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Unit 3: Power Study Guide
Lesson 3.1: Introduction to Power
Preface
With each breath, we take in oxygen that feeds our cells and fuels the production of
energy. Water nourishes our tissues and helps regulate the level of chemicals in the
body. The carbohydrates, proteins and fats that we ingest in food supply energy, as
well as building materials the body uses for growth and maintenance. Each of these
resources is vital to human survival. But how long can your body last when one of
these resources reaches a critical low?
Stories of human survival in harsh and extreme environments highlight the body’s
amazing ability to adapt. In this lesson, students will be introduced to the story of
Mauro Prosperi, an endurance runner who found himself stranded in the Sahara
Desert. Even with very limited food and water, Mauro managed to last nine days
before he was rescued. His incredible story baffled doctors and physiologists. How
could a man possibly live in these conditions for such a long period of time? Mauro’s
body, however, provided more than enough evidence to corroborate his story. When
he was found, he had lost 33 pounds, his body required over 16 liters of water to
replace his water loss, and his kidneys and his digestive system were almost
completely shut down. Adaptations of the body and of the mind helped this man
push past the thresholds of human endurance and show the power the body has to
stretch vital resources to their absolute limit.
In this lesson, students will be introduced to the concept of power in the human
body. They will explore the resources that fuel life as well as debate how long the
body can last when these resources become scarce. Students will examine a
survival guideline, the Rule of Threes, and discuss how environmental factors and
personal factors impact the body’s ability to deal with a fuel shortage. As the unit
progresses, students will study the body systems that help create, process or
distribute each of the body’s three main resources – food, oxygen and water.
Understandings

Many human body systems work to create, process, and distribute the body’s
main resources – food, water, and oxygen.
Knowledge and Skills
It is expected that students will:
 List and describe the human body systems that create, process, and distribute
food, water, and oxygen.
 Recognize that factors unique to the person, such as age, weight, and overall
health affect the body’s ability to utilize biological resources and maintain
homeostasis.
Unit 3: Power Study Guide
 Recognize that factors in the environment, such as climate or temperature,
affect the body’s ability to utilize biological resources and maintain
homeostasis.
 Estimate how long the human body can last without food, without water, and
without oxygen.
Essential Questions
1. What are the resources the human body needs to survive?
2. What role does food play in the human body?
3. What role does water play in the human body?
4. What role does oxygen play in the human body?
5. What human body systems work to create, process or distribute the body’s main
power sources?
6. How do personal factors and environmental factors impact the body’s ability to
survive without air, food or water?
Key Terms
Homeostasis
Macromolecule
Resource
Lesson 3.2: Food
Preface
The human digestive system processes the food we consume and converts the
energy of digested macromolecules into usable energy and power. Carbohydrates,
fats and proteins are progressively broken down into smaller molecules that can be
used by the body for the production of energy or for growth and repair. Complex
carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars. Proteins are broken down into
amino acids. Fats are broken down into two molecules, fatty acids and glycerol.
These monomers can be utilized to recharge the energy molecule, ATP, and power
the human body. Each hydrolysis reaction in the digestive system is catalyzed by a
specific enzyme. These enzymes perform optimally at temperatures and pHs
specific to their location in the body. In this lesson, students will begin to relate the
macromolecules that are processed in food to energy potential.
Student teams will design and build models of the human digestive system. The
materials used to construct the parts of the model should relate directly to the
function of each key structure or organ. Students will also be responsible for
discussing chemical digestion of a specific bite of food as it moves through the
digestive system model.
Unit 3: Power Study Guide
Enzymes will be explored further as students design experiments to test the optimal
conditions for the action of the amylase enzymes. Students will relate their results to
what is actually happening inside the body to digest and process starch. Students
will analyze diet and explore the concept of metabolism. Acting as nutritionists or
dieticians, they will meet a fictional client, analyze his diet, and write a client report
that compares the number of calories consumed in the diet to the amount expended
in daily activities and analyzes overall health and fitness. Finally, students will
directly relate food, particularly glucose, to the production of ATP. They will explore
the structure of ATP, the creation of the molecule and the release of energy from the
removal of a phosphate group. This energy is used to fuel all of the cellular
processes in the body.
Understandings

Enzymes are usually proteins and act as catalysts which speed up chemical
reactions in the human body. (Optional)

The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract and the accessory
digestive organs which function together to chemically and mechanically digest
food, absorb water and nutrients, and remove wastes.

Metabolism, the sum of all the chemical reactions that occur within the body, is
required to maintain homeostasis.

