12.

COORDINATION AND
RESPONSE
 12.1 THE HUMAN
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Key words
Sense organ - groups of receptor cells responding to specific stimuli e.g. light, sound,
touch, temperature and chemicals

Stimulus - changes in the environment that can be

detected by organisms

Receptors - cells or groups of cells that detect stimuli

Effector - parts of the body that respond to a

stimulus; muscles and glands are effectors

Coordination - ensuring that the actions of different

parts of the body work together
 The human nervous system
Changes in an organism's environment
are called stimuli (singular: stimulus)
and are sensed by specialised cells
called receptors. The organism
responds using effectors.
Muscles are effectors and may respond
to a stimulus by contracting. Glands
can also be effectors.
 The human nervous system
The way in which receptors detect
stimuli, and then pass information on
to effectors, is called coordination.
Most animals have two methods of
sending information from receptors to
effectors. The fastest is by means of
nerves. The receptors and nerves make
up the animal's nervous system.
 Key words
Nerve - a group of neurone axons lying together (like an electrical cable containing
many wires)

Neurone - a cell that is specialised for conducting electrical impulses rapidly

Motor neurone - a neurone that transmits electrical impulses from the central nervous
system to an effector

Axon - a long, thin, fibre of cytoplasm that extends from the cell body of a neurone

Dendrites - short fibres of cytoplasm in a neurone

Nerve impulse - an electrical signal that passes rapidly along an axon

 Nerve Cells (Neurons)

Nerve cells are highly

specialised.
Their structure is directly
linked to their function
 Neurones
The human nervous system is made of special cells called neurones.
Figure 12.2 illustrates a particular type of neurone called a motor
neurone.
They have long, thin fibres of cytoplasm stretching out from the cell
body.
The longest fibre in a neurone is called an axon. Axons can be more
than a metre long.
The shorter fibres are called dendrites. The dendrites pick up
electrical signals from other neurones lying nearby. These signals
are called nerve impulses.
 Figure 12.2:
A motor neurone.
 A motor neurone
dendrite
s Axon
terminal

cell Axo
body n

Schwann
Myelin cells
sheath
Nucleus
 dendrites - connect to
neighbouring neurons Axon terminal - synapses
with neighbouring neuron

cell body - carries out Axon - carries electrical

normal cell functions impulse over long distances

Schwann cells - make up

myelin sheath
Myelin sheath -
Nucleus - controls cell insulates axon
activities

A motor neuron
How does structure relate to function?
Complete the table:
Structure Function
Long axon Carry electrical impulses
Dendrites on cell over long distances
body
Connect to other neurons
Myelin sheath to pass on electrical
impulses - keeps impulse
Insulates
travelling in right
direction
 Key words
central nervous system (CNS): the brain and
spinal cord
peripheral nervous system (PNS): the nerves
outside the brain and spinal cord
sensory neurone: a neurone that transmits
electrical impulses from a receptor to the central
nervous system
relay neurone: a neurone that transmits
electrical impulses within the central nervous
system
Key words
reflex arc: a series of neurones (sensory,
relay and motor) that transmit electrical
impulses from at receptor to an effector
reflex action: a means of automatically
and rapidly integrating and coordinating
stimuli with the responses of effectors
The human nervous system
 Мэдрэлийн тогтолцоо
Төв мэдрэлийн тогтолцоо:
тархи, нугаснаас тогтоно.
Захын мэдрэлийн тогтолцоо:
тархи, нугасны мэдрэлүүд болон
мэдрэлийн зангилаа, түүний
төгсгөлүүдээс бүрдэнэ.
The role of the nervous system
is coordination and regulation
of body functions.

The brain and spinal cord

together are known as the
central nervous system (CNS).

Other nerves form the

peripheral nervous system.
 The central nervous system
The CNS is made up of the brain and
spinal cord.
Like the rest of the nervous system, the
CNS is made up of neurones.
Its role is to coordinate the electrical
impulses travelling through the
nervous system.

