EXPLAIN HOW SOME

ORGANISMS MAINTAIN
STEADY INTERNAL
CONDITIONS THAT POSSES
VARIOUS STRUCTURES AND
PROCESSES
 Through Homeostasis and Feedback Mechanism

• Homeostasis is the process of ensuring that a multi-cellular

organism's body remain at a steady internal environment,
despite drastic changes in the external environment.
•
An example of this is temperature regulation in humans. When the
heat or cold sensors on the skin detect that the temperature has change,
it sends signals to the brain to make changes right away. If the external
temperature is high, the body sweats. If it is cold, the skin and blood
vessels constrict to preserve as much heat as possible.
A feedback mechanism is a physiological regulatory system that
either returns the body to a normal internal state (homeostasis)
or, less commonly, brings an internal system further away from
homeostasis.

normal internal state (homeostasis)- can be thought of as an

organism’s fight to stay alive

Two mechanisms exist – negative and positive mechanism

Homeostasis- is the ability of ecological systems to maintain
stable system properties despite perturbations. Properties of
systems reflect the system as a whole and are not solely
determined by the identity of the species in the system.
Homeostasis is a common trait of complex systems.

Is there PLANT HOMEOSTASIS?-Yes plant maintains

homeostasis as animals do . They can undergo
osmoregulation ,thermoregulation and excretion.
A. Osmoregulation in Plants: it's mechanism varies in
different types of plants.
1. In hydrophytes , they release exceed of water to prevent
osmotic flooding through stomata , thin cuticle and broad
leaves.
Examples of
hydrophytes plants
 2. In xerophyte , they survive in harsh conditions having small
leaves , waxy, leathery, shiny cuticle, shed their leaves in driest
weather, stem is used as photosynthetic organ.

B. Thermoregulation in Plants:

Warm temperature; plants have several adaptation to prevent

its enzymes from denaturation.
1. They adopt evaporative cooling through stomata and cool
its body.
2. They have heat shock proteins which embrace enzymes to
prevent them from damage.
Cold temperature:
1. These plants form unsaturated fatty acids .
2. As well adapt very cool cytoplasm to prevent its cells
from crystal formation and damaging of lipids and
proteins of plant cell.

unsaturated fatty acid

a fatty acid, the carbon chain of which possesses one or mo
re double or triple bonds (for example, oleic acid, with one d
ouble bond in the molecule, and linoleic acid, with two); calle
d unsaturated because it is capable of absorbing additional 
hydrogen.
Example of
xerophytes
C. Excretion in Plants:

Plants can remove nitrogenous wastes through large vacuoles,

bulbs ,leaves (excretophore; deposit pigments and heavy chemicals
in it which shed of in winter season on yellowing), old
xylem( annual rings), roots.
Homeostasis in plants includes the regulation of carbon dioxide
and water levels necessary to perform photosynthesis. It also
allows plants cells to store the proper amount of water in their
cells to help keep them from wilting and dying during times of
drought.
Plants are typically dependent on photosynthesis to produce
energy to maintain their biological processes.
Photosynthesis is a chemical process performed by plants in
which sunlight is converted into energy.

Stomata- performed by these cells during photosynthesis

(a form of homeostasis)
• which are commonly found on the outer surface of
plants. Stomata open to allow sunlight and carbon
dioxide to enter the cell, while releasing oxygen
produced by photosynthesis. Plant cells lose a
portion of their water content while the stomata
are open, leaving the plant susceptible to
dehydration.
Special guard cells surrounding the stomata react to chemical
changes in their physiology and may inflate to allow water and
gas exchange from the stomata to the environment, or deflate
to protect the stomata and prevent excess water loss.
ANIMAL HOMEOSTASIS
Why is it important for some organisms maintain steady
internal conditions that possess various structures and
processes?

Ans. It is important for some organisms to maintain steady

internal conditions because this mechanism makes them
survive or live. Without this mechanism, they will die. A living
organism should have balance in their internal and external
environment in order to live. They should have stability/
homeostasis.
To maintain homeostasis, your body adapts two types of
feedback mechanisms:
1. POSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM  Positive
Feedback can be explained by an example. When you
have a cut on your finger, positive feedback contributes
to the rapid formation of a platelet plug in an injured
blood vessel.  The injured area attracts platelets, and
each of these platelets secretes chemicals that attract
more platelets.  Thus, many platelets accumulate
quickly and together these platelets plug the hole in the
injured blood vessel and prevent excessive blood loss
A positive feedback loop keeps the stimulus in the same
direction and presumably speeds up the action.
2.NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM  Your body
responds to hot and cold environments, and these
responses help you to keep your body temperature from
rising too high, and falling too low respectively.  These
body responses are an example of negative feedback.
Negative feedback occurs when a change in a regulated
variable triggers a response which reverses the initial
change and brings the regulated variable back to the
set point.
Positive Feedback mechanism in plants

