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BTN: Wasted by alcohol abuse

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Graphic of a sad-looking stomach with eyes and boxing gloves
BTN: Wasted by alcohol abuse

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


Consuming alcohol affects our bodies.

Find out what alcohol actually does inside the human body and the organ that 'fights' to reduce its harmful effects.

Discover why alcohol is literally a 'waste' product.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What is alcohol and where does it come from? Some alcoholic drinks are made to look similar to soft drinks? Why might this be the case? What are some short-term and long-term effects that alcohol can have on the body?
  2. 2.What is the link between alcohol and yeast? Watch the clip as it shows the movement of alcohol around the body. How does it get into the blood? What does the liver do and what happens when it becomes overloaded? What does alcohol interfere with in the brain?
  3. 3.Draw a diagram to show what happens to alcohol when it enters the body. Use labels and arrows to show how it is transported around the body and which organs are involved. Explain the analogy between waste in a recycling plant and alcohol in the liver.
  4. 4.Conduct some further research to understand which body systems are affected by alcohol, and how. Find out if and how it affects the digestive system, immune system and endocrine system. You could add to the diagram you have already created by labelling the body systems.



Date of broadcast: 2005


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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