Name______Date______

Digestive System Webquest

Part I- Identifying Digestive Structures

Use this website to help you label the following diagram.

Part II- Getting to Know Your Digestive System.

Watch the following animation and use it to help you answer the questions that follow.

  1. The mechanical process of teeth breaking down food is called ______.
  1. Chemical digestion begins in the ______where your ______glands secrete ______.
  2. After swallowing, your body performs an involuntary movement called ______which forces the food through the esophagus into the stomach.
  1. The stomach has the ability to expand due to small folds called ______.
  1. The stomach aids in digestion by secreting a strong acid called ______.
  1. The bolus, mixed with stomach juices, is now called ______.
  1. Once food exits the stomach through the ______sphincter, it enters the first part of the small intestines called the ______.
  1. The chyme then flows through the rest of the small intestine, consisting of the ______and ______.
  1. The liver and pancreas are considered to be secondary digestive structures. What roles do they play in digestion?
  1. Anything that isn’t digested in the small intestine is passed into the large intestine where ______and ______are absorbed and the remaining chyme becomes ______.
  1. What is the role of the rectum?

*Check your knowledge* See if you can answer the questions for this small quiz based on what you have just learned! Try not to look back at your previous answers!

Part III- The major organs of the digestive system

Visit the following site to get to know the organs of the digestive system:

Organ / Structure / Function
Mouth / Teeth
Tongue
Salivary glands
Pharynx
Esophagus
Stomach
Gallbladder
Pancreas
Liver
Small intestine / Duodenum
Jejunum
Ileum
Large intestine / Ascending colon
Transverse colon
Descending colon
Rectum
Anus

Part IV- Digestive Enzymes

Read the information from the following website to help you answer the questions.

  1. Most enzymes are named using the suffix ______
  1. How else are enzymes named?
  1. Enzymes are part of what group of macromolecule? ______
  1. The substance that the enzyme connects with is called the ______
  1. Name 2 substances that could possibly bind to the active site and therefore poison you ______& ______
  2. What class of enzymes do digestive enzymes belong to and what is their function?
  1. Name the 5 major enzyme producing structures of the digestive system.
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______
  6. ______

Read the following article to learn specifics about the enzymes necessary to digest your food and then fill in the chart.

Enzyme Category / Where it’s produced / What it breaks down / Where digestion occurs
Amylases
Proteases
-Pepsin
-Trypsin
-Chymotripsin
Lipases
Other Digestive Enzymes: