Mouth(Red)- 8 cm
Esophagus(Gold)- 45.6 cm
Stomach(White)- 20.5 cm
Small Intestine(String)- 650.24 cm
Large Intestine(Green)- 162.56 cm
Total Length- 886.9 cm or 8.869 m
1) For this lab, I measured ribbon according to the predicted length of these organs from my digestive system. Putting them all together gives me a bigger and a better picture of the size of my digestive system. According to the instructions, my small intestine is 4 times my height. Combined with my large intestine, that length would be 5 times my height. I always knew these organs were very long, but this gave me a definitive picture.
2) My height is 162.56 cm or 1.6256 m, which means approximately 5.4558 of me stretched out would be around the same length of my digestive system. My digestive system is able to fit inside my abdomen because there are so many folds to fit it inside the small space.
3) My guess is around 30 hours. According to MayoClinic.com, the entire digestive process can range from 24-72 hours. The average times are from 1-3 days, and that's quite a large range. My answer was in the range, but I guess I made my estimate based off what I believed was my time for my own full digestion. Factors that influence time digestion takes include amount of fiber eaten, amount of physical activity, amount of nicotine ingested, amount of caffeine drunk, certain prescription drugs.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/525519-the-normal-time-for-food-to-process-through-the-bowels-colon/
4) The mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small intestine are all involved in digestion, but small and large intestine do all of the absorption. Digestion is just the breaking down of food into smaller pieces, whether done through physical or chemical processes. Absorption is taking in nutrients and water, and using it as energy for the body.
5) If digestion happened abnormally quickly, would that indicate problems of absorption of nutrients?
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