The Digestion System Lab Questions

1. Through this activity, it allowed us to be able to visualize how small or large the size of our organs are. Being able to compare the relative size and length of the varying parts of our digestive tract allowed each individual to see how the intestines vary for each person.

DIGESTIVE ORGAN	COLOR and LENGTH (CM)
Mouth	10 centimeters  silver
Esophagus	49 centimeters  gold
Stomach	16.5 centimeters  red
Small Intestine	675 centimeters  white
Large Intestine	168.9 centimeters  green
TOTAL	919.4 centimeters

2. My height is 1.67 meters while my digestive tract is 9.194 meters. This means that my digestive tract is nine times longer than my height. The intestines are folded onto itself and has many ripples reducing its surface area and allows it to fit inside your abdomen. 

3. Depending on what an individual consumes, the time varies. If he or she eats complex proteins, it could take up to eight hours, while water or fruit go much quicker, and leafy greens should take around two to three hours. According to the Mayo Clinic, "Total transit time, from eating to elimination in stool, averaged 53 hours (although that figure is a little overstated, because the markers used by the researchers passed more slowly through the stomach than actual food). The average transit time through just the large intestine (colon) was 40 hours, with significant difference between men and women: 33 hours for men, 47 hours for women." 

4. Digestion breaks down the food that is consumed into smaller pieces, while absorption takes in needed nutrients from the food consumed. Most of the protein digestion occurs in the stomach, and most of the chemical digestion and absorption occurs in the small intestine. 

5. If one organ of the digestion tract shuts down or fails to work, is that fatal to the individual? Can an individual live without any of the digestion tract organs and live a "normal" life?