Can you use your quantative skills to convince yourself that a long thin small intestine is better than a short fat small intestine? Remember, you absorb most food nutrients across the surface of your small intestine, so the more small intestine surface area you have per unit volume of food, the faster you can take up nutrients. Your intestine is basically a tube cylinder. Look up the formulas for the surface or area of the sides of a cylinder, and for the volume of that cylinder. How does the amount of surface area per unit