Unit 5 Reflection

Some of the essential themes from this unit were how the different systems worked together to provide energy for the body and regulate waste and hormone levels. I thought the lymphatic system was particularly interesting because I did not know that there were lymph vessels that circulated throughout the body just as blood vessels do. I also thought the "heart" of the lymphatic system was cool, because it was almost like there was a separate heart pumping the lymph throughout the body. One strength I had throughout this unit was being able to grasp the different systems well and know how each one worked in terms of all its components and its specific functions, as well as how all the parts united to serve its overall purpose. A weakness for me was understanding metabolism; I was confused on the different processes and the organs and steps that were involved and it took me a long time to understand it fully. One activity that I enjoyed this unit was the digestive system lab because through it I was able to understand how large our digestive organs really are when they are fully stretched out. here is a link to the lab questions, as well as a picture of my findings in a table:
http://alexandriatso17.blogspot.com/2016/01/digestive-system-lab-questions.html
Through this lab I was able to learn that the digestive system has evolved to efficiently maximize its space and use by folding up into a tiny structure that can fit within our abdominal cavity. I would like to learn more about the lymphatic system, specifically what the spleen does in general because I felt like we kind of glossed over it with just the big functions and not really how its related to the lymph system, or why its even in the same lecture if it is not considered a part of the lymphatic system.

Here are two videos that I enjoyed watching on the digestive system and lymphatic system to study:

As for my new year goals, I have been sleeping a lot earlier, but I still sleep past midnight quite often. Next steps will include continuing my progress in less procrastination and trying to sleep earlier. now that SATs are over, it should be much easier to catch up on sleep because I have one less thing to study for. My notebook is also more organized; I take more care to write neatly, although sometimes the lecture is a bit too fast and it is hard to keep up, or I am falling asleep. To improve this, I will try to be more awake by sleeping earlier as mentioned before, and also continue writing neatly in all my notebook assignments to maximize organization.

Digestive System Lab Questions

1. In this lab, we used string and ribbons to measure out the entire alimentary canal, from mouth to large intestines. The main take away was the immense length of the digestive system, which is almost an entire 8 times longer than the height of a person.
Below is the data table:

2. My height is around 1.60 m, and the total length of my digestive system was 8.767 meters long. The length of my digestive system is almost 8 times my height. This can fit inside the body because it is folded very compactly to save space and therefore can fit in the abdomen.

3. I think that the average amount of time it takes to digest food is around 7 hours, and I am right. It takes this long because it depends on what kind of food it is and how easily nutrients can be absorbed from it as it passes through the organs. Another factor that influences this is how healthy you are, and how much of the needed bacteria you have in your gut.

4. Digestion is different from absorption in that digestion is the break down of food and absorption is the absorption of nutrients. Digestion occurs in the stomach, and absorption occurs in the intestines, small and large.

5. A question I have is: Are there any foods that can withstand the stomach acid and not be broken down, and what happens when/if  those kinds of food enter the intestinal system.

New Year's Goals

One goal that I have for this year is that I will get to bed before midnight at least 3 days a week. I will achieve this by procrastinating less, and finishing at least one class's homework before 5 pm. I think that one of the sources of procrastination is being overwhelmed by the amount of work that you have, so by getting one class's work out of the way earlier, there is less work to be done and therefore less motivation to procrastinate. To track exactly how much sleep I am getting, I will be using the Sleep Science App on my iPhone, which tracks my sleeping patterns every night.

Another goal that I have for this class is to make my notebook more organized and more neat. Sometimes I write too fast when I am taking notes or doing a relate and review, so it becomes difficult to study from my notes for the tests. To write neater and stay organized, I will date my entries the day I get/do the notes, and enter it into the table of contents when I get the paper. I will also type my notes when possible, and when I cannot, I will try to write slower and more neatly. This way, when I am reflecting on my notes later, it will be much more effective and efficient. To track my progress, I will personally evaluate per unit, and I will also have my notebook check partner rank my neatness on a scale of 1-10 for an additional perspective.