Science Notebook

The Water Cycle

"Biogeochemical cycles: Figure 3" by OpenStax College, Biology, CC BY 4.0

This chart is showing where all of the water in our atmosphere lies. 97.5% of the water is saltwater whereas 2.5% is freshwater. The 2.5% is what humans and animals need in order to survive.

 Biogeochemical cycles: Figure 1 by OpenStax College, Concepts of Biology, CC BY 4.0

 The water cycle by NOAA National Weather Service Jetstream, CC BY 2.0

Ecology Vocab #1

Word	Part of Speech	Definition	Example
ecology	noun	the study of how things interact with one another and the environment	eco=environment ology=the study of
ecosystem	noun	all the living and nonliving things in an area and their interactions	eco=relating to the environment animals and grass and in an ecosystem
abioctic factor	noun	any part of an ecosystem that isn't alive and never has been	the sun
biotic factor	noun	any part of an ecosystem that is alive and always has been	animals, grass etc
adaptation	noun	a characteristic that helps an organism to survive in their environment	cactus - the thorns prevent animals from eating it
biome	noun	a plant and animal community that covers a large part of the earth	desert, aquatic, forest etc
detritivore	noun	an organism (as an earthworm or a fungus) that feeds on dead and decomposing organic matter	an earthworm in the dirt that break down the matter
community	noun	a group of living organisms in a certain area	monkeys are in their own community
consumers	noun	an organism that survives by eating producers or other consumers in its ecosystem	koalas eat leaves in their ecosystem
carnivore	noun	an organism that eats only other consumers	carne=meat - a lion!
deforestation	verb	the cutting down and clearing of forest land - will usually lead to increased soil erosion in this area	"de" - remove forest --> forest = removes forest

Ecology Demo

Ecology Demo Video 

In this demo, we learned about primary, secondary and tierary consumers. We identified the carnivores, omnivores and/or herbivores within our food web. Ten students were given a little piece of paper and we had to identify what our organism was. We also identified the abiotic and biotic organisms. We connected the predators, the red string, to the prey, the green string, to show their relationship. 

DNA NOTES

Main three functions:

• Gene coding
• DNA replication
• Codes for proteins

- words that end in -ayse are more than likely enzymes

- the DNA Helicase are the hydrogen bonds that opens up the DNA binding proteins

--> this is weak because the hydrogen bonds aren't strong - makes it easier for replication

- Nuceloids --> AT CG 

DNA Replication: there is a leading strand along with a lagging strand

--> The lagging strand is connected with an enzyme lagase 

The Man Behind It All Introduction: According to “Teen Statistics,” one out of twenty-five suicides is a success and there are around 120 suicides per day. Romeo and Juliet were originally thought to have committed suicide because they couldn’t live without each other, but, it has come to the officials’ attention that this is not the case. In the play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, Friar Laurence, a man respected by the Capulets and Montagues, has been charged for the murder of Romeo and Juliet due to his DNA found on the crime scene. Purpose: After observing 5 suspects’ DNAs, whose DNA matched up with the murderer of Romeo and Juliet? Hypothesis: If Friar Laurence killed Romeo and Juliet, then his DNA will line up with the murderer’s DNA because he wanted the Capulets and Montagues to stop feuding which would not have happened if one of them was dead and the other lived. Materials: 50 ml 0.9 percent salt water 5 disposable plastic cups 5 large test tubes (15 ml with screw on caps) 25 mL liquid detergent 75 mL water 25 ml 95 percent ethanol, chilled on ice 5 small test tubes 0.25 mL methylene blue solution per DNA sample Pipette and disposable pipette tips 5g Baking soda Agar powder 200 mL Deionized water 5 drops glycerin (1 drop per) Stainless steel wire Wire cutters Scissors 45 volt power supply 2 alligator clip leads Flat piece of Styrofoam for the comb One plastic box, big enough to hold the gel 500ml of deionized water 5g baking soda 5 grams agarose Separate container for mixing materials (a bowl is suggested) Butter Knife Procedure: Creating the Gel Electrophoresis Chamber: Cut two pieces of stainless steel wires that are roughly 1 inch longer than the longest length of the box. Bend the wires along the shortest width of the bin so that they touch the bottom. The excess wire should be hooked to the edge of the bin so it stays in place. Once the wires have been shaped, remove them from the box and keep them in a safe place. Create a comb using styrofoam. Make sure the top part of the comb is wide enough to rest on the edges of the plastic bin. The bristles should end at least 2 millimeters above the bottom of the plastic bin. Make one tooth for each suspect that is being tested. The distance between each tooth should be evenly spaced. Place the comb into one end of the plastic bin.            Creating the Gel Make a 1% solution of baking soda for the new buffer solution. Measure 2 grams of baking soda and add it to 200 mL of bottled water. Stir this mixture well. Make a 1% agarose solution. This can be accomplished by combining 1 g of agar powder with 100 ml of the buffer solution made in the previous step. Heat the agar solution on a hot plate or in a microwave. In the microwave stop the timer every 10-15 seconds to stir the solution. If it is heated on the hot plate make sure it is stirred often throughout the heating process. When the solution starts to bubble, take it off the hot plate or remove it from the microwave. The solution should appear translucent.      After the agarose solution is made, pour the it into the plastic bin. The solution should fill the bin up and cover most of the comb.         Collecting DNA Samples: Have each murder suspect swish 2 teaspoons (10 ml) 0.9 percent salt water in their mouth for 30 seconds. Spit the water into their cup. Each suspect should be using a different cup, no sharing! Make a 25% mild detergent solution by combining 5 ml of liquid detergent and 15 ml of water. There should be enough of the solution for each suspect. Take 5 ml of each DNA sample them in their own test tube. Label each test tube according to what DNA it contains Add 5 ml of the 25% mild detergent solution to each test tube. Cap each test tube and swish them on their sides for 2-3 minutes. Be careful when rocking the solutions so that the DNA does not forcefully break apart. Open the tube and add 5 ml of the chilled 95% ethanol to the tube. It will form a layer on the top of the DNA solution. Allow the tubes to stand for 1 minute. While the tubes are standing, label one micro test tube for each regular sized test tube. Use a syringe or eyedropper to take 0.25 ml DNA from the top of each test tube. Add each DNA to it’s own micro test tube. Make sure that a new eyedropper is used for each DNA sample. Use the disposable pipettes to add 0.25 ml methylene blue solution to each micro test tube. Add one drop of glycerin to the micro test tube with the DNA/methylene blue solution. Close the test tubes tightly until they are ready to be put in the gel electrophoresis box. Testing the Results:       Make a 1% solution of baking soda for the new buffer solution. Measure 2 grams of baking soda and add it to 200 mL of bottled water. Stir this mixture well. Make a 1% agarose solution. This can be accomplished by combining 1 g of agar powder with 100 ml of the buffer solution made in the previous step. Heat the agar solution on a hot plate or in a microwave. In the microwave stop the timer every 10-15 seconds to stir the solution. If it is heated on the hot plate make sure it is stirred often throughout the heating process. When the solution starts to bubble, take it off the hot plate or remove it from the microwave. The solution should appear translucent.      After the agarose solution is made, pour the it into the plastic bin. Carefully remove the comb from the solidified gel. The indents from the comb will be where the DNA is placed later. Use the butter knife to cut a thin slice of gel from both the top and bottom. These cuts will fit the wires Fit the stainless steel wire (electrodes) into the cuts made in the previous step. Use an eyedropper or syringe to fill each well in the gel with a different suspect’s DNA. Be sure to record what DNA solution is placed in which well. Pour the buffer solution over the gel once it has set. If necessary, make more buffer solution to cover all of the gel. Data Table: Suspect Travel Distance of DNA Bands (cm) Suspect #1: Friar Laurence Results Inconclusive Suspect #3: Montague Results Inconclusive Suspect #8: Benvolio Results Inconclusive Suspect #9: Paris Results Inconclusive Suspect #10: Capulet Results Inconclusive Identify the Independent and Dependent Variable: X: Suspects Y: DNA’s Distance Graph:        #1 Scatterplot (With fake data)     #2 (Should be) Scatterplot with actual data                                                                  Conclusion: Paragraph One: Due to the DNA found on the crime scene of Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence is the murderer. In the lab that was conducted, there were several malfunctions so we didn’t have direct results. However, we can make conclusions off of the information we were given about the murderer. The gel we made had become too old to take out the comb easily, so the gel had ripped which would have made the results hard to record. The metal we used was not stainless steel, so rust eventually started to form inside of our box after a few days had passed. Something that would have also been helpful to see the results faster are restricted enzymes. Restricted enzymes help speed up the process for the DNA to get across its needed distance and to make its more visible. However, these are not only expensive, but also would not have been beneficial because the DNA could not have gone across rusty agarose successfully. If this lab was successful, we would have been able to observe the DNA going across the agarose and the murderer’s DNA would have matched one of the suspects, being Friar Laurence. Paragraph Two: The hypothesis we came up with for this lab was correct because Friar Laurence did indeed kill Romeo and Juliet. However, there were many errors in this lab that resulted in inconclusive results. We didn’t have the needed supplies to make this lab go efficiently and if we did, there would be a lot more to record and observe. Our lab was not conclusive at all due to the fact that we were never able to record the DNA in our boxes. If we changed the procedures to make it known that certain materials were needed, then I believe that people would be able to do this lab successively.

