Chapter 1 - Animals & Environments

Question 1

What is a vertebrate?

Answer 1

Any organism that contains a backbone and spinal cord.

Question 2

What are the main groups of vertebrate animals?

Answer 2

Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians

Question 3

Which organ system can you live without?

Answer 3

NONE, you need them all to survive.

Question 4

Name the organ systems.

Answer 4

Endocrine
Skeletal
Muscular
Nervous
Urinary
Lymphatic/Immune
Digestive
Respiratory
Circulatory
Integumentary
Reproductive

Question 5

What is the endocrine system majorly responsible for?

Answer 5

Hormones

Question 6

What is the skeletal system majorly responsible for?

Answer 6

Structural and support

Question 7

What is the muscular system majorly responsible for?

Answer 7

Movement and motility

Question 8

What is the nervous system majorly responsible for?

Answer 8

Physical feeling and control center

Question 9

What is the urinary system majorly responsible for?

Answer 9

Waste and excretion

Question 10

What is the lymphatic/immune system majorly responsible for?

Answer 10

Immunity

Question 11

What is the digestive system majorly responsible for?

Answer 11

Energy and metabolism

Question 12

What is the respiratory system majorly responsible for?

Answer 12

Gas exchange, oxygen supply, and ridding carbon dioxide

Question 13

What is the circulatory system majorly responsible for?

Answer 13

Blood, transports oxygen

Question 14

What is the reproductive system majorly responsible for?

Answer 14

Pass on genes, hormones, in females it regulates calcium levels and in males it regulates testosterone levels.

Question 15

What is the integumentary system majorly responsible for?

Answer 15

Protection, temperature regulation, absorption

Question 16

Why should we even care about physiology?

Answer 16

Important to know the functions of animals and organisms:
How they adapt, and why they adapt
Useful in areas of medicine in understanding effects of certain diseases and possibilities for cures.

Question 17

How does a salmon regulate the amount of sodium within its system when living in the ocean?

Answer 17

When a salmon moves from freshwater to an ocean water environment there is an INCREASE in the sodium ATPase activity, in which the fish scales will RELEASE more sodium.

When a salmon moves from an ocean water environment to fresh water there is a DECREASE in the sodium ATPase activity, in which the fish scales will INTAKE more sodium.

Question 18

Define homeostasis.

Answer 18

Maintenance of internal constancy within an organism, for example when humans are cold they shiver to get warm and when they are hot they sweat to cool down/

Question 19

What is conformity? Provide an example and list an advantage and disadvantage.

Answer 19

Occurs in an organism when its internal environment varies as does the external environment it exists in.
i.e. Babies are unable to regulate their temperature, so when there is a decrease of temperature in their internal environment, they have a seizure.
Advantage: Energetically cheap
Disadvantage: Changes can occur frequently and without notice, could be dangerous to organism’s survival.

Question 20

What is regulation? Provide an example and list an advantage and disadvantage.

Answer 20

Occurs in an organism when its internal environment will remain constant, when there is variation of their external environment.
i.e. Humans are able to regulate their temperature, so as the temperature around them decreases they shiver to warm themselves up.
Advantage: Keeps internal environment at necessary conditions, within reason.
Disadvantage: Costs energy.

Question 21

What is an acute and chronic response?

Answer 21

Acute: occurs suddenly
Chronic: occurs as it adjusts to environment

Question 22

Describe negative feedback and provide an example.

Answer 22

Starts with something and body adjusts to lower it.

i.e. Dopamine regulation

Question 23

Describe positive feedback and provide an example.

Answer 23

Starts with something and continues to send signals amplifying the response.
i.e. Oxytocin regulation

Question 24

What are the three main types of environmental specialization?

Answer 24

1. Temperature
2. Oxygen
3. Water

Question 25

What is the difference between natural selection and adaptation?

Answer 25

Natural selection is an increase in allele frequency that produce phenotypes of which are favored for greater likelihood of survival and reproduction, adaptation is a physiological mechanism or trait that is a result of natural selection (over long periods of time, species may have changes that favor their survival and reproduction).