Preview

Digestion Research Paper

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1318 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Digestion Research Paper
Digestion is a process in which the food that we eat is broken down into tiny nutrients to be taken in by the body. Within the human digestive system, chemical and physical reactions occur that allow for the digestion and the absorption of proteins into the bloodstream. The purpose of this paper is to show how chemistry relates to the daily functions within the body. There are two types of digestion processes, which are called mechanical and chemical digestion. Mechanical digestion includes the physical changes and this happens when food is chewed in the oral cavity, and this leads to the chemical digestion, which breaks down proteins in the stomach by the gastric acids. Between these two points, many organs work to extract nutrients from the food to deliver it to the body. These include the oral cavity, esophagus, small and large intestine, and the stomach.

Beginning in the oral cavity, or the mouth, the food is chewed, torn, mashed,
…show more content…
They all consist of chlorine and most are alkaline metals besides hydrogen, which is a nonmetal. The properties of these metals have low boiling points, have low densities, produce hydrogen gas when reacting with water, and dissolve in water to form alkaline solutions. On the other hand, hydrogen is a nonmetal, is nontoxic, and is a diatomic gas. Chlorine, which is the most abundant in this case, is a halogen and combines with almost all other elements. It was discovered by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1774 but was named by Humphry Davy. Besides being in the compounds of stomach acids, it can also be found in water purification, disinfectants, bleach, medicine, and mustard gas. Furthermore, when looking at the periodic table trends, pH is more basic as you go from left to right, which is also the same for the electronegativity trend. This means that your alkali metals are more acidic than the noble

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    18) Chemical digestion reduces large complex molecules to simpler compounds by the process of catabolism. (854)…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginning of the digestive process starts with the smell and sight of food which activate the salivary glands. The mouth is the point at which food enters the digestive tract and continues the digestive process by chewing food. The food is then broken down into pieces and moistened by salivary glands which turn food into a bolus. The bolus goes down the pharynx into the esophagus which connects the pharynx to the stomach. The stomach is an organ that mixes food and secretes gastric juice. The bolus, once in the stomach, is mixed into a semiliquid mass called chime. The stomach is close together with the liver and pancreas but does not get assistance from these organs. The chime then enters…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Unit 4 Assigment

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The gastrointestinal tract starts with the mouth, which leads to the gullet via the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and ends at the anus. In due course of the journey, the ingested food is broken down by both physical and chemical means to release nutrients which are absorbed into the blood stream. The ingested food is physically broken down in the mouth by chewing so as to reduce its size for increased surface area over which enzymatic reaction will take place. Enzymatic reaction is known as digestion and this is defined as the chemical breakdown of the ingested complex food molecules by the action of biological enzymes, into simplest form that can be absorbed into the blood stream and assimilated into living cells. In human beings, various components of the ingested food are digested and absorbed at various sections of the alimentary canal .…

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Module 4 Report

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Unit 4 Report Distributing Metabolites through the body Food that we consume is composed of very complex molecules. During the digestive process these compounds are broken down into smaller and smaller subunits in preparation for use by the body as building blocks needed for the many components of the human body. In Module 3 we followed the food through the digestive system and considered the process that takes place in the digestive system. The pizza that was eaten by Matt and Maria contained ingredients composed of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and other components such as minerals, water and vitamins.…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marie M. Daly was born on April 16, 1921, in Queens, New York. She was raised in a family that valued education very highly and believed in the power of it. She attended Hunter College High School, an all-girls institution in New York City. After graduation from high school, Daly attended Queens College in Flushing, New York, which was close to home in order to save money. Daly graduated with honors in 1942 and could go to graduate school for financial reasons, so she was a lab assistant at her old college and raised the funds to go to graduate school.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We all love to eat. I remember my parents used to tell me that in order for my food to digest properly, I would have to chew it one hundred times on both side to make it small as possible. They said that if the food was smaller it could digest quicker and easier. But most people do not know what happens to their food after they have chewed it up and swallowed it. Some may think that right after the food is swallowed, it goes straight to the stomach. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the path food follows as it goes through the digestive system.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The cardiovascular system which impacts deeply on human consciousness. The heart and the body’s blood-transporting network of arteries, veins, and smaller vessels form the circulatory or cardiovascular system. As blood is continuously pumped out from the heart and around the system in two circuits, it carries oxygen and vital nutrients to all parts of the body and removes harmful waste products from tissues. (P.169)…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Complete the following questions and submit your report. This document contains 3 pages. The total lab is worth 35 points.…

    • 2727 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    3

    • 1178 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The digestive system works like an assembly line in reverse. Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are progressively broken down into smaller molecules that can be used by the body. This system extracts needed nutrients and gets rid of any unnecessary wastes. Structurally, the digestive system consists of the long tube, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that serves as the direct pathway for what you eat and excrete. Along the way, various accessory organs help with the mechanical breakdown and the chemical digestion of food. Mechanical digestion involves physically mashing or tearing the bites of food we put in our mouths. We normally think of mechanical digestion occurring in the mouth, but there are other features of your GI tract that also help mash up your food. As what you consume is being smashed, chemical digestion also begins. Enzymes break fats, carbohydrates and proteins into their building blocks so they can be used by the body. Once these molecules are broken down, they can become the raw material for the production of the body’s energy currency, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).…

    • 1178 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Then, the body absorbs the smaller molecules through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream The bloodstream then delivers the small molecules to the rest of the body. After this, the food continues into the large intestine, and out your body. What happens during the chemical digestion in the mouth, stomach, and small intestine? The process of digestion begins in the mouth when the food is chewed, being broken down into simpler nutrients, and is mixed with saliva.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    bio short essay

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Digestion is important for breaking down food into nutrients which the body uses for energy, growth and cell repair. When I am chowing down my steak and potatoes, my digestive system is doing that exact thing. Our digestive system breaks down food into smaller molecules and into nutrients for the body. These nutrients include carbohydrates, protein, fat and vitamins.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Epiglottis Research Paper

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This experience to research the digestive system has been an amazing opportunity to have. The paper I wrote on this topic is what gave me all the information put together so I specifically know what order food is digested. Many informational websites provided me the facts I needed to complete my paper. I got to conduct this paper the way I wanted and I think it when well. I hope other students and adults get to read my 10 paragraph paper on how the digestive system works. Now that i know how food gives us energy, I will think about how much energy i will get from this…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Health Paper

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages

    4. Absorption is the physiologic process by which molecules of food are taken from the gastrointestinal tract into the circulation. (Cherif, 2011 ) Propulsion is the movement of food along the digestive tract. The major means of propulsion is peristalsis, a series of alternating contractions and relaxations of smooth muscle that lines the walls of the digestive organs and that forces food to move forward. Chemical digestion is the chemical breakdown of food into simpler compounds. Proteins are…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The digestive system

    • 5068 Words
    • 21 Pages

    In chemical digestion, large food molecules are reduced to smaller molecules that can be absorbed through the lining of the intestinal wall and then distributed to body cells for use.…

    • 5068 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Biology 1 Lab Report

    • 2764 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Ibarra Gonzales, L. E. (2001). Physiology of the digestion system - digestion of starch, triglycerides and protein.…

    • 2764 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays