Content:
For this project, we had to select and research two of the eleven organ systems in the body, what their functions are, how they interact with each other, as well as what organs and major structures are they made up of. My group picked the digestive and excretory organ systems, since it seemed to us at first that the interaction between the two was obvious, to say the least, and we spent the first couple of days reading how the two systems work together to carry out a specific function. For efficiency, we decided to split up into two groups, with Brigid and Casey focusing on the structure and organization of the excretory system, and Hunter and I researching the composition of the digestive system. The second part of our project was to create a model with which we could represent one exclusive function of the digestive system, one function of the excretory system, as well one function that both of them share, and essentially find a way to synthesize all of our research into a slideshow presentation. For our model, we decided to incorporate a bit of engineering into it and make a sort of interactive Rube Goldberg machine. The only difference between this project and the one we made last year lies in the "interactive" bit, and we had constructed it by attaching a wind up mouth to a sloped ramp to represent the food being chewed. The model will start with a wind up mouth to show the function of the chewing of the mouth. Upon reaching the wind-up toy, the larger marble will be replaced with multiple smaller marbles to show the breakdown of food. Then there will be a system of funnels and tubing that will carry water and a variety of sizes of marbles to display the path of food through the esophagus with saliva, as well as the presence of stomach acids, and a small pouch/cup to collect the water and prevent it from spilling. Once again, the medium sized marbles will be replaced with smaller marbles to show thee breakdown into nutrients that the body is able to use. Then the tubes will split into a few different paths that will show how the liver, which is the shared function of the two systems, converts the excess amino acids from the bloodstream into useful compounds and toxic nitrogen waste, or urea. The final step, which is represented by the kidneys and the excretory system, is the tubes leading to 2 cups at the bottom which separate urea from the blood and carry the useful molecules to the blood (one of them being “clean blood”that can now be put back into the circulatory system and “urea”.)
Our Presentation:
For this project, we had to select and research two of the eleven organ systems in the body, what their functions are, how they interact with each other, as well as what organs and major structures are they made up of. My group picked the digestive and excretory organ systems, since it seemed to us at first that the interaction between the two was obvious, to say the least, and we spent the first couple of days reading how the two systems work together to carry out a specific function. For efficiency, we decided to split up into two groups, with Brigid and Casey focusing on the structure and organization of the excretory system, and Hunter and I researching the composition of the digestive system. The second part of our project was to create a model with which we could represent one exclusive function of the digestive system, one function of the excretory system, as well one function that both of them share, and essentially find a way to synthesize all of our research into a slideshow presentation. For our model, we decided to incorporate a bit of engineering into it and make a sort of interactive Rube Goldberg machine. The only difference between this project and the one we made last year lies in the "interactive" bit, and we had constructed it by attaching a wind up mouth to a sloped ramp to represent the food being chewed. The model will start with a wind up mouth to show the function of the chewing of the mouth. Upon reaching the wind-up toy, the larger marble will be replaced with multiple smaller marbles to show the breakdown of food. Then there will be a system of funnels and tubing that will carry water and a variety of sizes of marbles to display the path of food through the esophagus with saliva, as well as the presence of stomach acids, and a small pouch/cup to collect the water and prevent it from spilling. Once again, the medium sized marbles will be replaced with smaller marbles to show thee breakdown into nutrients that the body is able to use. Then the tubes will split into a few different paths that will show how the liver, which is the shared function of the two systems, converts the excess amino acids from the bloodstream into useful compounds and toxic nitrogen waste, or urea. The final step, which is represented by the kidneys and the excretory system, is the tubes leading to 2 cups at the bottom which separate urea from the blood and carry the useful molecules to the blood (one of them being “clean blood”that can now be put back into the circulatory system and “urea”.)
Our Presentation:
Our Proposal:
Organ System Proposal | |
File Size: | 150 kb |
File Type: |
Concepts:
Cells- The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, and makes up tissues when in large numbers with cells of similar nature.
Tissues- The level of structure above cells, usually consisting of groups of specialized cells, but below organs in terms of size and complexity.
Organs- The highest level of individual structures, made up of various tissues, and in tandem with other organs, make up an organ system.
