Topic 13 and 14 1

7 Excretion and osmoregulation

(a) Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62e8IV-WT8c from 0:37 to 1:09
(i) What is the biological term given to ‘getting rid of waste’?
Carbon dioxide

(ii) Why is it important to remove waste from the body?

Because they are toxic for our body

(iii) How is carbon dioxide made in the body?

carbon dioxide is formed from the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and amino
acids, in a process known as cellular respiration

(iv) How is it removed from the body?

Through breathing out

(b) There are 3 major excretory organs, lungs, skin and kidney. Complete the table below.
Name of organ What does it remove?
kidney Water, salt and urea
skin Water, salt, urea + excess heat
lungs Carbon dioxide and water

(c) We have already looked at the function of lungs, liver and skin.
Now we will look into the details of the kidney and see how our body regulates water and salt
balance. Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62e8IV-WT8c from 1:09 to 2:48

(i) How would the body respond if too much water is taken in?
Too much water will cause damage to the cells in the body to swell

(ii) Name 4 substances that move out from blood to kidney.

water salts glucose urea

(iii) Name 3 substances that move from kidney back to blood.

water salts glucose

(iv) Name 3 substances that make up urine.

urea water salts

(v) Name the part that stores urine temporarily.

Bladder

(vi) What makes dilute urine different from concentrated urine?

Dilute urine means the kidney have got rid of a lot of excess water and concentrated urine
Topic 13 and 14 2

means water level on the blood plasma is low so the kidneys have not filtered much of it out
the urine

(vii) State three factors (both internal and external) that affect the urine concentration.
Exercise levels Intake of fluids in SOL Glucose level

(viii)State three ways in which water is lost from our body.

Breathe out in your feces sweat

(ix) Complete the following table to show the change in concentration of urine
How does the volume of urine How does the concentration of
Change
change? urine change?
More physical
decrease increase
activity
On a hotter
decrease increase
day
Drink more
increase decrease
water
Take in salty
increase decrease
food

(d) Why water balance is essential?

Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WakheZsLyw
Use the information in the video and the diagram above to answer the following questions.
(i) What is osmoregulation?
Osmoregulation is the maintenance of constant water levels in the body which is controlled
by the kidneys

(ii) What would happen if there is too much water in the blood?
What is the effect on body function?
Water will move into cells by osmosis, causing them to swell or burs. This is called lysis (kills
the cells), this will be damaged or may not function properly

(iii) What would happen if there is not enough water in the blood?
What is the effect on body function?
Water will move out of cells by osmosis, causing them to shrink, so water moves from the
cells from high to a low concentration, cells maybe damaged or may not function properly

(e) Osmoregulation in human body is another good example of negative feedback control loop.
Topic 13 and 14 3

Too much Automatic control system detects the changeKidney produces

water intake dilute urine

Water level in blood within set limits Water level in blood returns to set limits

Too much Automatic control system detects the change

Kidney produces
water loss concentrated urine

8 Renal system and kidney

(a) Label all parts of the renal system in the diagram below.

Renal vein

kidney

Renal artery
ureter

urethra
bladder

(b) Match the parts in the renal system with the correct function or description.
Part in the renal system Function
bladder stores urine temporarily
Renal artery supplies oxygenated blood to the kidney
ureter carries urine to the bladder
urethra discharges urine out of the body
Kidney contains blood that is low in oxygen and urea

(c) The picture below shows the cross section of kidney. Some labels are given as well.
Topic 13 and 14 4

medulla cortex

pelvis

(c) Label all parts of the kidney in the diagram below. Use the words given on the previous page.

Nephron/ kidney tubule

Renal artery
medulla

Renal vein

cortex
ureter

(d) The functional unit of kidney is called a nephron or kidney tubule. Each kidney is composed of lots of
nephrons. The circled part in the diagram above shows a nephron. The enlarged diagram is shown
below. Watch the video to show the structure and function of a nephron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiNEShg6JTI
Label the following diagram.
Topic 13 and 14 5

1. Renal artery

2. glomerulus

3. renal capsule

4. renal vein

5. Proximal
convoluted tubule

8. collecting duct
6.capillary

7.Loop of henle

Structure Function
Capillaries that filter water, glucose, urea and salts from the blood into the
Glomerulus
kidney tubule
Renal capsule Receives the filtrate (water, glucose, urea and salts) from the glomerulus
Nephron Reabsorb all glucose, all amino acids some water and some salts into the
(Kidney tubule) capillary
Tube that connects different nephrons
Collecting duct
Further reabsorption of water

(d) What happens to the blood as it passes through the kidney?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVlXX-9x7Q (detailed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRZ7VOeIr6g (simplified)
Complete the following table using the words in the diagram below.

