In this digestive system KS3 activity your class will work in seven groups, each mimicking a different part of the digestive system to better understand the process.
The point of digestion is to turn the big, complicated, insoluble molecules in your food into smaller, simpler, soluble molecules that can diffuse into your blood.
Then, your body can build these simple molecules back up into whatever it needs, or use them for energy.
Digestive system KS3 experiment
Group 1: Mouth and teeth: Digestion starts here. You put food in your mouth and the teeth break it all up into small pieces to be swallowed.
Tear up the slice of bread and mash up the banana in the pestle and mortar, as teeth would do. Pass the pestle and mortar on to the next group.
Experiment resources
- Slice of bread
- Peeled banana
- Pestle and mortar
- Two plastic funnels
- Press-seal/zip-lock bags
- Newspaper, rolled into long tubes
- Big lollipop/popsicle sticks
- Plastic spoons
- Kitchen or toilet roll tubes, or a long piece of pipe
- Large plastic mixing bowl
- Salt
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Conical flask
- Balloon
- Plastic cup
- Squeezy bottles filled with water
- Green food colouring (with a pipette)
- Tea strainer
- Non-latex disposable gloves
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