HKDSE Biology – a modern approach 5

Suggested answers to coursebook exercises

26 Regulation of Water Content

Check your progress

26.1 Water and homeostasis

True or false

1. F
2. T
3. T
4. F (1 mark each)
(Total: 4 marks)

26.2 Overview of the human urinary system

Question

1. (a) A is the renal artery (1 mark)

because it connects to Y which has a thick wall / small lumen showing that it is the
dorsal aorta. (1 mark)
B is the renal vein (1 mark)
because it connects to X which has a thin wall / large lumen showing that it is the vena
cava. (1 mark)
(b) C is ureter. (1 mark)
D is urinary bladder. (1 mark)
F is urethra. (1 mark)
D stores urine temporarily. (1 mark)
(c) It contracts most of the time. (1 mark)
It relaxes during urination. (1 mark)
(Total: 10 marks)

26.3 The kidney

A. Multiple choice

1. A
2. A

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 HKDSE Biology – a modern approach 5
Suggested answers to coursebook exercises

3. D
4. B
5. B (1 mark each)
(Total: 5 marks)

B. Question

1. (a) glucose, amino acids, urea and salts (1/2 mark each) (2 marks)
(b) The blood in the glomerulus is under high pressure. (1 mark)
The substances in (a) are small enough (1 mark)
to pass through the walls of the capillaries and the Bowman's capsule by ultrafiltration.
(1 mark)
(c) Since the amount of water reabsorbed along the kidney tubule is much greater than that
of urea reabsorbed, (1 mark)
the concentration of urea increases in urine. (1 mark)
(d) The protein molecules are too large to pass through the walls of the capillaries of the
glomerulus. (1 mark)
Therefore, protein is absent in the glomerular filtrate. (1 mark)
(Total: 9 marks)

26.4 Hormonal control of osmoregulation

Multiple choice

1. C
2. C
3. C
4. D (1 mark each)
(Total: 4 marks)

26.5 Kidney failure and the dialysis machine

A. Multiple choice

1. B
2. A
3. B
4. B (1 mark each)
(Total: 4 marks)

B. Question

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 HKDSE Biology – a modern approach 5
Suggested answers to coursebook exercises

1. (a) It should flow from B to A. (1 mark)

The dialysis fluid should flow in a direction opposite to that of the blood flow.(1 mark)
This increases the efficiency of the machine by maintaining a concentration gradient of
urea between the dialysis fluid and the blood. (1 mark)
(b) The glucose concentration in the dialysis fluid should be the same as or slightly greater
than that in the plasma. (1 mark)
This can prevent the loss of glucose from the blood to the dialysis fluid by diffusion.
(1 mark)
(c) It should be the same as the body temperature / 37°C (1 mark)
to maintain the temperature of the blood returning to the patient. (1 mark)
(d) It is urea. (1 mark)
It is formed from the breakdown of excess amino acids by deamination in the liver.
(1 mark)
(Total: 9 marks)

Revision Exercise

Structured questions

1. (a) red blood cells / plasma proteins (1 mark)

Red blood cells / plasma proteins are too large to pass through the wall of the
glomerulus. (1 mark)
(b) active transport (1 mark)
(c) Glucose reabsorption by active transport increases the glucose concentration of blood
in the capillaries surrounding the tubule. (1 mark)
This in turn decreases the water potential of blood in the capillaries. (1 mark)
As a result, water in the filtrate is reabsorbed (1 mark)
down the water potential gradient / by osmosis into the capillaries. (1 mark)
(d) (182 – 2.5)/182 x 100 (1 mark)
= 98.6% (1 mark)
(e) After drinking water, the water potential of the blood is raised. (1 mark)
The kidneys then reabsorb a smaller percentage of water in the collecting duct.(1 mark)
The kidneys thus excrete a larger volume of dilute urine (1 mark)
and the body can lower the water potential of the blood back to normal / get rid of
excess water. (1 mark)
(Total: 13 marks)

2. (a) nephron (1 mark)

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Suggested answers to coursebook exercises

(b) ultrafiltration (1 mark)

(c) In structure A, not only unwanted substances but also useful substances are lost from
the blood to the kidney tubule (structure B). (1 mark)
The arteriole leaving structure A branches into capillaries and envelope structure B so
that useful substances can be reasbsorbed from structure B. (1 mark)
(d) osmoregulation / regulating the water content of body fluids (1 mark)
(e) The glucose content in the blood leaving the nephron is lower than that entering it.
(1 mark)
Although all the glucose is reabsorbed in structure B by active transport, (1 mark)
some glucose is consumed by the functional unit for cellular respiration. (1 mark)
(Total: 8 marks)

3. (a) (i) Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys fail to function properly to remove urea.
(1 mark)
If a patient cannot get rid of urea by receiving treatment regularly, accumulation
of urea to high levels in the blood may result (1 mark)
and would lead to poisoning. (1 mark)
(ii) The dialysis fluid should contain most of the normal blood plasma constituents
except urea. (1 mark)
These constituents in the dialysis fluid should have similar concentrations as
those in the blood plasma. (1 mark)
Such composition and concentration will lead to removal of urea only from the
blood (1 mark)
without losing other useful / wanted substances. (1 mark)
(iii) Use a large number of dialysis tubing (1 mark)
Dialysis fluid and patient’s blood flow in opposite directions. (1 mark)
(iv) Patients using a contaminated kidney machine may be infected with pathogens.
(1 mark)
The risk could be reduced by thoroughly cleaning and sterilising the machine
before used. (1 mark)
(b) (i) Dialysis fluid is run through a tube into the abdominal cavity of the patient, (1
mark)
where the peritoneal membrane acts as a dialysing membrane. (1 mark)
The dialysis fluid is left there for a period of time to absorb waste products, (1
mark)
and then it is drained out through the tube and discarded. (1 mark)
(ii) Difference: Dialysis in kidney machine uses artificial membrane / dialysis tubing
(1 mark)

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 HKDSE Biology – a modern approach 5
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whereas that in peritoneal dialysis uses natural membrane / the peritoneum.

(1 mark)
Similarity: Both involve diffusion for dialysis. (1 mark)
(Total: 18 marks)

4. (a) Plasma osmolarity would increase during vigorous exercise. (1 mark)

It is because the body loses a large amount of water through sweating during exercise.
(1 mark)
Excessive water loss leads to an increase in concentration of solutes in body fluids /
blood (1 mark)
and hence increases the plasma osmolarity.
(b) Antidiuretic hormone is produced in the hypothalamus (1 mark)
and stored in the posterior pituitary gland. (1 mark)
(c) As the plasma osmolarity increases during vigorous exercise, it stimulates the
osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus. (1 mark)
Upon stimulation, the osmoreceptors generate nerve impulses and pass them to the
posterior pituitary gland. (1 mark)
The posterior pituitary gland in turn increases the release of antidiuretic hormone into
the bloodstream. (1 mark)
(d) Antidiuretic hormone increases the permeability of the collecting duct to water.
(1 mark)
As a result, a larger proportion of water is reabsorbed into the blood by osmosis
(1 mark)
and a small volume of concentrated urine is produced. (1 mark)
The plasma osmolarity is thus restored to normal level.
(Total: 11 marks)

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