Questions: Water Absorption During Digestion While both the small and large intestines absorb water, they do not share the job equally. Consider the following typical measurements: Volume entering the small intestine: 9,500 mL Volume entering the large intestine: 580 mL Volume leaving the large intestine: 200 mL What percentage of the water entering the small intestine is absorbed by the small intestine? 90 96 94 92 What percentage of the water entering the small intestine is absorbed by the large intestine? 4 8 2 6 What percentage of the water entering the small intestine is not absorbed during the digestive process? 8 6 4 2 A typical volume leaving the large intestine might be 200 mL. If the volume exiting the large intestine were 408 mL, then it would most likely indicate a case of

To solve the questions, we need to calculate the percentages based on the given volumes of water entering and leaving the intestines.

1. What percentage of the water entering the small intestine is absorbed by the small intestine?

   • Volume entering the small intestine: 9,500 mL
   • Volume entering the large intestine: 580 mL

   The volume absorbed by the small intestine is the difference between the volume entering the small intestine and the volume entering the large intestine: \[ \text{Volume absorbed by the small intestine} = 9,500 \, \text{mL} - 580 \, \text{mL} = 8,920 \, \text{mL} \]

   The percentage absorbed by the small intestine is: \[ \left( \frac{8,920}{9,500} \right) \times 100 \approx 93.89\% \]

   Rounding to the nearest whole number, the answer is 94%.

   The answer is 94.

2. What percentage of the water entering the small intestine is absorbed by the large intestine?

   • Volume entering the large intestine: 580 mL
   • Volume leaving the large intestine: 200 mL

   The volume absorbed by the large intestine is the difference between the volume entering and leaving the large intestine: \[ \text{Volume absorbed by the large intestine} = 580 \, \text{mL} - 200 \, \text{mL} = 380 \, \text{mL} \]

   The percentage absorbed by the large intestine is: \[ \left( \frac{380}{9,500} \right) \times 100 \approx 4\% \]

   The answer is 4.

3. What percentage of the water entering the small intestine is not absorbed during the digestive process?

   • Volume not absorbed is the volume leaving the large intestine: 200 mL

   The percentage not absorbed is: \[ \left( \frac{200}{9,500} \right) \times 100 \approx 2.11\% \]

   Rounding to the nearest whole number, the answer is 2%.

   The answer is 2.

In summary:

• 94% of the water entering the small intestine is absorbed by the small intestine.
• 4% of the water entering the small intestine is absorbed by the large intestine.
• 2% of the water entering the small intestine is not absorbed during the digestive process.