Digestive System- A system of organs responsible for breaking down food into molecules that can easily be absorbed:
Relevant Organs and Structures: Esophagus, mouth, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, and pharynx.
Excretory System- A system of organs responsible for removing toxic or harmful waste from the body, especially toxins in the bloodstream.
Relevant Organs and Structures: Kidney, lungs, skin, and liver.
Cells- The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, and makes up tissues when in large numbers with cells of similar nature.
Tissues- The level of structure above cells, usually consisting of groups of specialized cells, but below organs in terms of size and complexity.
Organs- The highest level of individual structures, made up of various tissues, and in tandem with other organs, make up an organ system.
Digestive System- A system of organs responsible for breaking down food into molecules that can easily be absorbed:
Relevant Organs and Structures: Esophagus, mouth, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, and pharynx.
Excretory System- A system of organs responsible for removing toxic or harmful waste from the body, especially toxins in the bloodstream.
Relevant Organs and Structures: Kidney, lungs, skin, and liver.
Reflection:
This project was one of my favorites this year, and even though our presentation didn't really go as well as I hoped that it would, I think that the effort that the four of us put in, from researching the mechanisms of both systems all the way to getting the Rube Goldberg done in a matter of four or five days, was one of our biggest peaks. The second peak of this endeavor would probably be how well we were able to divide the work amongst ourselves, especially in the early parts of the project when it was crucial that the two groups had all their content prepared. That's not to say that there were some pits in this project, but most, if not all of them, revolved around my personal work ethic and outside circumstances. The first pit was that I wasn't able to acquire the wind up mouth until the day before we were supposed to present, so that shows that I could have gotten my share of the resources organized beforehand. Speaking of organization, I think that was another area where my group and I were slightly lacking, and our second pit, but most of the onus for that issue lies on the fact that we were under some pretty tight time constraints, so I'm sure that if we had a bit more time to get the project done, our Rube Goldberg could have been much more refined. Personally, I could have let others work more on the model and presentation, so I know that for the next series of projects, I need to be more of a team player so that all of my group members feel like they did something in the project, and another area for improvement could be my presenting skills, because I honestly thought that I wasn't able to present as well as some of my fellow group mates. During this project, though, I did learn how to quickly get a stripped nail out of a piece of wood with the help of Hunter, but we may have permanently damaged the board in the process. No one really needs to know, okay? Another thing that I learned about myself during this project was that I work far better when there is some sort of direction or guidance, rather than instances in which we aren't really given any specific guidelines, which was probably one of the reasons why I liked this project so much.
This project was one of my favorites this year, and even though our presentation didn't really go as well as I hoped that it would, I think that the effort that the four of us put in, from researching the mechanisms of both systems all the way to getting the Rube Goldberg done in a matter of four or five days, was one of our biggest peaks. The second peak of this endeavor would probably be how well we were able to divide the work amongst ourselves, especially in the early parts of the project when it was crucial that the two groups had all their content prepared. That's not to say that there were some pits in this project, but most, if not all of them, revolved around my personal work ethic and outside circumstances. The first pit was that I wasn't able to acquire the wind up mouth until the day before we were supposed to present, so that shows that I could have gotten my share of the resources organized beforehand. Speaking of organization, I think that was another area where my group and I were slightly lacking, and our second pit, but most of the onus for that issue lies on the fact that we were under some pretty tight time constraints, so I'm sure that if we had a bit more time to get the project done, our Rube Goldberg could have been much more refined. Personally, I could have let others work more on the model and presentation, so I know that for the next series of projects, I need to be more of a team player so that all of my group members feel like they did something in the project, and another area for improvement could be my presenting skills, because I honestly thought that I wasn't able to present as well as some of my fellow group mates. During this project, though, I did learn how to quickly get a stripped nail out of a piece of wood with the help of Hunter, but we may have permanently damaged the board in the process. No one really needs to know, okay? Another thing that I learned about myself during this project was that I work far better when there is some sort of direction or guidance, rather than instances in which we aren't really given any specific guidelines, which was probably one of the reasons why I liked this project so much.