When a process in the body requires energy, ATP is broken down to liberate
energy stored in its chemical bonds.
Knowledge and Skills
It is expected that students will:
 Recognize that enzymes are designed to be highly specific, and the structure of
the enzyme’s active site determines the substrate it acts upon. (Optional)
 Recognize that factors such as temperature, pH, and enzyme and substrate
concentration affect the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction.
 List specific enzymes that digest carbohydrates, fats, and proteins at sites along
the digestive tract.
 Describe the structure and function of the organs in the digestive system.
 Explain how energy is stored in ATP.
 Model the interaction between enzymes and their corresponding substrates.
(Optional)
 Outline what happens to a bite of food as it travels down the digestive tract.
 Design a laboratory experiment investigating the impact that environmental
changes can have on enzyme function and analyze the results.
 Analyze energy inputs and outputs in the body to assess overall health.
Essential Questions
1. What are the functions of the digestive system?
Unit 3: Power Study Guide
2. How does the structure of each organ in the digestive system relate to its
function?
3. How does the digestive system assist in maintaining the water balance in the
body?
4. How do enzymes assist the process of digestion?
5. How do factors such as temperature, pH and concentration of enzyme or
substrate affect the rate of enzyme-catalyzed reactions?
6. What are BMI and BMR?
7. How can BMI and BMR help assess healthy diet and weight?
8. What are the health risks associated with being overweight or underweight?
9. What body systems are affected when a person is overweight or underweight?
10. What is ATP?
11. How is energy released from ATP and used to do work in the body?
12. How do the air you breathe and the food you eat relate directly to the production
of energy in the form of ATP?
Key Terms
Adenosine
triphosphate (ATP)
Anabolism
Basal metabolic
rate (BMR)
Body mass index
(BMI)
Bolus
Calorie
Catabolism
Catalyst
Digestion
Digestive system
Enzyme
Esophagus
Gallbladder
Gastrointestinal
tract
Large intestine
Liver
Metabolism
Monomer
Oral cavity
Pancreas
Peristalsis
Pharynx
Polymer
Salivary amylase
Salivary glands
Small intestine
Stomach
Substrate
Lesson 3.3: Oxygen
Preface
This lesson focuses on oxygen as an essential resource for the survival of cells. In the first activity,
students are introduced to a young woman who is experiencing shortness of breath and wheezing
during her normal activities. As they progress through her case and make a diagnosis, students
explore the structure of the respiratory system and its connection to the cardiovascular system. It is
important that students understand that the design of the lungs allows for efficient and effective
Unit 3: Power Study Guide
interaction between the two systems in order to supply oxygen to all the cells in the body. Students
also explore the changes in the respiratory system that lead to a condition such as asthma.
The second activity introduces students to the mechanics of breathing and to the use of a spirometer
to measure lung capacity. Students measure their tidal volume and inspiratory and expiratory reserve
volumes using the spirometer and data analysis software. This allows students to visualize that their
normal breathing uses only a small percentage of their lungs’ total capacity.
Students will then analyze prescription medications and begin to think about how drugs work in the
human body. Students will analyze how each medication prescribed to their patient relates to the
anatomy and physiology of an asthmatic.
Finally, students will explore another biomedical career area by writing a resume for a fictional
respiratory therapist. Students will then play the role of a respiratory therapist to help their patient get
a better handle on her asthma and design a plan to manage her illness.
Understandings
1. The structure of the lungs and the close association between the lungs and the vessels of the
cardiovascular system facilitate the transport of oxygen to all cells in the body.
2. During normal breathing, a healthy individual is using only a small percentage of the total
capacity of his or her lungs.
3. The amount of oxygen required by the cells in a body depends on the activity level of the cells.
Knowledge and Skills
It is expected that students will:

Describe the structure of the respiratory system, especially the lungs, and the basic mechanics of
breathing.

Explain how the structure of the lungs facilitates the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide
between air and the body.

Use sensors to measure lung capacity.

Analyze data collected using a spirometer to determine tidal volume, vital capacity, and minute
volume.

