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Biology 30 · Worksheets

Nervous and endocrine · Set A

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Nervous and endocrine. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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Nervous and endocrine · Set A

Biology 30 · maddyhelps.com

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  1. After a sugary meal, blood glucose rises. How does the body respond?

    1. a) The adrenal glands release adrenaline
    2. b) The pancreas releases insulin, and the liver stores glucose as glycogen
    3. c) The thyroid releases thyroxine
    4. d) The pancreas releases glucagon, and the liver releases glucose

  2. A person cannot produce ADH (diabetes insipidus). What would you expect?

    1. a) High blood glucose
    2. b) Small volumes of concentrated urine
    3. c) Large volumes of dilute urine
    4. d) Glucose in the urine

  3. Which part of a neuron carries the impulse away from the cell body?

    1. a) dendrite
    2. b) synapse
    3. c) axon
    4. d) myelin sheath

  4. Damage to the medulla oblongata would most likely affect:

    1. a) balance and coordination
    2. b) vision
    3. c) memory and reasoning
    4. d) breathing and heart rate

  5. Why does a myelin sheath make an impulse travel faster?

    1. a) Myelin makes the axon shorter
    2. b) Myelin stores sodium ions for the impulse
    3. c) Myelin produces extra neurotransmitter
    4. d) The impulse jumps from one node of Ranvier to the next

  6. A stimulus twice as strong as the threshold reaches a neuron. Compared with a stimulus just at threshold, it produces:

    1. a) an action potential that travels twice as fast
    2. b) an action potential twice as large
    3. c) action potentials of the same size, but more frequently
    4. d) no action potential

  7. Which gland is often called the "master gland"?

    1. a) thyroid
    2. b) adrenal
    3. c) pituitary
    4. d) pancreas

  8. When an impulse reaches the end of an axon, what happens at the synapse?

    1. a) Sodium ions jump across to the next neuron
    2. b) The axon physically touches the next dendrite
    3. c) Neurotransmitter such as acetylcholine is released into the gap
    4. d) Insulin is released into the bloodstream

  9. What is the typical resting membrane potential of a neuron?

    1. a) +40 mV
    2. b) −70 mV
    3. c) −55 mV
    4. d) 0 mV

  10. The "fight or flight" response is controlled by the:

    1. a) sympathetic nervous system
    2. b) somatic nervous system
    3. c) cerebellum
    4. d) parasympathetic nervous system

Answer key · Nervous and endocrine · Set A

Biology 30 · maddyhelps.com

  1. b) The pancreas releases insulin, and the liver stores glucose as glycogen — High glucose triggers insulin from the pancreas, which brings glucose back down. That correction is negative feedback — the response undoes the change.
  2. c) Large volumes of dilute urine — Without ADH the kidneys cannot reabsorb water, so it all leaves as dilute urine and the person gets very thirsty. Glucose problems belong to diabetes mellitus instead.
  3. c) axon — Dendrites bring signals in toward the cell body; the axon carries them away, toward the next cell.
  4. d) breathing and heart rate — The medulla oblongata, in the brainstem, controls automatic functions like breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. That is why brainstem injuries are so dangerous.
  5. d) The impulse jumps from one node of Ranvier to the next — Myelin insulates the axon, so the action potential only happens at the gaps — the nodes of Ranvier. Jumping between them is called saltatory conduction.
  6. c) action potentials of the same size, but more frequently — Action potentials are all-or-none: every one is the same size. The brain reads a stronger stimulus from how often impulses fire, not how big they are.
  7. c) pituitary — The pituitary releases hormones like TSH that switch other glands on. It is itself directed by the hypothalamus, which links the nervous and endocrine systems.
  8. c) Neurotransmitter such as acetylcholine is released into the gap — Vesicles release neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft, where it binds to receptors on the next cell. The signal crosses chemically, not electrically.
  9. b) −70 mV — At rest the inside is about −70 mV compared with the outside. −55 mV is the threshold, and +40 mV is the peak of an action potential.
  10. a) sympathetic nervous system — The sympathetic system speeds the heart and breathing for action. The parasympathetic system does the opposite — rest and digest.