B5 - Homeostasis and Response Flashcards
What is homeostatis?
Maintaining a stable environment for optimum conditions for enzyme and cellular functions.
What 3 conditions are maintained by homeostasis?
Water content.
Body temperature.
Blood glucose levels.
Why are control systems needed?
To ensure conditions in your body remain stable even when the external envrionment changes.
What 3 things are needed in control systems?
Receptor
Co-ordination centre
Effector
What organ helps to control body temperature?
Liver controls metabolic reactions so the amount of heat energy transferred to environment is controlled.
What is negative feedback?
Opposing the change.
What is positive feedback?
Acts to amplify or encourage the change e.g. when a mother breastfeeds her child, the more milk she produces.
Why is feedback important in control systems?
To make adjustments and maintain optimum conditions in an organism.
What is the temperature regulation centre in the brain called?
Hypothalamus
What are the body’s responses to an increase in temperature?
Sweat produced - evaporation of water takes away heat energy from the surface of the skin.
Vasodilation meaning more heat is radiated away.
What are the body’s responses to a decrease in temperature?
Muscles contract rapidly - respiration allows muscles to contract. It is an exothermic process so energy released raises body temperature.
Vasoconstriction - less heat radiated away.
Sweating stops.
What is thermoregulation?
The control of body tempertaure.
What temperature do enzymes work best at?
37 degrees celcius
What is the CNS?
Central Nervous System
What are neurones?
Cells that transmit electrical impulses around the nervous system.
Which neurones carry electrical impulses from the receptors to the CNS?
Sensory neurones.
Which neurones carry electrical impulses from the CNS to the effectors?
Motor neurones.
What is a relay neurone?
Sends information from one neurone to another.
What is another term for neurones?
Nerve cells
What 3 things make up the nervous system?
Brain, spinal cord, neurones
What does the CNS consist of?
Brain and the spinal cord.
What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?
Neurones
What are receptors?
Groups of specialised cells that detect changes in the environment, called stimuli, and turn them into electrical impulses.
Where are recepetors often located?
In the sense organs - skin, eye and ear.
What are effectors?
Produce a response.
What is a coordination centre?
Obtain information from the recpetors.
What is the name of the microscopic gap between neurones?
Synapses
How are electrical impulses transmitted?
A chemical (a neurotransmitter) diffuses across the synapse to stimulate a second neurone.
What is a reflex action?
A rapid, automatic response to a stimulus.
Give 4 examples of reflexes performed by the human body and why this reflex is important.
Blink reflex - prevents eye getting damaged
Knee reflex - walking/running
Ankle reflex - walking/running
Pupil reflex - prevents damage from bright light
What is an advantage of the spinal cord being a coordination centre?
Reactions are quicker as shorter pathway between sensory neurone and spinal cord.
How does a stimulus lead to a response being carried out by the body?
- receptor (in skin of finger / hand)
detects stimulus - electrical impulses pass along
neurones - impulses pass from sensory to
relay to motor neurones - synapse between neurones
where chemical crosses gap
(synapses) in spinal cord / CNS - muscle contraction to pull hand
away effector is a muscle
What is the difference between a reflex pathway and a conscious pathway?
Within a reflex pathway, the co-ordination centre is a relay nuerone found in the spinal cord or unconscious part of the brain.
Within a conscious pathway, the co-ordination centre is in the conscious part of the brain.
What is the order of events in a reflex arc?
Stimulus -> receptor -> sensory neurone -> relay neurone -> motor neurone -> effector -> response
What is accomodation?
The alteration of the lens’ shape in order to focus on near or distant objects.
What are the two main functions of all the structures found within the eye?
Focusing on near and distant objects.
Adapting to light.
What is the function of the retina?
Where light is focused.
Contains photoreceptive cells which detect colour and light intensity.
What is the function of the pupil?
The hole that allows light to enter the eye.
What is the function of the optic nerve?
Carries electrical impulses from the eye to the brain.
What is the function of the sclera?
The tough supporting wall of the eye.
What is the function of the cornea?