1. Ripening of fruits
2. In most plants, this process is driven by sunlight – acting as
a positive feedback mechanism to hold the stoma open.
3. Droughts become more intense due to
a positive feedback loop. When there isn’t enough
rain, plants die off, which limits how much water vapor is
added to the air from the planet’s surface.
Negative Feedback Mechanism in Plants

1.Plant responses to water limitations

2.Plants adapted to arid environments complete short life
cycles during brief rainy seasons 
3. Plants also respond to loss of water by closing their
stomata as quickly as possible 
 Positive Feedback vs Negative Feedback (8 Key Differences)
Characteristics:
Definition:
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
The positive feedback mechanism is a pathway that in
response to a deviation in the output causes the output to
change even more in the direction of the initial deviation.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

A negative feedback mechanism or loop is a pathway

stimulated by the deviation in the output, which causes
changes in output to the direction opposite to the initial
deviation.
Effect on the homeostasis

A positive feedback mechanism breaks down the

homeostasis system of the body.

A negative feedback mechanism works to maintain

the conditions of homeostasis in the body.
Occurrence

The positive feedback mechanism is less common

and occurs in specific situations.

The negative feedback mechanism is more

common and occurs in different organs and systems in
the body.
Stability

The positive feedback mechanism is less

stable.

The negative feedback mechanism is more stable.

Effect

In a system with a positive feedback mechanism, the

effective input is increased by the addition of actual
input with the feedback signal.

In a system with a negative feedback mechanism, the

effective input is decreased as the feedback signal
inhibits the actual input.
External interruption

A positive feedback mechanism might require an external

interruption.

A negative feedback mechanism doesn’t require an external

interruption.
Changes

IN POSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM -It enhances the

change in physiological factors.In

IN NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM -It resists

changes in physiological factors.
Examples

Positive feedback mechanism in nature is

observed during childbirth in humans and during
the ripening of fruits.
Negative feedback mechanism is observed during
thermoregulation and maintaining the blood
glucose level.
Steps / Process / Mechanism of Positive Feedback Mechanism
The process of a positive feedback loop consists of a control
system that consists of various components, working in a circular
pathway to stimulate or inhibit one another. The overall process
can be described in terms of the components of the system.

1. Stimulation
 The first step in the positive feedback loop is the stimulation that sets off
the loop in order to complete a process.
 The stimuli in the human body are mostly hormones released by different
organs as a result of the initiation of a process.
 An example of a stimulus that initiates a positive feedback mechanism is
the contraction during childbirth.
2. Reception
 The second step in the loop is the reception of
the stimuli through different sensors that send
the information to the control unit.
 These receptors are mostly nerves that send
the signal from the site of stimulus to the
control unit, which in humans is the brain.
 
3. Processing
 The next step in the loop is the processing of
information sent to the control unit by the receptors.
 The control unit tallies the information to check if the
stimulus is outside the normal range of the value and
presents an output.
 In the case of childbirth, the brain receives
information about the contractions in the uterine wall
and then stimulates the secretion of the hormone
oxytocin by the pituitary gland.
4. Further activation of the stimuli
 The information from the brain is sent to the site of action via
different nerves in order to induce an output in response to
the stimulus.
 In the case of the positive feedback loop, the signals from the
brain tend to activate the stimulus even further in the
direction of deviation.
 The stimulation of the pituitary gland to release oxytocin,
which further increases the contractions of muscles in the
uterine wall during childbirth is an example of this process.
Examples of Positive Feedback Mechanism
1. Menstrual cycle
 At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the ovaries release
the hormone estrogen. The estrogen acts as a stimulus for the
positive feedback loop.
 The information is sent to the brain, which then stimulates the
release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone from the
hypothalamus and luteinizing hormone from the pituitary.
 The release of follicle-stimulating hormone finally results in
ovulation, and eventually, the menstrual cycle begins.
 This is an example of a positive feedback mechanism as the
increase in one factor induces the movement of the output in
the same direction until the task is completed
2. Childbirth
Normal childbirth is driven by a positive feedback loop. A positive
feedback loop results in a change in the body’s status, rather than
a return to homeostasis.
 Positive feedback mechanism in humans is also observed during
childbirth which is induced by the pressing of the ovarian wall
by the baby.
 The pressing sensation is passed to the brain via different
nerves, and in response, the brain stimulates the pituitary to
produce oxytocin.
 Oxytocin is responsible for the contractions of the uterine
muscles which cause the movement of the fetus towards the
cervix, further increasing the stimulus. 
 The positive feedback loop continues until the baby is born.
 Steps / Process / Mechanism of Negative Feedback
Mechanism