Figure 12.3: The human

central nervous system.
 The peripheral nervous system

The peripheral nervous system When a receptor detects a stimulus,

is made up of nerves that it sends an electrical impulse along a
spread out from the CNS.
neurone to the brain or spinal cord.
Each nerve contains hundreds The brain or spinal cord receives the
of neurones. impulse, and sends an impulse on,
The peripheral nervous system along the appropriate nerve fibres,
also includes the receptors in to the appropriate effector.
our sense organs.
 Reflex arcs
Figures 12.4 and 12.5 show how these electrical impulses travel.
If your hand touches a hot plate, a sensory receptor in your finger
detects this.
The receptor starts off an electrical impulse, which travels to the
spinal cord along the axon from the receptor cell.
This cell is called a sensory neurone, because it is carrying an
impulse from a sensory receptor (Figures 12.4 and 12.6).
 Reflex arcs
In the spinal cord, the neurone passes the electrical impulse to
several other neurones.
These neurones are called relay neurones, because they relay the
impulse on to other neurones.
The relay neurones pass the impulse on to the brain. They also pass
it on to a motor neurone to pass to an effector. In this case, the
effectors are the muscles in your arm. The electrical impulse travels
to the muscle along the axon of a motor neurone. The muscle then
contracts, so that your hand is pulled away.
Figure 12.4: A reflex arc.
 The pathway along which
the nerve impulse passes -
the sensory neurone, relay
neurones and motor neurone
is called a reflex arc.
Figure 12.5: Schematic diagram of a reflex arc.
The three types of neurone that are involved in a reflex arc have different shapes.

Figure 12.6: The structure of sensory, motor and relay neurones.

 Stimulus and response
Complete the table for the 5 senses...

Stimulus Sense Organ Sense

(Receptor)
Light eyes sight
Sound ears hearing
Temperature/Pressure
skin touch
Chemicals in air
nose smell
Chemicals in food
tongue taste
Watch this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4iGnvrPUdc
● Nerve cells connect to
receptors at one end.

● Some nerves carry

impulses to the brain.

● From here the brain will

decide what response is
necessary.
● Once it has decided what to
do, the brain will send
another impulse through
another nerve cell.

● These nerves connect to a

muscle or gland at the other
end.

● The muscle or gland carries

out the job required
Nervous Response Pathway
Stimulus
Receptor

Sensory neurone
Central nervous system
Motor neurone

Effector
Response
 REFLEXES
2 minutes…

Write as many reflexes on

your WBs as you can.

GO!!
 Reflexes
Why does the doctor do this?
 Reflexes
● If we are in danger of harming ourselves we need to act
without thinking about what to do.
● We call this a reflex.
It is an automatic, involuntary response.
● In a reflex response the sensory nerves do not travel to the brain
instead they go to the spinal cord.

Why does this happen?

What is the advantage of this?
Watch this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKPEW-ao2Wg
Тархи болон нугасны бор цагаан бодис
Try this!
Reflex Arc receptors in skin

relay neuron

sensory
neuron

motor
neuron effector
(muscle)
Different Types of Neurones
 Questions
1. Describe three ways in which neurones are similar to other animal
cells.
2. Describe one way in which neurones are specialised to carry out
their function of transmitting electrical impulses very quickly.
3. Outline the function of the central nervous system.
4. Look at Figure 12.4. Describe where the cell bodies of each of
these types of neurone are found:
a sensory neurone
b relay neurone
c motor neurone
 Questions
5. Look at Figure 12.6. Describe, in words, the differences in
structure between sensory neurones, relay neurones and motor
neurones.
6. Describe two reflex actions, other than pulling your hand away
from a hot plate, or the knee jerk reflex. For each one, say what the
stimulus is, where the receptor is and what the response is.
7. Many of the actions that we take (such as you reading and
answering these questions) are
not reflex actions. Suggest the advantages and disadvantages of
reflex actions.
 Key words
synaptic gap: tiny gap between two neurones, at a synapse
synapse: a junction between two neurones
vesicle: a very small vacuole
neurotransmitter: a chemical stored in vesicles at the end of
neurones, which can be released to diffuse across the synaptic gap
and set up an electrical impulse in the next neurone
receptor proteins: proteins on the membrane of the second neurone
at a synapse, which have a complementary shape to the molecules of
neurotransmitter
 Synapses
Synapse: the junction between two neurones

