Digestive System Lab

1. In this lab, I measured the approximate lengths of the major components of my digestive system: mouth esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. I used colored ribbon for all components except for the small intestine, and instead used regular yarn for the small intestine. From this lab, I learned that the small intestine is the longest component of the digestive system by far, since it is approximately my height multiplied by four! My small intestine measured around 660 cm, which is very long; I was surprised that all of that could fit inside of my intestinal cavity. Below is my data table from the lab:

Digestive Organ	Color and Length (cm)
Mouth	red, 11.7cm
Esophagus	blue, 45.7cm
Stomach	pink, 19.0cm
Small Intestine	yarn, 660.4cm
Large Intestine	green, 165.1cm
TOTAL	901.9cm

2. The length, in meters, of my digestive system is approximately 9.02 meters, but my height is only about 1.65 meters; the length of my digestive system is significantly longer than my height. I think that my digestive system is able to fit in my abdomen because the small and larger intestines are coiled on top of each other, so they are somewhat squeezed in a tight space within my abdomen. 

3. On average, I think that it takes about 4-6 hours for food to move through the entire digestive system. After looking it up just now, it takes approximately 6-8 hours for food to move through the entire digestive system. My guess was significantly shorter than the actual time it takes to digest food. The time it takes to digest food is influenced by the the concentration of the the food eaten; for example, whether the food is made mostly of fat, or just carbohydrates, etc. Furthermore, the amount of exercise and the level of metabolism of an individual can also influence the time it takes to digest food.

4. Digestion is different from absorption because digestion is the act of actually breaking the food down into simpler forms, so that it is possible for the body to absorb nutrients from the food. The main organs that are involved in digestion are the mouth and the saliva in the mouth, the stomach, and the duodenum of the small intestine. On the other hand, absorption is the act of absorbing the nutrients from the food, and no further breakdown of the food occurs. The main organs involved in absorption are the jejunum and ileum of the small intestine and the large intestine.

5. I want to learn the reason why the small intestine is so much longer than the large intestine, and also why the larger intestine is much wider than the small intestine. Furthermore, I also want to learn how ulcers are assuaged once they appear in the stomach wall.