biology paper 2 not being tested Flashcards
what do automatic control systems in your body do?
regulate your internal environment
what are the three main components that make up all your automatic control systems?
cells called receptors, coordination centres, and effectors
what are 3 examples of coordination centres?
brain, spinal cord and pancreas
what are the 4 parts of the nervous system?
- the central nervous system (CNS)
- sensory neurones
- motor neurones
- effectors
what does the central nervous system (CNS) consist of in vertebrates?
the brain and spinal cord only
how is the CNS connected to the body in mammals?
by sensory neurones and motor neurones
what are sensory neurones?
the neurones that carry information as electrical impulses from the receptors to the CNS
what are motor neurones?
the neurones that carry electrical impulses from the CNS to effectors
what are effectors?
all your muscles and glands, which respond to nervous impulses
what are receptors?
the cells that detect stimuli
what are 2 different types of receptors?
taste receptors on the tongue and sound receptors in the ears
give an example of receptors forming part of a large, complex organ
the retina of the eye is covered in light receptor cells
what do effectors do?
respond to nervous impulses and bring about a change
what do muscles do in response to a nervous impulse?
contract
what do glands do in response to a nervous impulse?
secrete hormones
what does the CNS do?
it receives information from the receptors and coordinates a response. The response is carried out by effectors
what is a synapse?
the connection between two neurones
how is the nerve signal transferred across a synapse?
by chemicals which diffuse across the gap. These chemicals then set off a new electrical signal in the next neurone
what are reflexes?
rapid, automatic responses to certain stimuli that don’t involve the conscious part of the brain - they can reduce the chances of being injured
give two examples of reflex actions
- if someone shines a bright light in your eyes, your pupils automatically get smaller so that less light gits into the eye - this stops it getting damaged
- if you get a shock, your body releases the hormone adrenaline automatically - it doesn’t wait for you to decide that you’re shocked
what is a reflex arc?
the passage of information in a reflex (from receptor to effector)
where do the hormones in reflex arcs go through?
the spinal cord or through an unconscious part of the brain
what happens when a stimulus is detected by receptors?
impulses are sent along a sensory neurone to a relay neurone in the CNS. It travels along the relay neurone and across the synapse to the motor neurone. The impulses then travel along the motor neurone to the effector
what are the two hormones that can be used to reduce fertility?
oestrogen and progesterone
why can oestrogen be used as a method of contraception?
it can be used to prevent the release of the egg. This may seem strange (as it naturally stimulates release of eggs), but if oestrogen is taken every day to keep the level of it permanently high, it inhibits the production of FSH, and after a while egg development and production stop and stay stopped
how does progesterone reduce fertility?
it stimulates the production of thick mucus which prevents any sperm getting through and reaching an egg
what is the pill?
an oral contraceptive containing oestrogen and progesterone (known as the combined oral contraceptive pill)
how effective are oral contraceptives?
over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy
what are some downsides to oral contraceptives?
they can cause effects like headaches and nausea and they don’t protect against sexually transmitted diseases
why do some people use a progesterone-only pill?
it has fewer side effects and is just as effective
name 4 methods of contraceptives (other than oral contraceptives) that use hormones
- the contraceptive patch
- the contraceptive implant
- the contraceptive injection
- an intrauterine device (IUD)
what is the contraceptive patch?
a small (5cm x 5 cm) patch containing oestrogen and progestone that’s stuck to the skin
how long does a contraceptive patch last?
each patch lasts 1 week
how does a contraceptive implant work?
it is inserted under the skin of the arm. It releases a continuous amount of progesterone, which stops the ovaries releasing eggs, makes it hard for sperm to swim to the egg, and stops any fertilised egg implanting in the uterus.
how long can a contraceptive implant last for?
three years
what hormone does the contraceptive injection contain?
progesterone
how long does a contraceptive injection last?
2 to 3 months
what is an intrauterine device (IUD)?
a T-shaped device that is inserted into the uterus to kill sperm and prevent implantation of a fertilised egg.
what are the 2 types of IUDs?
plastic IUDs that release progesterone and copper IUDs that prevent the sperm surviving in the uterus
what is DNA and what does it contain?
DNA is the chemical that all of the genetic material in a cell is made up from. it contains coded information - basically all the instructions to put an organism together and make it work
what does your DNA determine?
- what inherited characteristics you have
- what proteins a cell produces (e.g. haemoglobin, keratin) which in turn determines what type of cell it is, e.g. red blood cell, skin cell
where is DNA found?
in the nucleus of animal and plant cells, in really long structures called chromosomes
what shape does DNA have?
a double helix
is DNA a monomer?
no - it’s a polymer
what is a gene?
a gene is a small section of DNA found on a chromosome, and it codes for a particular sequence of amino acids which are put together to make a specific protein
how many different amino acids are used to make proteins?
20
what do genes tell cells?
what order to put the amino acids together
what is a genome?
the entire set of genetic material in an organism
have scientists worked out the complete human genome?
yes, but it took them a long time
give 3 reasons why understanding the human genome is a really important tool for science and medicine
- it allows scientists to identify genes in the genome that are linked to different types of disease
- knowing which genes are linked to inherited diseases could help us to understand them better and could help us to develop effective treatments for them
- scientists can look at genomes to trace the migration of certain populations of people around the world. all modern humans are descended from a common ancestor who lived in africa, but humans can now be found all over the planet. the human genome is mostly identical in all individuals, but as different populations of people migrated away from africa, they gradually developed tiny difference in their genomes. by investigating these differences, scientists can work out when new populations split off in a different direction and what route they took
does sexual reproduction produce genetically identical or different cells?
genetically different cells
what is sexual reproduction?
sexual reproduction is where genetic information from two organisms (a father and a mother) is combined to produce offspring which are genetically different to either parent
in sexual reproduction, by what process do the mother and father produce gametes?
by meiosis
how many chromosomes does each gamete contain in humans?
23
what happens in fertilisation?
the egg (from the mother) and the sperm cell (from the father) fuse together to form a cell with the full number of chromosomes (half from the father, half from the mother)
what does sexual reproduction involve?
sexual reproduction involves the fusion of male and female gametes. because there are two parents, the offspring contain a mixture of their parents genes
why does sexual reproduction result in the offspring inheriting features from both parents?
the offspring has received a mixture of chromosomes from its mum and its dad. this mixture of genetic information produces variation in the offspring.
can plants sexually reproduce?
yes - they also have egg cells, but use pollen instead of sperm
does asexual reproduction produce genetically identical or genetically different cells, and why?
genetically identical - there’s only one parent so the offspring are genetically identical to that parent
what process does asexual reproduction happen by?
mitosis
describe asexual reproduction?
in asexual reproduction there’s only one parent. there’s no fusion of gametes, no mixing of chromosomes and no genetic variation between parent and offspring. the offspring are genetically identical to the parent - they’re clones
what reproduces asexually?
bacteria, some plants and some animals
what happens after two gametes have fused during fertilisation?
the resulting new cell divides by mitosis to make a copy of itself. mitosis repeats many times to produce lots of new cells in an embryo.
what happens to the cells in an embryo as the embryo develops?
they start to differentiate into the different types of specialised cell that make up a whole organism
what is the 23rd pair of chromosomes labelled as, and what do they control?
they are labelled XY or XX, and they’re the two chromosomes that decide your sex
is XY female or male?
is XX female or male?
XY = male XX = female
when are the X and Y chromosomes drawn apart in meiosis?
the first division