Synapses ensure
that the nervous
impulse only
travels in one
direction :)
 Synapses
• Ifyou look carefully at figure 12.4, you will see that the three
neurones involved in the reflex arc do not quite connect to each
other. There is a small gap between each pair. These gaps are
called synaptic gaps.
• theends of the two neurones on either side of the gap, plus the
gap itself, is called a synapse.
• Insidethe sensory neurone's axon are hundreds of tiny vacuoles,
or vesicles. These each contain huge numbers of molecules of a
chemical called a neurotransmitter.
 Synapses
•Inside the sensory neurone's axon are hundreds of tiny
vacuoles, or vesicles. These each contain huge numbers
of molecules of a chemical called a neurotransmitter.
•The neurotransmitter quickly diffuses across the tiny gap.
The molecules of neurotransmitter attach to receptor
proteins in the cell membrane of the relay neurone.
 Structure of a Synapse
Vesicle containing
Nervous neurotransmitter
impulse
arrives at end
of one Synaptic
neurone cleft

Impulse is
transmitted
to next
neurone
Neurotransmit Receptors for
ter neurotransmit
Questions
8. We can say that information travels along a
neurone in an electrical form but travels
between neurones in a chemical form.
Explain this statement.
9. Explain what is meant by a
'complementary shape, and why it is
important that the receptor proteins have a
complementary shape to the neurotransmitter
molecules.
12.2 SENSE ORGANS
 Sense organs
A sense organ is a group of
receptor cells that respond to a
particular stimulus.
Your eye, for example, is a sense
organ, and contains receptor
cells in the retina. These receptor
cells are sensitive to light.
 The structure of the eye

Figure 12.11: The eye seen from the front.

Figure 12.10: A section through the eye.

The structure of the eye
Match structure to function
Can you see:
The optic nerve bundle?
Spinal cord?
The retina receives the image.

It is full of light receptors which

are sensitive to:
•Colour
•Light levels
•Motion

A massive blood supply

is also needed. Why?
 The retina
The retina is at the back of the eye. This is where the receptor cells
are. When light falls on a receptor cell in the retina, the cell sends
an electrical impulse along the optic nerve to the brain.
The brain uses the impulses from each receptor cell to build up an
image. Some of these receptor cells are sensitive to light of
different colours, enabling us to see coloured images.
There are no receptor cells where the optic nerve leaves the retina.
This part is called the blind spot. If light falls on this place, no
impulses will be sent to the brain.
 New words
optic nerve - the nerve that carries
electrical impulses from the retina to the
brain
blind spot - the part of the retina where
the optic nerve leaves, and where there
are no receptor cells
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
RECEPTOR CELL IN THE EYE, AND
WHAT DO THEY DETECT?
 Rods and cones
The closer together the receptor cells are, the clearer the image the
brain can produce. The part of the retina where the receptor cells
are packed most closely together is called the fovea.
We have two kinds of receptor cells in the retina.
• Rods are sensitive to quite dim light, but they do not respond to
colour.
• Cones are able to distinguish between the different colours of
light, but they only function when the light is quite bright.
 New words
fovea - the part of the retina where cone cells are very
tightly packed; this is where light is focused when you
look directly at an object
rods - receptor cells in the retina that respond to dim
light, but do not detect colour
cones - receptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to
light of different colours, but only function in bright
light
 The Iris
•In front of the lens is circular piece of tissue called the
iris.
•In the middle of the iris is a gap called the pupil.
•When they contract, they make the pupil dilate, or get
larger. This is called the iris reflex or the pupil reflex.
•Thecircular muscles and radial muscles are antagonistic
muscles.
The iris (pupil) reflex
 Focusing light
For the brain to see a clear image, there must be a clear
image focused on the retina. Light rays must be bent so
that they focus exactly onto the retina. Bending light rays
is called refraction.
Most refraction of the light entering the eye is done by the
cornea.
The lens makes fine adjustments.
 New words
refraction - bending light rays
cornea - a transparent layer near the front of the eye,
which refracts light rays entering the eye
lens - a transparent structure in the eye, which changes
shape to focus light rays onto the retina
Figure 12.15: How an image is focused onto the retina.
Adjusting the focus

Figure 12.16: Focusing on a distant object.

Adjusting the focus

Figure 12.17: Focusing on a nearby object.

