CHAPTER 7: CONTROL AND CO-ORDINATION

Terminology Bank

Stimuli: The changes in the environment to which an organism responds and reacts.

Synapse: Synapse is the junction of two nerve cells. It is the place of transmission of
electric nerve impulses between two nerve cells.

Receptors: Receptors are the specialized cells or group of cells that detect the
information from the environment. They are located in our sense organs.

Target tissue or organ: Tissues or organ on which a hormone acts.

Nerve Cell or Neuron: The units which make up the nervous system.

Nerve Impulse: It is the information in the form of chemical and electrical signals
passing through neurons. Impulses are carried by dendrites towards the cell body.

QUESTION BANK

Very Short Answer Questions (1 or 2 Marks)

1. What is a stimulus?
A. The change in the environment to which the living organisms respond and react
are called stimulus.
2. Name two systems which help in control and coordination in animals.
A. Nervous system and endocrine system
3. What are sensory nerves?
A. The nerves coming from receptors or sense organs are called sensory nerves.
These nerves carry the information from sense organs to brain.
4. What are Motor nerves?
A. Motor nerves carry the information from brain or spinal cord to effector organ.
Motor nerves are responsible for movement of hands and legs.
5. What is a reflex action?
A. Reflex action is a quick, sudden and immediate response of the body to a
stimulus.
For example with drawl of hand on touching a hot object.
6. What is a reflex arc?
A. The structural and functional unit that carries out reflex action is called reflex arc.
7. What are hormones?
A. Hormones are the chemical substances which control and coordinate the
activities of living organisms and also their growth.
8. Define phototropism.
A. The directional movement of the plant part in response to light is called
phototropism.
Example: Movement of shoot towards light.
9. Define geotropism.
A. The directional movement of the plant part in response to gravity is called
geotropism.
Example: Movement of roots towards gravity.
10. Define chemotropism.
A. The directional movement of the plant part in response to chemicals is called
chemotropism.
Example: During fertilization, the movement of pollen tube towards the ovule is
an example of chemotropism.
11. Define thigmotropism
A. The directional movement of the plant part in response to touch is called
thigmotropism.
Example: Tendril winding round the support in touch.
12. What is meant by tropic movements?
A. The directional movement of the plant part in response to an external stimulus.
Growth towards stimulus is positive tropism and growth away from stimulus is
negative tropism.
13. How do auxins promote the growth of a tendril around a support?
A. Auxins promote cell elongation and are present at the shoot tip. When a tendril
comes in contact with a support, auxins stimulates faster growth of the cells on
the opposite sides. Thus a tendril coils around the support.
14. Define feedback mechanism.
A. The mechanism that controls the flow of hormones in blood is called feedback
mechanism.
15. What is a synapse?
A. The junction between two nerve cells is called synapse.
16. Name the largest cell in human body.
A. Nerve Cell
17. i. Name the hormone which regulates carbohydrate, protein and fat
metabolism. Mention the site where it is synthesized.
ii. Balance of calcium and phosphate levels
iii. Blood Pressure
iv. Maintaining water and electrolyte balance
A. i. Thyroxin. It is synthesized in thyroid gland.
ii. Parathormone
iii. Adrenalin
iv. Vassopressin

18. Name two components of peripheral nervous system

A. Cranial Nerves(12 pairs) and Spinal Nerves(31 pairs)
19. Name the sensory receptors present in nose and tongue
A. Nose – Olfactory receptors
B. Tongue – Gustatory receptors
20. Name the part of the brain which controls the involuntary actions such as
blood pressure, salivation etc.
A. Medulla
21. Name the part of the brain which controls posture and balance of the body
A. Cerebellum
22. Which signals get disrupted in case of a spinal injury?
A. Reflex actions and involuntary actions are primarily affected in case of spinal cord
injury.
23. Name the part of the neuron where information is acquired.
A. Dendrite
24. Name the part of the neuron through which the information travels as
electric impulse
A. Axon.
25. Name the mechanism by which amount of hormone in the blood is
regulated.
A. Feedback Mechanism
26. Name the diseases by which a person is likely to suffer due to the deficiency
of a. insulin b. Iodine c. Growth hormone
A. Insulin – Diabetes Iodine – Goiter Growth hormone -
Dwarfism
 27. What is the difference between reflex action and walking?
A. Walking is a voluntary action that takes place with our will. On the other hand
reflex action is a sudden response to a sudden stimulus without our will. It is
involuntary action.
28. What happens at the synapse between two neurons?
A. Transmission of nerve impulses between two neurons takes place through the
synapse. The axon terminal of a neuron releases chemicals called
neurotransmitters that travel through the synapse and reach the dendrites of next
neuron.
29. How do you detect the smell of an agarbatti ( Incense Stick)
A. The olfactory nerves present in the nose pick the smell of the agarbatti and send
the signals to the brain. The brain interprets those signals and we detect the
smell of agarbatti.
30. What is the role of brain in reflex action?
A. Brain has no direct involvement in reflection action. Reflex action is mainly
controlled by spinal cord. However the input reaches the brain.
31. How is the movement of leaves of the sensitive plant different from the
movement of a shoot towards the light?
A. The movement of the leaves of the sensitive plant mimosa pudica or touch me
not plant occurs in response to touch and this movement does not involve
growth. On the other hand movement of shoot towards light is phototropism.
This movement involves growth.

