ACTIVITY WORKSHEET NO 1: FROG DISSECTION
Focus: Digestive System (Frog vs. Human)
Subject: Biology 2
Grade Level: Grade 11 STEM
Time Allotment: 1–2 hours
NAME: _____________________________
A. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
1. Identify the major organs of the frog’s digestive system.
2. Describe the function of each digestive organ.
3. Compare the digestive system of a frog to that of a human using structural
and functional evidence.
4. Safely perform a basic dissection following proper laboratory procedures.
B. MATERIALS
Preserved frog specimen
Dissection tray
Dissection kit (scissors, scalpel, forceps, probes)
Gloves, lab gown, face mask
Diagram sheet / activity worksheet
Alcohol and tissue
Waste container
C. SAFETY REMINDERS
☑ Wear gloves and PPE at all times.
☑ Cut slowly; treat the specimen with respect.
☑ Do not touch your face or food during the procedure.
☑ Dispose of tissues and wastes properly.
☑ Wash hands after the activity.
D. PRE-LAB QUESTIONS
(Answer briefly.)
1. What is digestion, and why is it essential for survival?
2. Why do biologists often use frogs to study organ systems?
3. What human digestive organs do you expect to find in a frog?
E. PROCEDURE
Follow each step carefully. Observe, sketch, and label.
1. External Observation
a. Examine the frog’s external features.
b. Identify the mouth opening.
c. Note: Frogs swallow food whole—imagine a small gateway that chooses efficiency
over chewing.
Guiding Question:
Why do frogs not need teeth for chewing like humans do?
2. Initial Incisions
a. Place the frog dorsal side down on the tray.
b. Make a shallow midline incision from the lower abdomen to the chest using
scissors.
c. Gently lift and pin back the flaps of skin.
Observation:
What do you notice about the muscle layer compared to humans?
3. Opening the Body Cavity
a. Cut through the muscle following the same path.
b. Fold and pin the muscle flaps.
c. Observe the exposed organs—like a tiny living map, paused in time.
Label on your diagram:
Liver
Stomach
Small intestine
Large intestine
Gallbladder
Pancreas
Cloaca
4. Digestive System Examination
Inspect each organ closely.
Digestive
Frog: Structure & Function Human: Compare/Contrast
Organ
Simple; no chewing; captures prey Humans chew food using teeth
Mouth
with sticky tongue and saliva
Esophagus Short tube leading to stomach Longer; transports chewed food
Muscular sac for storage and initial Same function; larger and more
Stomach
digestion complex folds
Small Long tube for nutrient absorption; Same function; longer and more
Intestine has duodenum & ileum specialized
Large Longer; forms feces before
Short; water absorption
Intestine elimination
Same function; proportionally
Liver Very large; produces bile
smaller
Common chamber for digestion,
Cloaca
urinary,