Biology 30
Homeostasis and the Endocrine System
Information
Major Text: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Inquiry into Biology, Chapter 13.
Required Lab Exercises: (To be done after the readings have been completed)
- Analyzing Endocrine Disorders
Evaluation:
There are three components evaluated in this unit:
The first is an oral assessment which is to be done with a Biology teacher when you are ready. This is a basic facts test on the endocrine system glands and hormones. You will be required to identify endocrine glands on a diagram, identify the hormones secreted by each gland, and give a brief description of what each hormone does.
The second is an exam is to be written in the assessment centre, when you have completed all of the work for this unit. It will cover all of the objectives for these units. You must have your lab write-ups approved by a Biology teacher in order to get test permission.
Finally, there is a mini-project related to the Endocrine system.
Introduction:
You might remember how your heart rate dramatically increased the last time someone scared you, or you were chased by a dog, or you happened to walk by that really attractive person you’ve had your eye on. That change, and others like it were brought about by the hormone adrenaline. Adrenaline is released in your body, when you have to deal with a stressful situation. It causes a number of changes to your body that prepares you to be able to deal with that stress. Adrenaline and many other hormones in your body are part of what is called the endocrine system. Hormones are chemical messengers in the body that bring about changes in your system to deal with stresses of various kinds.
Your body has a way of dealing with many different changes, or stresses. This is called homeostasis – your body’s way of dealing with change so that it maintains a constant internal environment. In these units you will learn how the glands and hormones of the endocrine system help your body maintain homeostasis.
Objectives: When you have completed the learning activities for this unit you will be expected to address the following:
Define Homeostasis and describe an example of how it is maintained in your body. (Read Appendix A – Homeostasis and the Endocrine System – found in this learning guide.
Differentiate between an endocrine gland and an exocrine gland. (Read Appendix A )
Define the endocrine system, endocrine glands, and hormones. (Read page 436)
Differentiate between how the endocrine system and the nervous system maintain homeostasis in the body. (page 437)
Appreciate how early experimenters proved the existence of chemical messengers in the body. (page 438)
Identify and label the major endocrine glands of the body. (page 439)
Explain how target cells are affected by hormones. (page 439)
Differentiate between the action of lipid soluble hormones (steroid hormones) and water soluble hormones (non-steroid hormones). (page 440)
Explain how negative feedback loops control hormone levels in the body. (page 441)
Explain what a tropic hormone is and identify which hormones are tropic ones. (page 441)
List the hormones of the posterior pituitary gland and the effects of each one. (page 444)
List the hormones of the anterior pituitary gland and the effects of each one. (pages 444-445)
Describe the relationship between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. (page 445)
Identify and describe the conditions associated with an imbalance of human growth hormone. (page 445)
Describe the role of the thyroid gland and describe the conditions associated with an imbalance of its hormones. (page 446-449)
Describe the function of the parathyroid gland and the parathyroid hormone. (page 449)
List the hormones of the adrenal medulla and describe the fight or flight response. (pages 451-452)
List the hormones of the adrenal cortex and describe how their actions regulate a long term stress response. (pages 453-454)
Describe how the pancreatic hormones, insulin and glucagon, maintain glucose levels in the body. (pages 456 – 458)
Identify the causes, and treatments for both types of diabetes mellitus. (pages 458-459)
Draw feedback loops to illustrate the control of major hormones in the body. (Read Appendix B – Feedback Loops)
Describe and evaluate technologies associated with the endocrine system. (Read Appendix C – Technologies and the Endocrine System)
Identify endocrine disorders based on urinalysis. (Lab activity)
Learning Activities:
1. You are responsible for all of the information covered in chapter 13 of the textbook as well as Appendices A, B, and C that are attached to this unit. Read this material and take notes as you see fit. Pay attention to bold terms.
2. Do as many of the review questions from the textbook as you find necessary to learn the material. These review questions are a good indicator of how well you understand the material. The following questions should be considered: page 442 1-3, 5, page 450 1-7, page 455 1-7, and page 462 1-5. The chapter review, on pages 464-465 is also helpful. Answers to all text questions can be found here.
3. Vocabulary check: Be able to define the following terms:
endocrine gland hormone hypothalamus pineal gland
pituitary gland pancreas thymus thyroid gland
parathyroid gland adrenal gland ovary testis
tropic hormone ADH negative feedback HGH
thyroxin hypothyroidism hyperthyroidism
TSH goitre calcitonin adrenal medulla
adrenal cortex fight or flight response ACTH
aldosterone islets of Langerhans beta cells alpha cells
insulin glucagon hyperglycemia type1diabetes
type 2 diabetes Addison's disease cortisol glucocorticoid
gonadocorticoid mineralocorticoid cretinism Grave's disease
Grave's disease dwarfism acromegaly gigantism
4. Attend the optional seminars for this topic. The schedule can be found on the white board in the science resource centre. The seminar schedule is also posted on D2L. Left-over seminar handouts may available in the science resource centre.
Endocrine System Presentations
5. If you can’t make the seminar you have another review option. Each topic on D2L has video seminar clips that you can review on your own time. As well, check out the Khan Academy videos and Crash Course videos related to this topic. Links to these are found on D2L. Please note that these videos are not made specifically for Bio 30 in Alberta so in some cases there is more or less information than you need for this course, but they are very helpful for understanding the topic.
Here is a list of the links:
Khan academy endocrine system
Crash Course endocrine system
Homeostasis seminar clip
Adrenal gland seminar clip
Pituitary gland seminar clip
Thyroid and Parathyroid glands seminar clip
Negative feedback seminar clip
Pancreas seminar clip
They can be found here: Endocrine Video Links
6. Perform the following lab activity: Analyzing Endocrine Disorders. Specific instructions are found in the links following. It is recommended that you do the lab after you have done the readings, notes and practice questions. If you have not learned that material yet, you will find the lab write-up difficult.
Analyzing Endocrine Disorders Lab (See below for the link to the video)
7. Complete the self-test that follows in this learning guide. See a teacher to get clarification for any questions you do not understand.
Endocrine System Self Test and Answers
8. When you have all of the glands and hormones learned (including functions of each hormone) go to the bio desk and do an oral assessment of the endocrine system. You will need to be able to identify the different endocrine glands on a diagram, list the hormones associated with each gland, and briefly identify the function of each gland. Here is a link to what the biology teacher will use to evaluate you. Endocrine System Basic Facts Quiz. There is a brightspace version of this test available in the assessment seminar that you can do if you are nervous about doing an oral quiz. It is highly recommended to do this quiz person to person, but you have the option of doing it in the assessment centre if you like. The format is exactly the same. Test permission is required for this.
This is a summary that will help you in preparing for the Endocrine System Basic Facts Quiz. The Endocrine System Review Sheet.
9. If you are ready, bring your labs to a teacher for approval and get test permission for the endocrine system exam.
10. Complete the Endocrine System Mini-Project and submit it into the dropbox on Brightspace. The instructions for this activity can be found here: Endocrine System Mini-Project
.