Name of process Description

filtration movement of water, glucose, amino acids, urea and salt from blood to the renal
tubule
Topic 13 and 14 6

reabsorption movement of glucose, some water and salt from renal tubule to blood
excretion removal of urea, excess salt and water as urine

Blood = plasma + RBCs and WBCs blood cells

Plasma = water, salts, urea, glucose amino acid, large plasma proteins

1. Blood cells and plasma proteins

stay in the blood and not filtered
2. Water, salts, urea, glucose and
amino acids are filtered into the
renal capsule

3 All glucose, amino acids

and some water and salts
4. Excess water, salts and urea are not
are reabsorbed back to the
reabsorbed and forms urine
blood

(e) The table below shows the changes in concentration of various components.
Blood Proximal Blood
Component in Glomerular Loop of
entering the convoluted Urine leaving the
the blood filtrate Henle
kidney tubule kidney
Amino acid 100% 100% 100% 0% 0% 100%
Plasma protein 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100%
Red blood cells 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100%
Glucose 100% 100% 100% 0% 0% 95%
Urea 100% 100% 90% 90% 90% 10%
Sodium ions 100% 100% 60% 20% 10% 90%
Water 100% 100% 90% 20% 5% 95%
Topic 13 and 14 7

(i)Use arrow to show the movement of each component in the blood

Renal capsule Proximal convoluted Loop of Henle

tubule

Blood
Amino
urine
acid

Plasma urine
protein

Red blood
urine
cell

Glucose urine

Urea urine

Sodium
urine
ions

Water urine

(ii) Justify the direction of arrow with reference to the information in the table.
The first one has been done for you.

Component Justification
Amino acids are small enough to pass through the gaps in the glomerulus.
All amino acids are filtered into the renal capsule.
Amino acid
All are reabsorbed to the blood in the proximal convoluted tubule.
There is no amino acid in the urine.
Plasma protein
Topic 13 and 14 8

Red blood cells

Glucose
Urea
Sodium ions
Water

9 Kidney failure and dialysis

Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Uwy8wIXS4 up to 1:53
(a) Identify two groups of people who are at high risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD).
diabetics, high lood pressure, CVD

(b) Which two substances are present in the urine of people with CKDs?
blood Plasma protein

Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg1GZ0kj878 up to 0:49 to understand the

consequence when kidney stops functioning properly
(c) What is kidney failure?
Kidney fail to function

(d) Name the two methods of managing or treating kidney failure.

Transplant dialysis

(e) What is dialysis?

Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg1GZ0kj878 from 0:49 to 3:56
Follow this link https://www.abpischools.org.uk/topic/homeostasis-kidneys/8

(i) Name the components of a dialysis machine in the diagram below.

Topic 13 and 14 9

Blood thinner

pump

Dialysis fluid

Dialysis machine

Bubble trap

(ii) Why is it important to have a partially permeable membrane but not a freely permeable
membrane?
So large molecules, blood cells or plasma proteins, cannot pass through it

(iii) What is the composition of dialysis fluid?

Same concentration of glucose, amino acid and ions as a healthy person

(iv) Describe the movement of substance across the dialysis membrane.

You may use water as an example.
Osmosis-water
Diffusion- ions

(v) Why is it important to replace the dialysis fluid regularly?

Otherwise the concentration gradient is the same, no filtration would happen. The
concentration gradient should maintain

(vi) Explain how a dialysis machine works. You may use the link
https://www.abpischools.org.uk/topic/homeostasis-kidneys/8

1
2
3
4
5
6
Topic 13 and 14 10

(vii) What are the problems or disadvantages of dialysis?

1 Diet restriction – less salt or sodium ion intake

2 a lot of time
3 tiring
4 expensive
5 infection, blood clotting
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10 Kidney transplant
Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg1GZ0kj878 from 3:56 onwards

(a) What is kidney transplant?

Transfer another person’s kidney to the patient

(b) Each individual has two kidneys.

What are the two types of kidney donors mentioned in the video?
alvie dead

(c) What are the main risks of kidney transplant?

1 rejection
2 immune system attack the body
3 infection
4 no available organs

(d) Why do individuals take in medicine that suppresses the immune system (immunosuppressant)
after the kidney transplant operation?
To prevent the body from rejecting the organs

(e) Complete the table to show the advantages and disadvantages of dialysis and transplant.

