Investigation One introduces students to the components that make up the digestive system in the human body and the process of digestion. Students will use several resource materials to increase their familiarity with the digestive system and begin to understand how nutrients are distributed to where they are needed, the body’s tissues. Students will also use models and conduct experiments to explore mechanical and chemical digestion and the similarities and differences between them.

In Investigation Two, students are introduced to nutrition labels and the six classes of nutrients found in food: water, carbohydrates, lipids, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Students will also be introduced to the Recommended Daily Value, the amount of each nutrient required each day for optimum health. During the Investigation, students will analyze several nutrition labels to investigate which nutrients are found in foods and in various food groups and categories. In addition, they will use the Percent Daily Value and serving size information on nutrition labels to determine how much of each nutrient a food contains in comparison to the Recommended Daily Value for that nutrient. 

During Investigation Three, students will begin a more in-depth exploration of nutrients. They will be introduced to carbohydrates, one of the six classes of nutrients. Students will learn about sugars, starch, and dietary fiber, all different types of carbohydrates. Through the use of nutrition labels, students will examine the carbohydrate content of several food items and will measure the amount of total carbohydrates and sugars in various food items from different food groups. 

Investigation Four continues students’ exploration of nutrients by focusing on one of the other classes of nutrients, lipids. Through a role-play, students will learn that fats are a type of lipid and that information about the amount of fats in foods can be found on nutrition labels. As students begin their Investigation, they will learn the importance of balancing the amount of fat they consume daily using the Percent Daily Value information found on nutrition labels. Students will measure the amount of total fat in foods from different food groups and categories using the triple beam balance. Following experiments in the lab, students will use the data they collected to draw conclusions about whether there are food groups that contain more fat than others.

In Investigation Five, students will examine another class of nutrients, proteins. Students will discover the many functions that proteins perform in the human body. Using nutrition labels, students will measure the amount of protein found in several food items and compare the protein content of the different food groups. In doing so, they will discover that proteins are found in many of the food groups.

Investigation Six consists of a Performance Assessment designed to evaluate students’ understanding of the science concepts addressed in the first five Investigations of the CELL. During this exploration, students will evaluate a menu that represents the food choices for a student’s lunch, dinner, and evening snack. Based on their evaluation, students will be presented with models of several breakfast and afternoon snack items and asked to determine the amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in each using a triple beam balance. Following the measurement of nutrient content, students will be challenged to make breakfast and snack selections that both complete the menu and fulfill the requirements for both MyPlate and the Daily Values for carbohydrates, fats, and protein.