Digestive System Flash Cards

Put the following steps of the digestive system in order by writing the correct letter order for your answer. A. Food is chewed by the teeth in the mouth. B. Water is absorbed by the large intestine. C. Food is reduced to chyme in the stomach. D. Food moves down the esophagus. E. Nutrients are absorbed by the small intestine. F. The pancreas releases enzymes to further break down chyme.

A., D., C., F., E., B.

How would you describe the material you would find passing through the large intestine?

Indigestible material that has all of the nutrients taken out and is ready to exit the body.

It can take up to how long for food to pass through the digestive system?

It can take up to 2 days to pass through the digestive system.

In 2-3 complete sentences, explain the difference between mechanical digestion and chemical digestion.

Mechanical digestion is when food in your body is mashed, ground, squished and physically broken down by muscles or teeth. Chemical digestion is the process in which acids, enzymes and other body fluids break down food into smaller molecules.

List the 3 types of teeth and what they do:

Molars: grind Premolars: mash Canines: shred Incisors: shred

The small intestine is actually much longer than the large intestine. So why is it called the SMALL intestine?

The small intestine has a smaller diameter than the large intestine.

Feces passes to the outside of the body through an opening called the

anus

Bile that is produced by the liver helps with digestion by

breaking down fat

This type of digestion is where large molecules are broken into smaller nutrients

chemical digestion

In the stomach, food is squeezed and mixed with acids so that it is broken down into a soupy mixture called

chyme

The process of breaking down food into a form that can pass into the bloodstream is called

digestion

A group of organs that work together to digest food so it can be used by the body is the

digestive system

The portion of the digestive system that food actually passes through is the

digestive tract

The body's hardest substance that makes up the outer layer of the teeth is

enamel

The large intestine absorbs water from indigestible material, which turns it into a semisolid waste called

feces

The type of digestion in which food is broken, crushed, and mashed is

mechanical digestion

In the stomach, food is squeezed and mashed by the muscles and mixed with acid and enzymes to break it down into chyme. What type(s) of digestion takes place in the stomach?

mechanical digestion & chemical digestion

Digestion begins with a lot of mechanical digestion taking place in the

mouth

When your food leaves your mouth, it is pushed down the esophagus by the muscles. What is this process of the muscles squeezing the food down through the digestive tract called?

peristalsis

As you chew your food, what does your mouth produce that mixes in to begin chemical digestion?

saliva

This organ of the digestive system is a muscular tube where nutrients are absorbed :

small intestine

The muscular digestive organ that breaks down food into chyme by use of muscles, enzymes, and acid is the

stomach

Which of the digestive system organs do not have food pass through them as part of the digestive tract?

the gallbladder, the liver, and the pancreas

Which organ of the digestive system does not have food pass through it but helps with digestion by producing bile and breaking down toxins?

the liver

Which organ of the digestive system is actually the largest organ in the body?

the liver

Which organ of the digestive system releases a fluid into the small intestine to help neutralize the acid in the chyme?

the pancreas

Many nutrients can be absorbed by the small intestine because there are finger-like projections that line the wall of the small intestine that are covered with nutrient-absorbing cells. These finger-like projections are called :

villi