Mississippi Science HAP.13.4

ScienceGrades 9–12Human Anatomy and Physiology

The Standard

HAP.13: Students will investigate the structures and functions of the digestive system, including the cause and effect of diseases and disorders.

Plan and conduct an experiment to illustrate the necessity of mechanical digestion for efficient chemical digestion.

2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Digestive System

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students plan and run a fair test using whole and crushed cracker with amylase. They use iodine to check for starch over time and compare the results with water-only cups.
What Mastery Looks Like: They keep cracker mass, liquid volume, and temperature the same. They use their results to show that crushing lets amylase break down starch faster.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think crushing turns starch into sugar by itself. They may mistake iodine for a sugar test or leave out a water-only cup.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Two cups contain equal masses of cracker and equal amounts of amylase. One cracker is crushed. Predict which cup loses its blue-black iodine color first, and explain why.

Lesson moves

Place equal masses of whole and crushed cracker in amylase or water, then test samples with iodine at 0, 5, and 10 minutes.
Ask: If crushing alone digested starch, what would happen to the iodine color in the crushed cracker and water cup?
Give pairs four test plans with different cracker masses, temperatures, or enzyme amounts; have them choose the fair test and fix the others.
Have students sketch a bite of bread before and after chewing, then mark where salivary amylase can reach starch.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to HAP.13.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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