DNA Flipped Classroom Videos

Where is DNA found?

Cell --> Nucleus --> Chromosome --> DNA

• anything that is living will have DNA

What is it?

• a molecule
• the building blocks of nucleic acids are nucleotide
• each nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a sugar group and a nitrogen base

Four types of nitrogen bases:

The order of these bases is what determines DNA's genetic code

• adenine (A)
• thymine (T)
• guanine (G)
• cytosine (C)

Macro-molecules:

• carbohydrates
• lipids
• nucleic acids
• proteins

Structure:

Function:

• determines our characteristics (eye/hair color)
• codes for proteins (amino acids)
• replication

- the sequence of bases acts as information storage in the form of codews to build proteins

- the molecules are long to store more information

- the base pairing menas that the complementary strands of info can be replicated

- the sequencing determines where the proteins will be in your body 

DNA Lab

DNA and enzymes are molecules. They're found in the middle of the nucleus and this also means we're working with chemical breakdowns.

The Brain part 1

- human brain is the fattest organ in the body (at least 60% fat)

- neurons develop at a rate of 250,000 per minute

- excessive stress has been shown to alter brain cells 

How neurons are similar to other cells:

- they are surrounded by a cell membrane 

- has a nucleus that contains genes 

- contains cytoplasm, mitochondria, & other organelles

- carries out basic cellular processes such as protein synthesis & energy production

Differ:

- neurons have specialized cell parts called dendrites and axons

- neurons communicate to each other through an electrochemical process 

- they contain synapses and neurotransmitters

Cell body: contains all of the neuron's organelles

Dendrites: bring electrical signals to the cell body 

• each cell has multiple dendrites
• don't have myelin

Axons: take information away from the cell body

•  each cell has one axon
• usually have myelin

What is myelin?

mixture of proteins and fat that insulate the axon around many neurons, increasing the speed at which impulses are conducted 

What are the cells carrying?

the electrical impulses that triggers the release of neurotransmitters

What are neurotransmitters?

brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and body 

• brain uses neurotransmitters to tell your heart to beat, lungs to breath, & stomach to digest
• can affect mood, sleep, concentration & weight 
• drugs can affect neurotransmitters

Depression Circle 12/6/16

Today we did a circle about depression. Before we started to talk, we read a couple of websites and took notes on a whiteboard to reference to. We took those notes and incorporated them into our discussions. 

- your temperament shapes you as a human being because it defines you behavior and reactions

- it changes based upon life events

- trust is built at a young age if the infant is cared for properly

- there are 8 stages of development

1.) foundation of trust is made

2.) self-esteem/vulnerability

3.) creative/curious

4.) learning years

5.) finds identity/struggles

6.) seeks compassion

7.) work, family, care, stability

8.) wisdom/reflection on life

Brain Lab

In this lab, we were given a cauliflower, markers, and toothpicks to label the brain. The brain is represented as the cauliflower and the markers and toothpicks were to label the brain in specific spots. We had to identify the left and write hemisphere after cutting it in half and then draw out where each part of the brain is by looking at pictures and copying it down.

Here is a picture listed above of how we labeled our brains. This half is the right hemisphere and as you can see, we've color coordinated them. 

Here is both of our hemispheres side by side. As you can see, we've labeled both and drew how big (approximately) each section of the brain is. 

For this assignment, we were also told to write a narrative based upon our "patient's" situation. Our patient had a stroke in their left frontal lobe. So, we all split up and did our research individually.