Short Answer Questions (3Marks)

32. How does chemical coordination take place in animals?

A. Chemical coordination in animals takes place through hormones. Hormones are
secreted by endocrine glands. Hormones regulate different functions in the body.
For example insulin is hormone which regulates blood sugar levels.
33. Why is the use of iodised salt advisable?
A. Iodine stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine hormone. Thyroxine
regulates carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism in our body. Iodine
deficiency leads to a disease called goiter. Therefore iodised salt is advised or
normal functioning of the body.
34. How does our body respond when adrenaline is secreted in to blood?
A. Adrenalin is a hormone secreted by adrenal glands in case of any danger or
emergency or any kind of stress. It is directly secreted in to the blood and is
transported to different parts of the body.

When secreted in large amounts, it speeds up the heart beat and supplies more
oxygen to muscles. The breathing rate also increases. It also increases blood
pressure. All these responses enable the body to deal with any stress or
emergency.

35. Why are some patients of diabetes treated by giving injections of insulin?
A. Diabetes is a disease in which the level of sugar in blood is very high. Insulin is a
hormone which is secreted by the pancreas which helps in regulating the blood
sugar levels. This is the reason why diabetic patients are treated by giving
injections of insulin.
36. Draw the structure of nerve cell and explain its functions.
A.

The nerve cell carries the information from the sense organs to the brain and
from brain to the effector organs there by helping to control and coordinate
various functions of the body.
37. How does phototropism occur in plants?
A. The movement of plant parts in response to light is called phototropism. This
response of plant stem towards light is due to the presence of hormone called
Auxin.

When light falls on the stem towards one side, the auxins get concentrated on
the other side of the stem and promotes cell division. This causes the stem to
bend towards light there by promoting phototropism.

38. How chemical co-ordination does occur in plants?

 A. Plant hormones play an important role in chemical coordination in plants.

Some plant hormones like auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins help in plant
growth and some plant hormones like abscisic acid and ethylene helps in
inhibiting the plant growth.

39. How are involuntary actions and reflex actions different from each other?
A. Reflex actions are rapid and spontaneous actions which are not under the control
of brain whereas involuntary actions are set of movements which do not require
thinking but are controlled by brain.

40. What is the need for a system of control and coordination in an organism?
A. There are various organs in an organism. These organs must be carefully
controlled and coordinated for the survival of an organism. In the body of an
organism various fluids are secreted from the glands of the endocrine system.
These hormones are responsible for the overall growth and development of an
organism. All others daily decision that includes voluntary and involuntary action
are controlled by central nervous system (CNS).

41. Compare and contrast nervous and hormonal mechanisms for control and
coordination in plants.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
1. Made up of nerve cells.
2. Messages are transmitted in the
form of electrical impulses.
3. Messages are transmitted along
the nerve fibre.
4. Effect of messages usually lasts
for a very short while.
5. Messages travel very quicly
HORMONAL SYSYTEM
1. Made up of secretory cells
2. Messages are transmitted in
the form of chemical hormones.
3. Messages are transmitted
along blood stream.
4. Effect of messages usually
lasts for long time.
5. Messages travel very slowly.

Long Answer Questions (5 Marks)

42. i. How is brain protected from injury and external shocks?

ii. Name two main parts of hind brain and state the function of each.
A. i. The brain is situated in a cavity of a bony box called skull. The brain is contained
in a fluid filled balloon which provides further shock absorption.

ii. The two main parts of hind brain are

a. Cerebellum: It controls all the voluntary actions and maintains the posture and
balance of the body.
b. Medulla Oblongata: It controls all the involuntary actions such as blood pressure,
salivation, vomiting etc.
43. Name the main thinking part of the human brain. List four major functions
other than thinking of this part.
A. Fore brain is the major thinking part of the human brain.

Other Functions:

a. Hearing, smell and sight

b. Storing information
c. Movement of voluntary actions
d. Sensation of feeling hunger
44. What are plant hormones? What are they?
A. Plant hormones or phytohormones are naturally occurring chemicals in plants
which regulate the control and coordination in plants. There are five major types
of plant hormones. They are
i. Auxins: Promotes cell division and elongation. Helps in the formation of roots
and seedless fruits.
ii. Gibberellins: Helps in growth of the stem and flower.
iii. Cytokinins: It promotes cell division and helps in delay in aging of leaves.
iv. Abscisic acid: Inhibits the growth of the plant
v. Ethylene: Helps in ripening of fruits
45. Describe an experiment to show hydrotropism.
A. Take two beakers and label them as A and B. Fill beaker a with water and now
make a cylindrical shaped roll with a filter paper and keep it as a bridge between
beaker A and beaker B as shown in the figure. Keep few germinating seeds in the
middle of the filter paper bridge. Now cover the entire set up with a transparent
plastic container so that moisture is retained.
Observation: The roots of germinating seeds will be growing towards the beaker A

This experiment demonstrates the phenomenon of hydrotropism.