The process of negative feedback mechanism is similar to the

positive feedback loop as the process is activated by stimuli,
which eventually leads to changes that tend to nullify those
stimuli. The overall process can be described as below:

1. Stimulation
 The first step of the negative feedback loop is the generation
of stimuli as a result of the deviation of physiological
parameters from the normal value. The deviation of
physiological parameters can occur at either extreme.
 The deviation might either require the activation or
inhibition of different physiological activities of the body
to maintain the normal state.
 The most common and easily understood stimulus is the
change in body temperature away from the normal limit.
2. Reception
 The changes in the physiological parameters are received by
the control unit via different receptors present in different
parts of the body.
 Some of the common receptors involved in the transmission
of stimulus include nerves and other thermoreceptors.
3. Processing
 The control unit of the loop is the brain which first determines if the
change in the physiological parameter requires activation of inhibition
of the loop.
 Depending on the direction of deviation, the brain sends out signals to
undo the changes via different mechanisms.
 In the case of changes in body temperature, the group of cells in the
hypothalamus of the brain acts as the control unit.
4. Counteract on the stimulus
 As the final step of the loop, the control unit sends out signals to
nullify the effects causing changes in the physiological factors.
 The changes can be of different types and directed towards
different parts of the body. The information is sent to different
organs via the nervous system.
 In the case of a decrease in body temperature, the hypothalamus
sends out signals resulting in shivering, constriction of blood
vessels, and behavioral changes like curling up.
 These activities result in an increase in body temperature, which
then inhibits the loop, and the process is complete until the body
temperature decreases again.
Examples of Negative Feedback Mechanism
1. Regulation of blood glucose level
 The level of glucose in the blood is controlled by a negative
feedback mechanism.
 If the blood glucose level increases beyond the normal range, more
glucose is absorbed in the intestine and stored in the form of
glycogen in the liver.
 The conversion and conservation are controlled by the release of
insulin from the pancreas.  The hormone insulin stimulates the
muscles and liver to uptake the glucose.
 If the blood glucose level decreases and more glucose is required in
the blood, the release of insulin is inhibited, reducing the
absorption of blood glucose.
2. Temperature regulation
 Regulation of body temperature by endotherms is another classic
example of a negative feedback mechanism in the human body.
 When the temperature of the body increases beyond normal, the
brain signals different organs of the body like the skin to release
heat in the form of sweat.
 These physiological activities eventually the temperature to drop
down to a point where the pathways of the negative feedback
mechanism shut down.
 A similar process occurs if the body temperature increases beyond
the normal value in order to maintain homeostasis.
Quiz
1. Which of the following represents negative
feedback?
A. Blood platelets release chemicals that attract more blood
platelets when then fill a wound
B. One bird fleeing a predator spurs three birds, which in turn
scares the whole flock
C. In producing an amino acid, the enzyme a cell uses is
inhibited after the amino acid reaches a specific concentration
C is correct. The first two systems represent positive feedback.
As a few individuals start to react, many more are encouraged to
react. These systems result in reactions that go to completion in
one direction. For example, the entire flock will fly away or the
entire wound will be sealed. In the third case, the product
regulates the pathway. This means that the cell will not expend
too much energy and will produce just the right amount of the
product it needs.
2. Bees control the temperature of their hive in an
interesting way. When the temperature gets too hot,
certain bees release a signal to the rest of the colony to
begin a specific behavior. The bees evaporate water from
their mouths and fan their wings to significantly decrease
the temperature. As it cools, the colony resumes its normal
activities. Which of the following terms describes this
scenario?
A. Positive Feedback
B. Negative Feedback
C. Enzyme Inhibition
B is correct. This is an example of negative feedback. The stimulus
produces a reaction in the bees which lowers the stimulus. In turn,
the pathway is eventually shut off. Remember that feedback
mechanisms can be a part of systems of all sizes, from chemical
pathways to the activities of entire groups of organisms.
3. You are reaching into a hot stove to grab your dinner.
Your finger slips off the hot pad, and touches the scalding
hot dish in the oven. A signal is sent to your brain, which
tells your arm to contract. When your finger stops burning,
your arm can relax. What does this scenario represent?
A. Negative Feedback
B. Positive Feedback
C. Fight or Flight response
A is correct. Again, the stimulus that caused the reaction is
removed through the process. This is negative feedback. The
fight or flight response may be involved, but remember that
even these processes must be controlled by some form of
feedback, or else they would continue forever. The negative
feedback mechanism allows the system to reset after a
stimulus, which at the cellular level allows for preparation for
another stimulus to react to.