Light receptors are called rods and cones
Rods are good at detecting motion in low light, but only black
and white
Cones detect colour, and focus well, but only in bright light
WHERE ARE RODS AND
CONES DISTRIBUTED?
 Rods and Cones
Cones are concentrated in the fovea where most
light hits the retina.
Rods are distributed on the rest of the retina.
WHAT WAVELENGTHS OF LIGHT
(COLOURS) ARE DETECTED BY
THE DIFFERENT CONE CELLS?
Colors detected by rods and cones
Spot the difference:
Confusing Bit...

How the eye focuses...

Near and Far Vision

Light from near objects is

travelling in diverging rays.
It needs to be bent a lot by the
lens in order to focus it on the
retina.
To do this it needs to be fat
and rounded.
Near and Far Vision

Light from distant objects is

traveling in straight lines.
The lens does not need to
bend the light much in order
to focus it.
To do this it needs to be
thinner and flatter.
What happens during accommodation?
Near Vision Far Vision
 How to remember?
You see someone in the
distance,
And they look tall and slim…

But then they get up close,

And they are actually short and
round.
(I know it doesn’t make sense.)
 Accommodation
This is focusing the light to make an image
 Focusing Challenge
● Use the lenses and the ray box to demonstrate
what happens during near and far
accommodation.

● Draw onto a large piece of paper to show what

is happening with the rays in both cases
Use the ray box to show how you would
correct these problems
 PUPIL DILATION
In a second…

One person in each pair, close your

very tight for 10 seconds.

Then open them, while facing your

partner.

What can you observe?

The Pupil Reflex
 What happens in bright light?
1. Light hits the photoreceptors in the retina generating a
nervous impulse
2. This signal passes along the optic nerve to the brain
3. The brain sends a message to the circular muscles of the
iris
4. The circular muscles contract to make the pupil smaller
5. This protects rods and cones from damage
6. The reflex is very fast
Now write a flow-chart for dim light.
 MIND MAP REVIEW
For the next 10 minutes, your group is
going to make a mind map of information
for the eye…

Click HERE to create a Google Drawing to

share with your group to make the mind
map.
 Questions
10. Name three different sense organs in the human body, and state the
stimulus that they detect.
11. Outline the function of each of these parts of the eye:
a. cornea
b. iris
c. lens
d. retina
e. optic nerve
 Questions
12. Look at the electron micrograph in Figure 12.13. Which part of
the retina is shown in the micrograph? Explain your answer.
 Questions
13. Copy and complete this table, to summarise how
accommodation is achieved.
12.3 HORMONES
Use STICKERS to locate where you
think these glands are found:
•Hypothalamus •Adrenal Glands
•Thyroid •Testes
•Pituitary •Ovaries
•Pancreas •Parathyroid
•Thymus •Pineal Gland
WHAT ARE HORMONES, WHERE ARE
THEY PRODUCED, and WHERE DO
THEY TRAVEL?
 Hormones
The chemicals are called
hormones.
Hormones are made in special
glands called endocrine
glands.
Hormones are produced by
glands and travel in the blood.
 Hormones
The hormones pass from the gland into the blood
and are carried around the body in the blood plasma.
Each hormone has particular organs that it affects,
called its target organs. The hormone alters the
activity of these target organs.
New words
hormones: chemicals that are
produced by a gland and carried in the
blood, which alter the activities of their
specific target organs
endocrine glands: glands that secrete
hormones
target organs: organs whose activity is
altered by a hormone
 COMPARE THE SPEED
AND LONGEVITY OF
HORMONES TO NERVE
IMPULSES, and LIST WHAT
THEY CONTROL?
 Hormones control:
•Growth
Hormones travel slower •Sexual development
than nerve impulses but
•Sugar levels
have a longer-lasting effect.
•Mood
•Metabolism
STATE 2 DISORDERS WHICH ARE
CAUSED BY PROBLEMS WITH
HORMONAL CONTROL.
 What can go wrong?

