Internal Systems

Question 1

What important function do the kidneys carry out in humans?

Answer 1

Detecting waste in our blood and filtering it out, releasing vitamins, balancing the amount of fluid in our body.

Question 2

How do the kidneys help the body to maintain homeostasis?

Answer 2

The kidneys balance our fluids by controlling water, they also activate vitamin D to secrete hormones that help in increasing our blood pressure and red blood cell production.

Question 3

What waste product are the lungs responsible for removing?

Answer 3

Carbon Dioxide

Question 4

What unconscious control center signals our lungs to function?

Answer 4

The autonomic nervous system.

Question 5

What are the skin’s 3 key functions?

Answer 5

Protecting, regulating temperature, and sensing the world.

Question 6

What are some of the ways the body reacts when it is too hot?

Answer 6

Blood vessels will expand, sweat glands will secrete sweat, and hair on our body can also release warmth.

Question 7

Do plants have the same specialized system for excretion as humans and animals?

Answer 7

No, plants still produce waste products like CO2, but their methods of excretion are much more simple. Like pores on a leaf called stomata!

Question 8

What are the two main types of reproduction called?

Answer 8

Sexual and asexual proroduction.

Question 9

What are testes, also referred to as testicles, responsible for?

Answer 9

Producing sperm and hormones such as androgens and testosterone.

Question 10

What are spermatozoa, known as sperm, responsible for?

Answer 10

Carrying the string of genes, called chromosomes.

Question 11

A uterus is made up of muscular walls, a lining called the endometrium, and a cervix. What is the cervix responsible for?

Answer 11

Housing and protecting a potential embryo/ fetus/ baby.

Allowing nutrients and waste exchange with the placenta during pregnancy.

Question 12

What is the ovary responsible for?

Answer 12

Providing storage for the ovum (eggs).

Providing a place for the ovum (eggs) to mature.

Producing hormones such as estrogen, progesterone and androgens.

Question 13

What is one example of an animal that goes to extremes in order to reproduce?

Answer 13

Answers will vary. Garter snakes will form a mating ball and the males will fight for a position to reproduce.

Question 14

How does cross-pollination occur in plants?

Answer 14

Cross-pollination happens when the wind or animals move pollen from one plant to fertilize the ovules on a different plant. The advantage of cross-pollination is that it promotes genetic diversity.

Question 15

What is asexual reproduction?

Answer 15

Asexual reproduction is a process carried out by only one organism. The offspring is therefore a clone.

Question 16

The endocrine system relies on the interaction between what 3 features?

Answer 16

Glands, hormones, and trillions of cell receptors.

Question 17

Hormones need to locate target cells in the body in order to carry out their function. What are the cells called that help the hormones along?

Answer 17

Receptors.

Question 18

After the hormone has binded to the receptor, what happens inside the cell?

Answer 18

The hormone will either increase or decrease the process happening inside the cell to change the cell’s behavior.

Question 19

What are examples of hormones that every person has?

Answer 19

Estrogen and testosterone.

Question 20

Give an example of how hormones are important in animals.

Answer 20

Answers may vary. In insects, metamorphosis is controlled by a set of hormones that determine whether the animal grows into the next larval stage or changes into an adult as it gets larger.

Question 21

Do plants need hormones to survive? Provide one reason to support your answer.

Answer 21

Yes, plants use the hormone auxin in order to grow larger or turn themselves to face the sun.

Question 22

What function do sensory neurons carry out?

Answer 22

Sensory neurons send information from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin to the brain.

Question 23

What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

Answer 23

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for sudden stress, like if you witness a robbery. When something frightening happens, the sympathetic nervous system makes the heart beat faster so that it sends blood quickly to the different body parts that might need it.

Question 24

What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

Answer 24

The parasympathetic nervous system prepares the body for rest. It also helps the digestive tract move along so our bodies can efficiently take in nutrients from the food we eat.

Question 25

True or false; the cerebrum contains the information that essentially makes you who you are: your intelligence, memory, personality, emotion, speech, and ability to feel and move.

Answer 25

True.

Question 26

True or false; the cerebellum — also called the “little brain” is responsible for the hormones that control growth, metabolism, water and mineral balance, sexual maturity, and response to stress.

Answer 26

False, the cerebellum is responsible for balance, movement, and coordination.

Question 27

Give one example of how the nervous system is essential to an organism like the rabbit.

Answer 27

This system prepares the animal for a :fight or flight” response. Which means it will release adrenaline and increase the heart rate to ensure a fast getaway from predators. (Or the ability to fight another organism for food or a mate.)

Question 28

Do plants have nerves like humans?

Answer 28

No, but they do have the ability to respond to stimuli in their environment in a way that is similar to a neural response.

Question 29

Name one plant that Indigenous Peoples have utilized and provide an example of what it was used for.

Answer 29

Answers may vary. Bearberry has been used for treating bladder infections which is related to the excretory system.

Question 30

Name two systems that you have learned about and explain how they are connected.

Answer 30

Answers may vary. The endocrine system and the nervous system are closely linked. Inside our brain is the hypothalamus, and this is what controls the pituitary gland (which makes hormones that control growth, metabolism, and response to stress). So our nervous system will signal our glands to release hormones at the appropriate times!