Disadvantage of dialysis compared to

Advantage of dialysis over transplant
transplant
Time consuming
Transplant surgery is one off
No diet restriction
There is no need to find suitable donors
The patient may need to wait for a long time to
find the right donor
There is no need to take in immunosuppressant
It is cheaper in long run as the person only
needs to pay for the surgery.
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Summary activity
Go to the link https://www.footprints-science.co.uk/index.php?module=1&type=Kidney&section=Section1&info=6
Watch the animation and attempt all the fill in the blanks questions on the webpage.

Exam style questions on urea and excretion

1 From which organ is urea excreted?

A. kidney B. liver C. lung D. skin

2 In which organ is urea made and by which organ is it removed from the blood?
where made where removed
A. kidney kidney
B. kidney liver
C. liver kidney
D. liver liver

3 What shows the sequence of organs through which urea passes as it travels from where it is produced to
where it is removed from the blood?
A. kidneys → heart → lungs → heart → liver
B. kidneys → heart → liver → lungs → heart
C. liver → heart → lungs → heart → kidneys
D. liver → lungs → heart → kidneys → heart

4 A person has a high-protein diet. What describes the level of urea in the blood leaving the liver and in the
urine leaving the kidneys?
A. B. C. D.
blood leaving liver high urea high urea low urea low urea
urine leaving kidneys high urea low urea high urea low urea

5 Blood is filtered in the kidneys. After this filtration, some substances are reabsorbed into the blood and
other substances pass out of the body in the urine. Which line shows the correct movement of substances
in a healthy person?
substances reabsorbed into the blood substances passed out of the body in the urine
A. glucose, some salts, urea glucose, some salts, some water
B. glucose, some salts, some water some salts, some water, urea
C. some salts, some water, urea glucose, some water, urea
D. some salts, some water, urea glucose, some salts, some water

1 2 3 4 5
Topic 13 and 14 13

2 The diagram below shows the structures in a kidney tubule.

(a) Label the structures A, B, D, E, G and H in the diagram above.

(b) Compare the composition of fluid found in structures H and B.
Complete the following table by naming the substance and state whether it is present or absent.
Substance Blood at H Filtrate at B
Water Present Present
Red blood cells present

(c) Give one function for each of the following structure.

A
B
C
D

(d) The volume of blood filtered by the kidneys is 1.18 dm3 min–1.
(i) Calculate the total volume of blood filtered in 24 hours. Show your working.
Topic 13 and 14 14

(ii) If the total volume of urine produced in 24 hours is 1.7 dm 3, calculate the percentage volume of
the filtered blood excreted as urine in 24 hours. Show your working.

3 The diagram shows changes in the relative concentrations of four substances in the blood plasma. These
changes happen when the blood flows through the renal artery, the capillaries in the kidney and the renal
vein.

(a) Describe and explain the difference in the concentration of urea in the renal vein and in the renal
artery.

(b) Describe and explain the differences in the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide shown in the
diagram.

(c) Describe and explain the changes in glucose concentration shown in the diagram.
Topic 13 and 14 15

4 The diagram below shows how blood and dialysis fluid move through a dialysis machine.

(a) Describe the changes that occur to the blood as it flows through the dialysis machine from A to B.

(b) What is the composition of dialysis fluid?

(c) Explain why red blood cells do not move out from the blood into dialysis fluid.

(d) Discuss three advantages of kidney transplants compared with dialysis.

(e) Discuss three disadvantages of kidney transplants compared with dialysis.

Topic 13 and 14 16

Exam style questions on homeostasis

1 What is an example of homeostasis?
A. breathing in oxygen B. regulating blood glucose
C. removing undigested food through the anus D. urinating to empty the bladder

2 What happens when the body temperature rises above normal?

A. B. C. D.
blood vessels in the surface of skin dilate constrict constrict dilate
sweat production decreases increases decreases increases

3 Capillaries near the surface of the skin become wider after drinking large amounts of alcohol.
Why does this cause the body temperature to drop?
A. It allows heat to be lost rapidly from the skin. B. It causes vasoconstriction.
C. It prevents vasodilation. D. It stops the person from sweating.

1 2 3

4 Complete the following paragraph using appropriate words. Write your answer in the box below.
The blood stream transports a sugar called (1).
The blood sugar level has to be kept constant in the body.

If this level falls below normal, a hormone called glucagon is released into the blood by an endocrine
organ called the (2).The release of a substance from a gland is called (3).Glucagon promotes the
breakdown of (4). to increase the blood sugar level.

If the blood sugar level gets too high, the endocrine organ secretes another hormone called (5) into the
blood. This hormone promotes the removal of sugar from the blood and its conversion to glycogen in the
(6).
The maintenance of blood glucose level within a set limit is an example of (7).

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)