Human
growth
hormon
e
•Pineal - sleeping WHAT DO
•Pituitary - growth hormone
THEY
CONTROL?
•Thyroid - metabolic rate
•Thymus - maturation of white blood cells
•Adrenal - fight or flight
•Pancreas - control of glucose levels in blood
•Ovary – sexual characteristics
•Testes – sexual characteristics
Review:
Complete the card sort:
 Body Control
Systems
Nervo Endocri
us ne
Send signals
Control body processes
Involve the brain
What you need to be able to do:
• State the role of the hormone adrenaline in
chemical control of metabolic activity,
including increasing the blood glucose
concentration and pulse rate
• Give examples of situations in which
adrenaline secretion increases
Aim: Describe the effects of adrenaline.
Starter: How does this happen?
 Adrenalin
Is sometimes called the fight or flight hormone
What does this mean?
Adrenalin prepares us for stressful situations
We deal with these by “fighting” them or by running away
(flight!)
In what situations would you produce adrenalin?
 Adrenalin
● Produced by the adrenal gland
● If the body is to respond quickly to a stressful situation
it is very important that the muscles are supplied with
lots of glucose and oxygen.
● These are then used to make energy either to face up to
the stress (fight) or to run away from the stress (flight)
● This is called the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism.
 Effects of adrenalin:
● the pupils dilate
● breathing becomes quicker and deeper
● glucose is released from the liver
● extra oxygen is used to make energy from the glucose in the
muscles
● body hair stands on end
● heart beats faster
● blood is directed from the skin to muscles
● the body begins to sweat
How does each of these ensure survival?
12.4 COORDINATION
IN PLANTS
Learning Objective: To understand the role
of the hormone auxin in plants
Skills: Interpreting results from experiments
Success criteria:
I can name some stimuli that plants respond to
I can describe the response of a plant to light
and gravity
I can explain how auxins cause bending in a
root/shoot by increasing/decreasing growth
I can interpret the results of investigations into
plant reponses to light and gravity
Key words:
auxin, phototropism, geotropism, stimulus
What you need to be able to do:
 Define and investigate geotropism and
phototropism
 Explain the chemical control of plant growth
by auxins and the effects of synthetic plant
hormones used as weed killers
 Tropic Responses
Aim: To describe experiments
demonstrating the effects of
auxin.

Starter: Watch this!

Tropism Key Words
Tropism (Tropic Movement)

A directional growth movement made by a part of a stationary

plant in response to unilateral stimulus.
(that’s a stimulus coming from only one direction to you and me!)
What do you think the stimulus might
be in each case?

Responses can be positive or negative.

The plant either:
moves towards the stimulus (positive)
or
moves away from the stimulus(negative).
 Complete the table:
Tropism Stimulus Response of radicles Response of plumules
Phototropism
Hydrotropism
Geotropism
Experiment to show the effect of
gravity on roots
 Clinostat
● For control experiments
● Contains a cork disc which can be set to rotate in a vertical or
horizontal plane by a motor
● To make factors uniform (evenly distributed)
To show the effect of Gravity by using a
clinostat
To show Phototropism in Shoots
What causes tropism?
Experiments on Oat Coleoptiles
 Auxins
Are the most common plant hormones
They regulate growth & other physiological
processes in plants
They are produced by root tip and shoot tip
They affect the growing region of the tip
Auxins have a positive effect on shoots (make them
grow faster) but a negative effect on roots (slow
down their growth)
How do the auxins affect growth here?
 Phototropism in Shoot
The shoot tip produces auxins which diffuse downward
The auxins diffuse to the shaded side due to the presence
of unilateral light
High auxin concentration stimulates growth in shoot
The shaded side grows faster than the lit side
The shoot bends towards the light
 Geotropism in Roots
The root tip produces auxins which diffuse to the lower side due
to gravity
High auxin concentration inhibits growth in root
The lower side grows slower than the upper side
The root bends downward

How about in this example?

HOMEWORK: slides 129 - 132
 Using Plant Hormones
Think! How might farmers use plant hormones?
Rooting powder
● Rooting powder contains growth hormones to make
stem cuttings quickly develop roots.
Selective Weed Killers
● Work on some plants but not others.
● e.g. dandelions in a lawn or thistles in a wheat field.
● Contain a growth hormone that causes the weeds to grow too
quickly and die.
● Absorbed in larger quantities by the weeds than the beneficial
plants, which stay healthy.