Conversion of Food Into Matter and Energy Science Games

5 games

In this series of games, your students will learn how organisms digest food to get the nutrients they need. The Conversion of Food Into Matter and Energy learning objective — based on NGSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance in your classroom, as demonstrated by research.

Scroll down for a preview of this learning objective’s games and the concepts they drive home.

Concepts Covered

Every living thing, all the way down to the smallest single-celled organism, digests food. They break it down into smaller substances and extract nutrients that give them energy to grow and develop.

The human body uses three main macronutrients for energy: carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Carbohydrates break down into sugars, like glucose, that feed the cells. Proteins break down into amino acids, including essential amino acids that the body can’t make by itself. Lipids are made up of fatty acids, which build up stores of energy for the body. One type of lipids, called phospholipids, make up cells’ plasma membranes.

Food goes through two types of digestion. The first, mechanical digestion, involves the teeth tearing food apart and the stomach churning it to break it down. The second, chemical digestion, is when the body breaks down food into nutrients and absorbs them.

The digestive system contains enzymes that speed up the chemical reactions in this process, breaking chemical bonds to change the structure of molecules. Enzyme names usually end with “-ase,” such as amylase, the enzyme that breaks carbohydrates down into sugars.

Protein serves as a good example of how the body breaks larger molecules into smaller, usable substances. When protein-rich food goes into the stomach, the enzyme pepsin breaks it down into polypeptide strands. These proceed to the small intestine, where they are broken down into smaller peptides, and eventually amino acids, to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

A preview of each game in the learning objective is found below.

You can access all of the games on Legends of Learning for free, forever, with a teacher account. A free teacher account also allows you to create playlists of games and assignments for students and track class progress. Sign up for free today!

Image for Dino Island
Dino Island Estimated Duration: 23 minutes Embark on an adventure to a new and unexplored land, searching for the traces of an unknown species of dinosaur. Dig through rock layers, retrieve and examine ancient fossils and document your expedition through Dino Island!
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Geo Journey Estimated Duration: 15 minutes Set off on a "Geo Journey," a riveting educational adventure that turns players into aspiring geologists. Dig deep into the Earth's crust to discover hidden fossils, interpret the secrets within rock strata, and engage with fun mini-games that illuminate the mysteries of our planet's past. Reassemble a scientist's notes and consult with an expert to link your findings to the grand chronicle of Earth's history. "Geo Journey" invites you to explore and uncover the geological wonders of our world!
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Fossil Explorers Estimated Duration: 15 minutes Become the best paleontologist in this exciting adventure! Dig up hidden fossils, analyze them carefully, and discover the secrets left behind by the dinosaurs. Explore, learn, and solve the mysteries of these legendary creatures. Enjoy 4 unique mini-games! Use tools to dig up fossils, discover which dinosaur they belong to in the lab, investigate their era with relative dating, and determine their exact age with absolute dating.
Image for Newton Pool
Newton Pool Estimated Duration: 15 minutes The game consists of hand-crafted levels where the player controls a white ball. The goal of each level is to get the white ball to the end of the level in as few moves as possible, while racking up points by bumping golden balls into obstacles on the way! The game does not have any instructional math content, it simply has math review questions spread throughout.
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Galaxy Escape Estimated Duration: 20 minutes 10 Bright Monsters have been captured in space and they need your help to cross the galaxy jumping between platforms, finding them, and releasing them by correctly answering each question. Each monster that you release and unlock will be available to play with in the next level, in the search for the next monster. In your journey, you’ll be able to find power-ups, like ‘Double points’ and ‘Slow down’, which can be activated by finding gems, and their duration can be extended by correctly answering a question. Unlock and release the 10 different monsters and a spaceship along 10 different levels, while you make the most possible points.
Image for Fossil Records
Fossil Records Estimated Duration: 6 minutes Rocks are solid natural substances composed of one or more minerals. A rock's age can be determined by relative dating or absolute dating. Relative dating gives geologists an approximate age based on the principle of superposition or presence of fossils. Absolute age gives us the precise age of the rock using radiometric dating.
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