Transparent outer layer found at the front of the eye. Refracts light into the eye.
What is the function of the lense?
Focuses light onto the retina.
What is the function of the ciliary muscles?
Muscles connected to the lens by the suspensory ligaments.
Control the shape of the lens.
What is the function of the suspensory ligaments?
Connect the ciliary muscles to the lens and hold the lens in place.
Control the shape of the lens.
What happens to the ciliary muscles and suspensory ligaments when the object is near?
Ciliary muscles contract.
Suspensory ligaments slacken.
What is the shape of the lens when an object is near?
Curved, fat.
What is the muscle tension on the lens when an object is near?
Low.
What is the effect on the refraction of the light when the object is near?
Refracts light more.
What happens to the ciliary muscles and suspensory ligaments when the object is far?
Ciliary muscle relaxes.
Ligaments pull on lens.
What is the shape of the lens when an object is far?
Flat, thin
What is the muscle tension on the lens when an object is far?
High
What is the effect on the refraction of the light when the object is far?
Refracts light less.
What is the action of the circular and radial muscles in dim light? (the iris)
Circular muscles relax.
Radial muscles contract.
What is the action of the circular and radial muscles in bright light? (the iris)
Circular muscles contract.
Radial muscles relax.
Why is the constriction of the pupil important?
It avoids retinal damage.
Why is the dilation of the pupil important?
Allows more light to enter the eye.
What is myopia?
Short-sightedness. Usually occurs when lens is too curved and as a result light is focused in front of the retina.
How can myopia be treated?
Use of a concave lens, which spreads out light rays so they can be focused on the retina.
What is hyperopia?
Long-sightedness. Occurs when the lens is too flat and light is not refracted enough so light is focused behind the retina.
How can hyperopia be treated?
With a convex lens. Which brings the light rays together so they can be focused on the retina.
What are the two types of contact lens?
Hard - rigid material, long-lasting, must be kept sterile
Soft - flexible material, last a shorter amount of time, more comfortable
What is laser eye surgery?
Use of lasers to fix visual defects in adults.
What is done in laser eye surgery to treat myopia?
Lasers reduce the thickness of the cornea so light is refracted less strongly.
What is done in laser eye surgery to treat hyperopia?
Alters the curvature of the cornea so light is refracted more strongly.
How can replacement lenses be used to fix visual defects?
A replacement lens can either be implanted into the eye along with the natural lens. Or replace the lens altogether.
What are the risks of lens replacement?
Retinal damage, cataracts, infection.
How is temperature monitored by the body?
Thermoregulatory centre has receptors sensitive to blood temperature.
Skin has receptors sensitive to skin temperature - sends impulses to thermoregulatory centre.
What is a tropism?
Response of a plant to a specific stimulus.
What is phototropism?
Response of a plants shoot or root to light.
What is gravitropism?
Response of a plants shoot or root to gravity.
What is auxin?
A hormone which controls the growth of a plant’s shoot and roots. When auxin is unevenly distributed in a growing plant the rate of growth will be unequal.
What happens when an auxin is unevenly distributed in a growing plant?
The rate of growth will be unequal.
How do plant shoots show positive phototropism?
One side of the shoot is in the light, causing auxin to move to the shaded side.
Cells are stimulated to grow at the shaded side. Shoot bends towards the light.
How do plants show negative gravitropism?
Auxin accumulates in the lower side due to gravity.
Cells on the lower side grow more, causing the shoot to bend away from the direction of gravity.
How do plant roots show positive gravitropism?
Auxin accumulates in the lower side causing cells to grow less. The root bends in the direction of gravity.
How to plants benefit from positive gravitropism?
More water and nutrients are available to plant roots.
How do plants benefit from positive phototropism?
Photosynthesis occurs at a faster rate.
What are gibberellins?
Type of plant hormone involved in seed germination.
What is ethene?
Type of plant hormone involved in cell division and ripening.
3 uses of auxins.
Weed killers - cause cells to grow at a rapid rate causing death.
Rooting powder - causes new plant to grow very quickly.
Tissue culture - promotes growth of roots and shoots.