Name: __________________________________ Date: _________________________ Mod: ______
ORGANISMS: INSIDE OUT
You are relaxing at home, flipping through channels on TV, when you see a special
about lions on the Discovery Channel. A lion has just caught the prey it had been
hunting and begins its feast. “Hmm…, that makes me hungry.” This gets you
thinking about how your body digests all the food that you eat in order to stay alive.
Even more, how is the human digestive system similar to that of other organisms, like the lion on TV?
In this investigation, you will examine several body systems of the human, frog, and perch in order to
compare how each organism’s systems enable it to carry out life functions.
Objective
When you have completed this investigation, you should be able to examine several body systems of
the human, frog, and perch in order to explain how their complex body systems interact to carry out
vital functions.
Activity A
1. Predict whether the systems in the frog and the perch have the same function as in the human
body. Explain why or why not.
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Activity B: Stations
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ORGANISM
ORGANS THAT MAKE UP THE
BODY SYSTEM
Human
Tongue, Esophagus, Stomach,
Intestines
Frog
Perch
FUNCTION OF THE BODY SYSTEM
Break down food and absorb nutrients
NERVOUS SYSTEM
ORGANISM
Human
ORGANS THAT MAKE UP THE
BODY SYSTEM
Brain, spinal cord, nerves
FUNCTION OF THE BODY SYSTEM
Act as a control center and send messages
throughout the body
Frog
Perch
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
ORGANISM
Human
ORGANS THAT MAKE UP THE
BODY SYSTEM
Heart, veins, arteries
FUNCTION OF THE BODY SYSTEM
Transport materials throughout the body
Frog
Perch
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
ORGANISM
Human
Frog
Perch
ORGANS THAT MAKE UP THE
BODY SYSTEM
Trachea, Lungs
FUNCTION OF THE BODY SYSTEM
Bring in Oxygen and release Carbon Dioxide
Activity C
2. Read the following paragraph, “The Reproductive System,” and complete selected response
question 8.
THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
All of the body systems you examined in Activity B are necessary for an organism’s
survival, unlike the reproductive system. The reproductive system is a body system that is
necessary for the survival of a species. If a species does not reproduce, it will not survive. The
human, frog, and fish all reproduce sexually, which means a male and a female are both necessary
for reproduction.
7. The purpose of the reproductive system in humans, frogs, and fish is for the
A organism to survive.
B species to survive.
C fertilization to continue.
D eggs to be fertilized internally.
Analysis
1. Think back to your prediction in Activity A. Using the information you gathered at each station,
determine whether the systems in the frog and the perch have the same function as in the
human body.
 Explain why or why not.
 Use examples to support your answer.
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2. Your teacher reads to your class an article title:
“The Circulatory System: Better Than All the Rest.”
Determine whether this statement is valid based on the information you have gathered
about systems of the body.
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