MY BRAIN NARRATIVE:

*Talking into tape recorder*

December 2, 2016. It is about 11:30am. This is Doctor Jonah speaking and I have been looking over a patient named Elliot who is 28 years old. He has just recently suffered from a stroke in his left frontal lobe and there was a substantial amount of blood loss. A frontal lobe stroke is caused by interruption of blood flow through any of these arteries: the internal carotid artery, the middle cerebral artery, the anterior cerebral artery, or any of their branches. He is currently in the ICU and has been in a coma since we got him into the hospital. The frontal lobe is a significant part of the brain due to the fact that the movement of the entire body is controlled by this part of the brain. I will record my observations tomorrow morning around the same time as today.

December 3rd, 11:30am. It has been 24 hours since I’ve looked over my patient and, fortunately, he has exhibited signs of consciousness. We’ve heard from his nurse that he has rustled in his bed so we are waiting, along with his family, for him to open up his eyes. As of now, our biggest concern is how this stroke will affect his behaviors because as we’ve studied, a stroke in a frontal lobe can produce a number of effects. These effects include a massive change in personality, weakness of body, an issue with speech along with language, carelessness, and/or irritability because there is hardly any motivation present.

It is still December 3rd, but is now 4:45 in the evening. Elliot has gained full consciousness but has been experiencing some side effects of his stroke. According to previous research, a frontal lobe stroke can have high risks of weakness of one side of the body, behavioral changes, memory problems and trouble with self care. There’s also been studies shown that patients may experience seizures as well. We asked Elliot how he was feeling and if he remembers what had happened to him.  He informed us that the only thing he remembers is everything going black before waking up in this room. That is a typical response from patients that have suffered from strokes considering that memory loss is indeed one of the more frequent side effects.

December 4th, 8am. According to one of the nurses, Elliot had woken up in the middle of the night around 4am because he lost feeling and control of his left side of his body. He had pressed the button in his room to signal his nurse because he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to feel it again. Now, I am in the room to inspect this side of his body. He has informed me that he has regained feeling of his left side, but does not have the strength to lift up his left leg like he usually would. This is normal after a stroke. We are about to call in his family to observe his behaviors and to see if they see a difference in his personality.

This is an update from earlier in the morning. The family has gone back home and Elliot is still inside of his room. Unfortunately, we were informed with bad news. Elliot’s personality has apparently been affected from this stroke tremendously so far. His family told me that before this happened, he was full of life and always cracked jokes. Today when they had visited him, they said he was very dull and it seemed like he was having issues with his speech.

December 7th, 9am. I am documenting the long-term effects of Elliot’s stroke based upon his behaviors this past week. He has shown no improvements in his speech and according to his family, his personality has not been resilient in the slightest. His mobility of his left side of his body hasn’t changed either, unfortunately, and we are starting to fear he may be paralyzed in this side of his body due to his stroke. We are about to walk into his room to inform him thoroughly about his condition.

3:30pm. We just finished answering questions from Elliot and his family. We told them what we were predicting for his future according to our observations and research this past week. We informed them that he may continue to have speech deficiencies due to the fact that the frontal lobe of the brain is a big control factor of this. We also assumed that, because his mood has not swung back to his original character, there may be some spontaneous mood swings. We are planning on releasing Elliot to go back home tomorrow morning; we just want to look over him for one more night.

Doctor Jonah here one last time for the recording of our patient, Elliot. It is 10:20 am on December 8th and we are releasing him to go back home to his family. We have given them some medication for Elliot to take during the day and night, if necessary, along with a pamphlet that includes a rehabilitation center that can help him to regain mobility. We are hoping he does not return and that he is able to recover from this stroke as much as possible.

Iron Chef Lab

Over the course of a month or so, my group has been working on a lab that we've created and we've been documenting the progress and final results of it. 

Our hypothesis: If bacteria is exposed to 3 different types of sugars; light fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, and honey on 15 individual petri dishes for a period of 1 week, then the bacteria with the light fructose corn syrup will grow a substantial amount of bacteria compared to the plates with the cane sugar and the honey because the light fructose corn syrup is full of the added chemicals from the production of corn and when the unhealthy sugars are added to the corn syrup, it will cause a greater reaction because it stimulated the bacteria.

We started this lab off with making agar to put into petri dishes which would be combined with bacteria from phones to see the growth of bacteria.

However, we added in cane sugar, all natural honey, low fructose corn syrup, and also another dish with no added sugars to see which one would affect the bacterial growth the most.

We had the plain petri dish with nothing on it and took the bacteria that was on a cotton swab and rubbed it in a zig-zag motion on the dish. Then, we added the sugar to this and let it sit for the rest of the experiment. 

We watched our 12 petri dishes' progress over the course of three trials and documented each of them and took pictures. 