Describe the action of specific medications on the body and investigate how this action helps
treat and control disease.
Essential Questions
1. Why do we need oxygen?
Unit 3: Power Study Guide
2. How do we breathe?
3. How does the oxygen we inhale get to all of our cells?
4. How do muscles assist in the movement of air in and out of the respiratory system?
5. What changes in the respiratory system contribute to asthma?
6. Why is it valuable to measure lung capacity?
7. Why might some people be more efficient at capturing oxygen than others?
8. What are examples of diseases or medical conditions that would affect breathing or lung
capacity?
9. How does a doctor decide which drug to prescribe a patient?
10. How does a respiratory therapist assist patients with ventilation and utilization of oxygen?
11. What are the components of an effective resume?
Key Terms
Abdominal cavity
Residual Volume
Alveoli
Résumé
Bronchi
Spirometer
Diaphragm
Thoracic cavity
Intercostal muscle
Tidal Volume
Minute Volume
Vital Capacity
Lesson 3.4: Water
Preface
In lean adults, water makes up about 60% of body mass. Water is essential for the
hydrolysis reactions that take place in the body, and water is the major component of
the liquid that bathes human cells and tissues. Water helps regulate body
temperature, moistens tissues in the eyes, mouth and nose, lubricates joints,
dissolves minerals and nutrients to make them accessible to the body, flushes out
waste products and helps deliver nutrients and oxygen to cells. Without water, blood
pressure drops, cells begin to shrivel and overall homeostasis is lost. In this lesson,
students will review the many functions of this key resource in the human body and
will explore the main human body system that not only conserves water and
important ions, but also rids the body of harmful wastes - the urinary system.
As students investigate the urinary system and water balance in the body, they will
begin with the “big picture” and then “zoom in” to see the specific details of what
occurs deep inside the kidneys. Students will research the structure of the urinary
system and create a replica on their Maniken®. They will then explore the structure
of the kidney by completing a dissection and by mapping out the general path of
Unit 3: Power Study Guide
urine formation. Students will then zoom in on the kidney and explore exactly what
takes place at the nephron, the functional unit of the organ. By creating a drawing of
nephron action, students will explore the connection between blood and urine as
well as visualize which substances are filtered out in urine and which substances are
reabsorbed by the body. Students will then investigate how the body uses hormones
to regulate and control the amount of water in the body. Students will continue to
add hormones and target organs to their graphic organizer, create feedback loops to
demonstrate hormone action, and build necessary glands on their Maniken ®. Finally,
students will unlock the medical clues hidden in urine as they complete urinalysis
testing for fictional patients. Knowing the composition of normal urine, students can
easily detect abnormalities and connect these clues to the malfunctions in the body.
Changes in urine often signal illness or dysfunction that originates in body systems
other than the urinary system.
Although this lesson focuses primarily on the urinary system, students will explore
other ways the body conserves or loses water. They will discuss how the skin, the
respiratory system, and the digestive system help manage this important fuel.
Students will discuss what happens to the body in a water shortage and should
relate problems with water balance to the overall health of cells and tissues.
Understandings

The urinary system helps maintain homeostasis in the body by filtering the blood,
regulating water and electrolyte concentration, maintaining the pH balance of the
blood, and ridding the body of liquid waste called urine.

Through filtration, reabsorption, and secretion, the nephron assists in maintaining
normal values of water, electrolytes, pH, and blood pressure in the body.

The hormones aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone (ADH) both help regulate
the amount of water in the body.

Malfunctions in the body can be identified through noticeable changes in the
composition of urine, and these changes can be detected through urinalysis.
Knowledge and Skills
It is expected that students will:
 Describe the structure and function of the human urinary system.
 Describe how the structure of the kidney relates to its function in the body.
Recognize that the nephron is the structural and functional unit of the kidney.
 Describe the connections between urine and blood and the exchange of ions and
fluids that occurs across the nephron.
 Illustrate the path of urine formation through the kidney.
 Estimate the filtration rate of the glomerulus and relate mathematical estimates to
the function of the human kidney.
 Analyze urinalysis results to diagnose disease and dysfunction in human body
systems.
Unit 3: Power Study Guide
Essential Questions
1. What are the functions of the urinary system?
2. What are the major organs of the urinary system?
3. What is the general structure of the kidney and how does this structure relate to
kidney function?
4. How does the kidney form urine?
5. What is the relationship between blood and urine?
6. What is the function of the nephron?
7. How do filtration, secretion and reabsorption in the nephron help maintain a fluid
and electrolyte balance in the body?
8. How do the hormones ADH and aldosterone affect the nephron and the body’s
overall water balance?
9. What is urinalysis?
10. How can the composition of urine provide clues about problems in other human
body systems?
Key Terms
Adrenal glands
Aldosterone
Antidiuretic Hormone
(ADH)
Excretion
Filtration
Glomerular Filtration
Glomerulus
Kidney
Nephron
Ureter
Urethra
Urinalysis
Urinary bladder
Urinary system
Urine