Homeostasis and Response | AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy Biology, Higher tier (8464)
Homeostasis and Response
- 138 questions
- 8 subtopics
- Biology Paper 2
- Biology Paper 2
Homeostasis and Response is examined in Biology Paper 2.
It covers homeostasis, the nervous system and the reflex arc, human endocrine system, insulin, glucagon and diabetes, hormones in human reproduction, contraception, the use of hormones to treat infertility and negative feedback.
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
What is the job of the motor neurone in a reflex arc?
Show the answer
It carries the impulse from the central nervous system to the effector. -
Human endocrine system
A hormone travels all round the body, so why does it affect only certain organs?
Show the answer
Only its target organs respond to it. -
Insulin, glucagon and diabetes
What goes wrong in the pancreas in Type 1 diabetes?
Show the answer
It fails to produce enough insulin. -
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
How do barrier methods work, and name two of them.
Show the answer
They stop the sperm reaching an egg, and they include condoms and diaphragms. -
The use of hormones to treat infertility
What do the letters IVF stand for?
Show the answer
In vitro fertilisation. -
Negative feedback
Explain why the muscles need extra glucose during the fight or flight response.
Show the answer
They respire faster to release the energy needed for rapid contraction.
The 8 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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 Combined Science Trilogy Biology, Higher tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,080 questions with their answers.