6th Grade · Science · Activity · shared by Luke Morgan
This 6th Grade Science activity explores carbohydrate digestion. Students learn how starch in foods like bread breaks down into sugar.
Digestion in Motion: Breaking Down Carbohydrates
The human body needs energy to stay active. Most of that energy comes from sugar and breads known as carbohydrate foods. These foods have starch , which is made of long, complex chains of tiny sugar parts. Because these parts are so large, your body must change them into smaller pieces before your cells can use them. This work begins the very moment food goes into your mouth through both physical and chemical ways.
As you chew, your teeth break the food into smaller bits. At the same time, small parts of your mouth release a liquid that has a special helper called salivary amylase . This specific enzyme acts like chemical scissors. It cuts the bonds that hold the long starch chains together. Amylase quickly breaks these big pieces into a simpler, double-sugar part known as maltose . This change is the reason why bready foods may start to taste sweet after you chew them for a short time.
Once the food is soft and partly broken down, it is moved down a tube toward the stomach. While the stomach mostly breaks down other things like meat, the bready pieces mixed with mouth liquid keep changing. This change stops when stomach acid starts its work. This early stage is vital because it gets the nutrients ready to be taken in by the body later. Without the help of salivary amylase, your body would find it hard to get the energy hidden inside complex starch pieces.
3 Things I Learned
Identify three distinct facts about how carbohydrates are broken down in the early stages of digestion.
2 Interesting Connections
Describe two connections you made between the information above and how your body functions or how food tastes.
1 Question I Still Have