THE HEART: CIRCULATORY SYSTEM I

The nutrients we eat and the oxygen we breathe are transported to our organs, bones, brain and muscles by the circulatory system.
The heart is an organ that acts like a pump.
It is divided into four chambers: the two upper are called the atria and the two lower are called ventricles.

When blood enters the heart, it's then pumped to the lungs. In the lungs, the red blood cells absorb oxygen. That oxygenated blood is pumped back into the heart. The heart then pumps the oxygenated blood around the body.
You can see it in this video:

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

The oxygen that we breathe passes into our blood, where it's transported to our muscles.
Our muscles absorb oxygen and expel carbon doxide.
There is an exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen betwee the blood, and the alveoli.
Then we expel this gas as we breathe out.

1. Mouth and nose: air enters the body through the mouth and nose.
2. Vocal cords: as air passes our vocal cords, they vibrate and enable us to speak.
3. Trachea: this long, rigid tube connects our mouth and nose to our two bronchi. Air travels down the trachea into the bronchi.
4. Bronchi: these two smaller tubes connect the trachea to the lungs.
5. Lungs: these two large bags are connected to the bronchi. The bronchi branch into millions of smaller tubes, or bronchioles, here in the lungs.
6. Bronchioles: these are small tubes inside the lungs. At the end of each bronchiole, there are tiny sacs called alveoli. The air we breathe in goes into these tiny sacs and then passes into blood vessels which surround them.

 

 

EUROPE'S RELIEF

The Alps are the most important mountain range in Europe.
They cover Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, France, Italy, and Monaco.
Its highest mountain is Mont Blanc, at 4.810 m.

The Pyrenees form a natural border between France and Spain.

The Urals form a natural border between Europe and Asia. At 2.400 km they are Europe's longest mountain range.

The Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian sea, includes Mount Elbus, the highest mountain in Europe (5.642 m high).

The Apennines run down the middle of the Italian Peninsula.

The Carpathian Mountains are the second longest mountain range in Europe.

The Scandinavian Mountains is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula.

EUROPE'S RIVERS AND LAKES

There are hundreds of rivers and tributaries in Europe.
The biggest are navigable rivers.
Rivers which flow into the Arctic Ocean: (completely frozen in winter)

• Pechora.
• Dvina.

Rivers which flow into the North Sea:

• Thames.
• Elbe.
• Rhine.

Rivers which flow into the Baltic Sea:

• Oder.
• Vistula.

Rivers which flow into the Atlantic Ocean: (with a high volume of water because of rainfall)

• Loire.
• Seine.

Rivers that flow into the Black Sea:

• Danube (Europe's second longest river).
• Dnieper.
• Don.

Rivers that flow into the Caspian Sea:

• Volga (Europe's longest river, 3.690 km long).
• Ural (It's often frozen in winter).

Rivers that flow into the Mediterranean Sea:

• Ebro.
• Rhone.
• Po.
• Tiber. 

When water collects in a basin, or depression, it forms a lake. Lakes are usually fed by rivers which flow into them but they also receive rainfall.
Lake Ladoga is the biggest lake in Europe.
Other important lake is Lake Constance.

EUROPE'S COUNTRIES AND CAPITAL CITIES

Here you have a list of Europe's countries, and their capital cities: (if you click on the names you'll find where the country is on the map).

Albania (Tirana);
Alemania (Berlín);
Andorra (Andorra La Vieja);
Austria (Viena);
Bélgica (Bruselas);
Bielorrusia (Minsk);
Bosnia-Herzegóvina (Sarajevo);
Bulgaria (Sofía);
Ciudad del Vaticano (Ciudad del Vaticano);
Croacia (Zagreb);
Chipre (Nicosia);
Dinamarca (Copenhague);
Eslovaquia (Bratislava);
Eslovenia (Liubliana);
España (Madrid);
Estonia (Tallín);
Finlandia (Helsinki);
Francia (París);
Georgia (Tiflis);
Grecia (Atenas);
Holanda (Amsterdam);
Hungría (Budapest);
Irlanda (Dublín);
Islandia (Reikiavik);
Italia (Roma);
Letonia (Riga);
Liechtenstein (Vaduz);
Lituania (Vilna);
Luxemburgo (Luxemburgo);
Macedonia (Skopie);
Malta (La Valeta);
Moldavia (Chisinau);
Mónaco (Mónaco);
Montenegro (Podgorica);
Noruega (Oslo);
Polonia (Varsovia);
Portugal (Lisboa);
Reino Unido (Londres);
República Checa (Praga);
Rumania (Bucarest);
Rusia (Moscú);
San Marino (San Marino);
Serbia (Belgrado);
Suecia (Estocolmo);
Suiza (Berna);
Turquía (Ankara);
Ucrania (Kiev).

And if you click on this image you'll play and learn the European capitals:

EUROPE

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent after Oceania.
In the west Europe reaches the Atlantic Ocean.
In the east Europe is separated from Asia by the Urals and the Caspian Sea.
Europe stretches from the Arctic Sea in the north to the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea in the south.
47 countries make up the European continent. 28 of these form the European Union (EU).
Europe has different time zones:

• Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal.
• Central European Time (CET): central European countries. (GMT + 1 hour).
• Eastern European Time (EET): (GMT + 2 hours).
• Moscow Standard Time (MST): (GMT + 3 hours).

 And clicking on this map you'll play and learn where the European countries are:

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Our digestive system takes nutrients and vitamins from the food we eat.

1.- Mouth: digestion starts in the mouth. The teeth crush the food and then mix it with saliva.
2.- Esophagus: the food travels down the esophagus to the stomach.
3.- Stomach: in the stomach, the food mixes with gastric juices.
4.- Liver: the liver produces a liquid called bile that helps break down food.
5.- Small intestine: the food goes into the small intestine. Here it mixes with bile from the liver. Nutrients are absorbed here and they pass into the blood.
6.- Large intestine: the undigested food passes into the large intestine. There it's transformed into faeces.
7.- Rectum: finally, the faeces pass through the rectum and leave the body through the anus.

Food is digested in three stages:

1. Digestion. The mouth, esophagus and stomach all help our body digest the food we eat.
2. Absorption. The small intestine absorbs the nutrients from the food. From the small intestine the nutrients go into your blood.
3. Elimination. The large intestine and rectum transform the undigestes solids into faeces.