Teen Health Course 1

Chapter 7: Your Body Systems

Student Web Activities - Teacher Center

Lesson 3

Answer

1. The first step in digestion is taking a bite of and chewing your food.

2. The muscle action that pushes food down the esophagus and through the intestines is called peristalsis.

3. After the food leaves the stomach it goes to the small intestines.

4. The villi are the small structures in the small intestines that absorb nutrients. They resemble finger-like cactuses.

5. The leftover food gets smaller and dryer because the large intestine is where water is removed from the leftovers and recycled back into the body.

Additional Resources for Teachers

Below are some Web sites on digestion that have additional information and creative ways to illustrate the digestive process.

Eaten Alive - Internal Digestive Journey: http://library.thinkquest.org/12090/
Acting Out Digestion: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/AEF/1995/cave_digest.html
The Virtual Body: http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp
Kids Health: http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body_basics/digestive.html

Lesson 4

Answer

Your pulse is your heart rate, or the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Knowing your pulse can help you plan a healthy exercise program and monitor the health of your heart.
The two best places to take your pulse are on the wrist just below the thumb joint, and on either side of the windpipe on the neck.
Your resting pulse is how many times your heart beats per minute when you are resting. Your maximum heart rate is the maximum number of times your heart can beat per minute when it is working its hardest.
Your target heart rate is 85% of your maximum heart rate. You gain the most benefits and lessen the risks when you exercise in your target heart rate zone.

Additional Resources for Teachers

Below are some Web sites that offer additional information on taking your pulse and some fun exercises for measuring heart rate. You might want to so some simple experiments with different exercises to see how much a person's heart rate goes up. For example, check the differences between walking, doing jumping jacks, and going up steps.