Final result of one of the cane sugar's:

Final result of one of the honey's:

Final result of one of the corn syrup's:

Final result of one of the no added sugar's:

After finishing this lab, we've come to the conclusion that honey promoted the most bacterial growth out of all 4 of the petri dishes which denies our hypothesis. 

Fermentation Lab

In one of our most recent labs, we learned about the process of fermentation and tested out the temperature and pH levels of certain mixtures. We used yeast (a living organism), sugar, baking soda, and lemon juice as our variables. 

In our first set of three different beakers, we used different temperatures of 200 ml of water with 51 grams of sugar added. In the first one, the hot water killed off the yeast and there was no gas released. In the second with room temperature water, the balloon inflated quite a bit. In the third one, the balloon didn't inflate at all.

In our second set of three different beakers, we compared the different pH levels. In the first one, we still used the same amount of water and sugar, except we also added 25 ml of baking soda which was labeled as "basic." This made the balloon inflate immensely compared to the others. In the second, we didn't add any extra ingredients besides the ones we had been using and this one inflated just as much as the second one in the first set because it was the exact same reaction. The third one, we added 25 ml of lemon juice which caused the combination to be acidic. This one did not inflate at all.

This lab was meant to teach us about fermentation. Fermentation is what happens when there isn't enough oxygen in the Cellular Respiration System. If there isn't enough oxygen to go from glycolysis to the Krebs Cycle, fermentation occurs and lactic acid is formed in animal cells. 

Farmer's Market

After learning about how soil affects the crops grown in it and its nutritional value, we went over to a local farmer's market in Santa Rosa on October 5th to hear it from real farmers. We heard from close to 10 different people and learned about their farming methods and we asked their opinions on GMO's and the benefits of organic if they think there are any. 

Here are two vivid pictures of natural crops that farmers at the market had grown on their own. This particular farmer said that he prefers to grow his crops outside because he feels that "if the crops inhale the freshest of air, they will flourish compared to the plants grown inside of a greenhouse." 

One lady grew this entire bunch of peppers from scratch and now she's out selling them. All of the farmers found great joy in growing their own crops to not only provide for others, but also to provide for their own families. They explained that their crops and products did not contain any added sugars and/or preservatives and hormones. 

One lady in particular struck many people's interest. She held a loofah near her register and she explained what its purpose was. A loofah is a certain crop grown from a seed in the ground and when its fully grown, you pick it and let it dry out. Once it dries out, you can peel off the skin and the entire crop can be used as a homemade sponge that works very well according to this lady. 

The green one is the beginning stage of this crop before it's peeled. The middle one that's a darker color is the second stage before it's peeled and the one on the very left, along with all of the others, is the final result.

Soil Lab

On September 27, our class had a lady come into our class who explained the significance of healthy soil and its effects on our foods' growth. In order to have nutritional foods, you must have healthy soil.

Here you can see two different sets of soil. The one on the top consists of more "moist" soils and the seven on the bottom are more "dry." According to our guest speaker, we want more of a moist soil to grow crops in rather than dry because the plants will flourish if they have a maintained water and pH level. However, soil that is absolutely drenched is not a good idea because that's too much water for the plant/crop to absorb. 

In these two pictures, you can see the pH levels for each soil. In both of these soils, the levels are pretty low ranging from one to two at most. This means that these soils are very acidic. If they were higher, say 6 or 7, that would mean the soil is in the neutral zone. If the levels were 13 or 14, the soil would be very basic.

Here's another pH level that was recorded. This one is part of the second set of soil that consisted of more dry components. As you can see, this soil is a tad bit higher which means it's going towards the neutral and basic levels. However, it's still relatively low so it would still be considered as acidic. 

Cellular Respiration

The main purpose of cellular respiration is to take sugar and oxygen and convert it into ATP for the body to use. 



In this lab we used small brownies to represent the ATP's.

This process can be composed into three simple steps which occur in the cytoplasm and the mitochondria. The first step is glycolysis. Glycoylsis occurs in the cytoplasm and its main job is to break down the sugar when it enters the cytoplasm. The body transfers the sugar to the cells by using insulin which is released from the pancreas. Insulin is what regulates the amount of sugar in the blood. In order for this to happen, 2 ATP's are needed break down the sugar efficiently. ATP is the energy your body and cells need to function. However, any type of leftover sugar is either converted as fat, stored, in the liver, and if the liver and pancreas get too tired to store the extra sugar, it's put into the blood stream which can cause diabetes. 



