Homeostasis and Response | AQA GCSE Biology, Higher tier (8461)
Homeostasis and Response
- 246 questions
- 14 subtopics
- Paper 2
- Paper 2
Homeostasis and Response is examined in Biology Paper 2.
It covers homeostasis, the nervous system and the reflex arc, the structure of the eye and accommodation, myopia, hyperopia and how they are corrected, the brain and the control of body temperature, human endocrine system, insulin, glucagon and diabetes, water and ion loss, and the production of urea, the kidneys, ADH and treating kidney failure, hormones in human reproduction, contraception, the use of hormones to treat infertility, negative feedback and plant hormones and their uses.
Sample questions from Homeostasis and Response
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Homeostasis
Apart from enzyme action, what else does homeostasis keep at its optimum?
Show the answer
All the other functions carried out by the cells of the body. -
The nervous system and the reflex arc
Two schools each find that a caffeinated drink shortens reaction time in the ruler-drop test. What does the agreement between their results show?
Show the answer
The result is reproducible, because different investigators using different equipment obtained similar results. -
Myopia, hyperopia and how they are corrected
What is the everyday name for myopia?
Show the answer
Short sightedness. -
The brain and the control of body temperature
What do vasodilation and sweating have in common?
Show the answer
Both cause energy to be transferred from the skin to the environment. -
Insulin, glucagon and diabetes
What goes wrong in the pancreas in Type 1 diabetes?
Show the answer
It fails to produce enough insulin. -
Water and ion loss, and the production of urea
State the effect on a body cell of losing too much water.
Show the answer
It no longer functions efficiently. -
Hormones in human reproduction
What is the main male reproductive hormone, and where is it produced?
Show the answer
Testosterone, produced by the testes. -
Contraception
Give one advantage of an oral contraceptive over a barrier method.
Show the answer
It is more reliable, because it does not depend on being used correctly at the time of intercourse.
The 14 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Homeostasis | What homeostasis is and why cells and enzymes need stable conditions, the control of blood glucose, body temperature and water level, nervous and hormonal responses, and the receptors, coordination centres and effectors of every control system. | 14 |
| The nervous system and the reflex arc | How the nervous system carries electrical impulses, the central nervous system and effectors, the stimulus to response pathway, sensory, relay and motor neurones and synapses in a reflex arc, why reflexes are rapid and automatic, and measuring reaction times, with anomalous results, reproducibility, range, uncertainty in a mean and significant figures. | 30 |
| The structure of the eye and accommodation | The retina, optic nerve, sclera, cornea and iris, how the iris muscles change pupil size in dim and bright light, accommodation for near objects as the ciliary muscles contract, the suspensory ligaments loosen and the lens thickens, and how the eye changes between near and distant focus. | 18 |
| Myopia, hyperopia and how they are corrected | How the eye focuses on distant objects as the ciliary muscles relax and the lens is pulled thin, short and long sightedness and where light is focused, and correction by spectacles with concave or convex lenses, contact lenses, laser surgery and lens replacement. | 14 |
| The brain and the control of body temperature | The cerebral cortex, cerebellum and medulla, why the brain is hard to study and how brain damage, electrical stimulation and MRI map it, and the thermoregulatory centre controlling body temperature through vasodilation, sweating, vasoconstriction and shivering. | 20 |
| Human endocrine system | What a hormone is and how it travels in the blood, hormonal against nervous effects, the pituitary as master gland, and the thyroid, adrenals, pancreas, ovaries and testes. | 14 |
| Insulin, glucagon and diabetes | How the pancreas releases insulin to move glucose into cells and store it as glycogen, why high blood glucose harms cells, the causes and treatments of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, glucagon raising blood glucose, and negative feedback between the two hormones. | 20 |
| Water and ion loss, and the production of urea | How cells swell or shrink by osmosis when body fluids change concentration, water loss through the lungs and skin, why ions must be replaced after sweating, the kidneys removing water, ions and urea in urine, and deamination of excess amino acids into ammonia and urea in the liver. | 16 |
| The kidneys, ADH and treating kidney failure | How the kidneys balance water and change urine volume, filtration and selective reabsorption, interpreting protein, urea and glucose data, how ADH from the pituitary gland controls water reabsorption, and dialysis and kidney transplants for kidney failure. | 20 |
| Hormones in human reproduction | Puberty and secondary sex characteristics, oestrogen, testosterone and ovulation, the roles of FSH, LH, oestrogen and progesterone in the menstrual cycle and how they interact, menstruation, and reading hormone graphs for ovulation and pregnancy. | 17 |
| Contraception | Hormonal and non-hormonal contraception, including oral contraceptives, slow release progesterone by injection, implant or patch, barrier methods, intrauterine devices, spermicides, avoiding intercourse at fertile times and sterilisation, and the advantages and drawbacks of each. | 15 |
| The use of hormones to treat infertility | FSH and LH in fertility drugs, why blocked oviducts defeat them, the stages of IVF from egg collection to embryo transfer, and its stresses, risks and objections. | 14 |
| Negative feedback | Adrenaline from the adrenal glands and the fight or flight response, thyroxine from the thyroid gland and basal metabolic rate, how negative feedback through the pituitary gland controls thyroxine levels, and how the two hormones compare. | 14 |
| Plant hormones and their uses | Phototropism and gravitropism, how auxin bends shoots and roots, investigating seedlings under light and gravity, gibberellin and ethene, and the uses of auxins, ethene and gibberellins in growing plants. | 20 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA GCSE Biology, Higher tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,475 questions with their answers.