Question

Get two paper towels that are the same size. Set one paper towel aside. Take the second paper towel and fold back and forth, in a zigzag formation, as if you are making a fan. You should now have one flat paper towel and one paper towel that is six layers thick. Next, get two empty cups and fill each cup with 1 cup of water. Dip 2 inches of the end of the flat paper towel in one cup and the end of the folded paper towel in another cup. The rest of the paper towel can hang outside of the cup; do not submerge it in the water cup. Then measure ½ of a cup of water and add two drops of food coloring. Mix well. Pour ¼ of a cup of colored water into each cup containing the paper towel ends. Observe how much water each paper towel absorbed. What were the differences that you saw between the two paper towels? If so, what differences did you notice? Were there differences in speed of water absorption? Research the villi of the small intestine and describe the similarities of your paper towel experiment and the intestinal villi.

Answer 1

Microvilli function to increase the functional absorptive capacity of the small intestine cells

Step-by-step explanation:

Microvilli cover the apical surface of the intestinal absorptive cells, (i.e., enterocytes), thereby increasing the surface absorption area of the small intestine from 20 to 1000-fold. Microvilli are numerous projections that have only one dimension beyond 100 nanometers (nm) and form a fingerlike brush border. In a similar manner to the experiment that involves two papers towels contacting two cups of colored water, this formation can significantly increase the velocity of absorption because the colored water molecules have higher surface to move faster from the cup that is in contact with the paper in a zigzag way.

Answer 2

Microvilli function to increase the functional absorptive capacity of the small intestine cells

Explanation:

Microvilli cover the apical surface of the intestinal absorptive cells, (i.e., enterocytes), thereby increasing the surface absorption area of the small intestine from 20 to 1000-fold. Microvilli are numerous projections that have only one dimension beyond 100 nanometers (nm) and form a fingerlike brush border. In a similar manner to the experiment that involves two papers towels contacting two cups of colored water, this formation can significantly increase the velocity of absorption because the colored water molecules have higher surface to move faster from the cup that is in contact with the paper in a zigzag way.