Unit 5 Reflection

In this Unit, our main goal was to learn about the different systems in the body that aided in absorption, digestion, and balance. The digestive system opened our eyes into how the body consumed and absorbed food, and we learned the important difference between digestion and absorption. Digestion is the mechanical or chemical breakdown of food, while absorption is the taking in of nutrients, usually into the bloodstream.

Once the nutrients were taken in, we focused on what happens to the body from there. We explored fuel metabolism, specifically, the Fed state, Fasting state, and Starvation state. Each of these states has a different way of processing and generating ATP, depending on how long it's been since you've consumed food. In order to further cement these ideas, we created posters about each of the states.

From there, we learned about the different diseases that can plague the digestive system and the balance that it creates. By learning about diseases such as diabetes, we were able to compare dysfunctional and functional systems in order to get a better understanding and compare the two. In addition, we were able to explore the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. It was interesting to see how Type 2 was much more common that Type 1, even though Type 1 was the autoimmune disorder. It really showed how in American/ international culture, our eating habits are so unhealthy that our body starts to break down and can't perform homeostasis correctly.

Further going off the topic of homeostasis, we explored the endocrine and lymphatic systems and the effect's that the hormones and lymph released have on our body.  It was confusing at first, and I ended up mixing up some of the endocrine and lymphatic hormones, like the thyroid and the thymus. Although I think the main reason for this mix up might have been because I didn't follow with my New Year's Goals. If I had gotten the proper amount of rest, and had studied for the quiz in advance like i promised I would, I doubt that I would have made that mix up. But I know that for the future, I'll never confuse thymus and thyroid again :)