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Tiny hairs on the skin can be raised and lowered by small muscles to help keep us warm.

Biology - Messages in the Body (AQA)

Your body sends messages in two ways: speedy nerve impulses and slower hormones in the blood. Together they keep your conditions steady, even when the environment changes.

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Fascinating Fact:

Hormones are chemical messengers in the blood, made by endocrine glands such as the pituitary and pancreas.

In GCSE Biology (AQA), you compare nervous and hormonal communication. You learn how endocrine glands release hormones into the bloodstream to control blood glucose, growth, metabolism, and the menstrual cycle.

Key Terms

Hormone: A chemical messenger carried in the blood that affects the activity of specific target organs.
Endocrine gland: A gland that releases hormones directly into the bloodstream, such as the pituitary or pancreas.
Target organ: An organ whose cells have receptors for a particular hormone and respond to it.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is a hormone in GCSE Biology?

In GCSE Biology, a hormone is a chemical messenger produced by an endocrine gland, transported in the blood, and used to coordinate and control body processes.

How are hormones different from nerve impulses?

Nerve impulses travel quickly along neurones and act on specific cells, while hormones move more slowly in the blood and can affect many target organs for longer periods.

Which glands produce hormones in the human body?

Important endocrine glands include the pituitary gland, thyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands, ovaries in females, and testes in males, each releasing different hormones.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

The central nervous system in humans is made up from what?

Only the spinal cord

Only the brain

Both the spinal cord and the brain

The spinal chord, brain and relay neurones

When a receptor is stimulated it sends a signal along the nerve cells - neurones - to the brain which co-ordinates the response, unless it is a reflex action

2 .

What do we call the type of neurone that sends a message from the central nervous system to a gland?

Sensory

Relay

Motor

Axial

The message tells the gland to secrete a hormone

3 .

In a reflex action, what do we call the type of neurone which allows the message from the receptor to go directly to the effector without needing to go to the brain first?

Sensory

Relay

Motor

Axial

This makes reflex actions much faster, helping to protect the body from damage

4 .

The messages are transmitted across the gap from one nerve cell to another. Which of the following pairs of words give the name for the gap and how the messages are transferred from one nerve cell to the next?

Dendrite, chemical

Dendrite, electrical

Synapse, chemical

Synapse, electrical

There are two things that could lead you to the wrong answer here. Many students confuse dendrite and synapse. The signals travel through nerve cells as electrical impulses but between nerve cells by chemicals called neurotransmitters. Many students assume that the the messages passing through the nervous sytem are entirely electrical

5 .

Which of the following statements about the nervous system and hormones is incorrect?

When compared to control via the nervous system, hormones act faster but their effects last longer

When compared to control via the nervous system, hormones act more slowly and their effects last longer

The effectors of the nervous system are muscles or glands, the effectors for hormones are target cells, tissues and organs

The response of control by the nervous system is a muscle contraction or hormone secretion, the response to hormones is a chemical change in the body

A lot of reading for that one! The nervous system is much faster than the endocrine system (hormone system) because the messages travel through the nerves as electrical impulses

6 .

Which of the following statements about insulin is correct?

Insulin is secreted by the liver and transported to the pancreas where it changes sugar into starch

Insulin is a catalyst that destroys glucose in the blood

Insulin is a hormone that helps to regulate the water content of the blood

Insulin is secreted by the pancreas and it stimulates cells in the liver to convert glucose into glycogen

People with diabetes either don't produce insulin, don't produce enough insulin or their insulin receptors don't work, so their blood sugar levels can drop too low or go too high. Some of these people can control it by careful eating whilst others need to have insulin injections. Most insulin for diabetics to use is now made from genetically modified bacteria rather than taken from cow or pig pancreases, as it used to be

7 .

What are the missing words in the correct order from this description of a reflex action?

1. A ______ detects a stimulus.
2. A sensory neurone sends impulses to a ______ neurone.
3. A motor _______ sends impulses to an effector.
4. An effector produces a ________.

sensory, effector, relay, response

receptor, relay, neurone, response

finger, motor, sensory, receptor

receptor, neurone, response, receptor

The relay neurone bypasses the brain, ensuring that the reflex action occurs as quickly as possible

8 .

When you are too hot or too cold, the brain sends nerve messages to the skin to do several things. Which one of the following is not a response used to control body temperature?

Tiny hairs on the skin can be raised and lowered by small muscles

Blood vessels in the skin can be dilated or contracted

Glands in the skin are stimulated to release greater quantities of natural oils onto the surface of the skin

Glands in the skin are stimulated to release sweat

Raising the hairs will trap air close to the surface of the skin. Trapped air is a good insulator. Opening the blood vessels gets rid of excess heat carried by the blood, that is why you look 'flushed' during and after exercise

9 .

Why is it important to maintain an even temperature of 37^oC for the human body?

It is a nice temperature to be at

It is an easy temperature to maintain

When life first started, that was the temperature of the Earth

The enzymes in the body work most efficiently at that temperature

The body can work at higher or lower temperatures but only for a while. If the temperature of the body drops to below 35^oC, hypothermia sets in, when it drops below 28^oC it is very serious and death can occur. A fever is when the body temperature is higher than normal, fevers of over 41.5^oC can be fatal but a fever is usually a response to illness and will pass as your body recovers

10 .

The main method of controlling the amount of water in the body is via the kidneys. How does this happen?

A hormone is used to send a message to the kidney to excrete more water

Nerve impulses from the brain are used to send a message to the kidney to excrete more water

Both of the above

No message is needed, it will happen automatically

The hormone that regulates the water content of the blood is ADH. It is made in the pituitary gland and the target organ is the kidneys. A nerve impulse is used but it is between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland which is why the second option is incorrect

Author: Kev Woodward (PGCE, Science & Chemistry Teacher, Quiz Writer)