here the blood is processed into urine so that all of the unwanted nutrients and molecules are removed.
Ureters- Tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder.
Bladder- The bladder stores the urine until its is ready to be excreted from the body.
Urethra- The urethra carries the urine from the bladder to the outside of the body.
Reflection
This project was very interesting for my group. We started the project very efficiently and ended it with our best effort even among setbacks from other groups. A couple of things that I personally did well during this project were keeping my group and I focused on what needed to get done and I diligently worked on the project to catch up after the major setback. Two things that I could improve on are my communication with my group and my use of time during breaks. I was absent for much of the project and for that reason I have learned that I need to communicate with the rest of my group while I'm gone in order to keep us on track. This was an issue especially when we had to finish the second part of our project (the excretory system). During breaks instead of taking down time it would be more beneficial if I worked during the breaks. Overall this project taught me a lot about my group and about my teacher. This project was a deal with it kind of project that my group and I had to personally struggle through and deal with.