Investigations in Science 7 – February 1, 2019

Announcements:

Coming Up:

 Digestive System
 Respiratory System
 Circulatory System

Dates:

 February 4 – Town Hall Meeting during Period 6

 February 6 - Report Card Distribution

 February 7- Digestive Study Guide Due

 February 8- Digestive Assessment

 February 12 - PTA Meeting @ 7:00 pm

 February 18 - No School

 February 21 - Student/Staff Basketball Game

What we did this week:

This week we continued to follow the path of our food from the stomach to
the small intestine. The small intestine is lined with villi. The villi absorb the
nutrients from the food and send it to the blood. Students measured their hand
with closed fingers and opened fingers to show how villi increase the surface area
of the small intestine. This helps the intestine absorb more nutrients.

The small intestine is aided by the liver which produces bile to break down
fat. Groups were given oil, water, and baking soda. One beaker had only oil and
water. The other beaker had oil, water, and then baking soda added. Both cups
were stirred. They were able to see that the cup with baking soda broke down the
oil into smaller blobs. This is the same thing the bile does in the small intestine.

The small intestine ended our lab journey through the digestive
system. Although the undigested parts travel to the large intestine and out the
anus, it would be a waste of time to observe (get it, waste, waste of time ;-
). Throughout the week we completed a graphic organizer labeling the organs of
the digestive system and their function after seeing how they worked first hand.

Have a great weekend!