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Questions and Answers
What is homeostasis?
Which of the following is NOT a key factor that needs to be kept constant in the body for homeostasis?
What is negative feedback in the context of homeostasis?
What role does the brain play in homeostasis?
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What happens to blood sugar levels after eating a meal?
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Why is homeostasis crucial for our survival?
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Study Notes
- Homeostasis is the process of maintaining a constant internal environment in the body, first introduced by Claude Bernard in 1865.
- The human body functions like the cockpit of a plane, with the brain acting as the pilot, regulating various factors to keep the body working properly.
- Key factors that need to be kept constant in the body include body temperature (around 37 degrees Celsius), blood sugar levels, ion levels, water levels, blood pressure, and waste levels (carbon dioxide and urea).
- Negative feedback is the process by which the brain responds to changes in these factors using hormones or the nervous system to correct the problem and bring the body back to its normal state.
- An example of negative feedback in action is the regulation of blood sugar levels: after eating a meal, blood sugar levels increase, which is detected by the brain and results in the pancreas releasing insulin to store the sugar in the liver, bringing blood sugar levels back to normal.
- Homeostasis is crucial for our survival as our metabolism, which is made up of chemical reactions that keep us alive, relies on enzymes that only function in specific conditions, and without homeostasis, we would have to spend all our time trying to maintain these conditions ourselves.
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Description
Test your knowledge about homeostasis, the process of maintaining a constant internal environment in the body, and negative feedback, the brain's response to changes in various factors using hormones or the nervous system to correct the problem and bring the body back to its normal state.