Here is a visual different amounts of sugar. On the very left, there is only one gram of sugar. In the middle is the amount of sugar an average person should consume daily which is 36.7 grams. On the very right, the beaker contains 76.7 grams of sugar. What that right beaker represents is how much sugar an average American consumed daily in 2008. In a logical sense, imagine how much this intake has increased these past eight years. With all of that sugar, the body doesn't know where to store it. Each sugar molecule being broken down during glycolysis needs 2 ATP's to do so and during this process, a prostrate was lost so you then get 4 ATP's and 2 pyruvate. Pyruvate is an important molecule that feeds into the Krebs Cycle along with the 4 ATPs which is the second step of cellular respiration. The Krebs Cycle occurs in the mitochondria and within this step, 32 ATPs are produced. The output of the Krebs Cycle is CO2, Hydrogen, and ATP.



The spoon in this lab represents NAD+ which is a co-enzyme that picks up the hydrogen and transports it to the electron transport chain. This co-enzyme is similar to insulin and hemoglobin. 

The last step is the Electron Transport Chain which is like a factory line that outputs ATP all at once and is also aerobic. This is in the inner mitochondrial membrane which is demonstrated by the cupcake pan because it's very squiggly. Once again, that spoon that was used in this lab is now transporting NADH in the Electron Transport Chain. The proton gradients, the cupcake holes, make it so lots of Hydrogen can be transported at once so more ATP can be produced. 



We used an oven as a representation of ATP synthase which is a co-enzyme that helps speed up the process of the production of ATP's. The waste product from this step is H20; you either sweat this out or pee it out.

Organs to Elements Video Notes

• Specific organs have a specific structure and function
• All organs are made up of tissue and each tissue has a specific structure and function to help the organ’s structure and function

4 types of tissue: connective tissue, epithelial tissue (skin), muscle tissue & nervous tissue (brain)

• All of these tissues are made up of cells
• Tissues are the “fabric” of our organ system and the cells are the “threads”
• Each cell is a single unit of life: all cells have organs

Organelles: cells’ organs; like each of your organs, each organelle has a specific structure or function

Lysosomes: purpose of the lysosome is to digest things and/or to break down the cell when it dies; the cells that make up the stomach and small intestine are going to have a higher amount of lysosomes in them

• All cellular organelles are made of macromolecules such as...

• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids (DNA, RNA)

• Molecules is just a string of different atoms and these atoms are elements from the periodic table that are combined

6 elements that make up 95% of all organisms: Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sulfur

The Digestive System

The digestive system is the process in the body that food goes through that starts at the mouth and goes down to your rectum and is acted upon by physical and chemical means which also allow the body to absorb the nutrients needed and get rid of the waste. In our Poop Lab, we learned about this process step by step.

First, we used scissors to represent incisors which cut up the food and plastic cups to represent the molars which grind up the food. This makes it much easier to swallow what you have consumed.The incisors and molars are both vital to the mouth's functions and capabilities to process food in the mouth. Amylase is also an enzyme that is used inside of the mouth that helps break down foods. There are different enzymes that break down different components of food.

Then, the food works its way down to the esophagus. The esophagus is a muscular tube that leads from the throat to the stomach and is where the food is transmitted to your stomach.

The major part of digestion occurs in the stomach and enzymes like pepsin, which helps break down the proteins, and lipase, which helps break down the fats to speed up the process. Both chemical and mechanical breakdown occurs in the stomach as well. Chemical breakdown breaks down the food into simpler nutrients that can be used by cells and mechanical breakdown also breaks down the food into smaller pieces to help it move through the body easier. Both of these breakdowns are assisted by enzymes such as pepsin and lipase. A plastic bag was used as the stomach because it resembles the flexibility of the walls which can compress food and also expand.

The stomach then leads down to the small intestine. The small intestine's job is to absorb the nutrients from what you have consumed. The enzymes help the small intestine absorb the nutrients more efficiently. What happens to the small intestine is that it's somewhat being squeezed and the nutrients are being released into the body which give your it energy and go where they're needed. The waste from your food remains in the small intestine and then works its way to the large intestine.

The large intestine's job is to absorb the rest of the liquids in the food so it can make its way to the rectum to be released. Once the liquids have been absorbed, the food goes down to the rectum and the leftover waste is released out of the body. This entire process takes about six to eight hours to be completed.