Homeostasis and Behavior Interactive Lesson

Homeostasis and Behavior Interactive Lesson

by Stephen Lopez

​What is behavior?

​A stimulus is anything that causes a reaction or change in an organism.

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​A response is an organism's reaction to a stimulus.

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​A set of actions taken by an organism in response to a stimulus is called a behavior.

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​Homeostasis is maintaining a stable balance in the body.

Multiple Choice

The lemur leaf frog is active at night and has large eyes to improve it's vision. This is an example of a ____ to a stimulus.

• hormone

• response

• migration

• hibernation

​How are stimuli detected?

​Multicellular organisms have sensory cells in their bodies that detect specific stimuli.

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​Sensory receptors are found in sensory organs.

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​Sensory organs include eyes, nose, skin, whiskers, and ears.

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​Sensory receptors are sensitive to changes in specific stimuli.

Multiple Choice

A Venus flytrap has sensory hairs that detect when an insect lands on it. The plant then snaps shut due to the ___.

• hormone

• behavior

• taxis

• stimulus

​Where do responses come from?

​When an animal's sensory receptors detect stimuli, they send messages along the nervous system.

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​The brain interprets the information and sends signals along the nerves to tell the body how to respond.

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​Responses are also caused by hormones.

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​A hormone is a chemical signal produced in one part of an organism that affects cell activity in another part of the organism.

Multiple Choice

Moles live underground in total darkness. How do they feel their way around and find food with their poor vision?

• Sensitive whiskers

• Large claws

• Sharp teeth

• Great hearing

​What is an external stimulus?

​An external stimulus is any stimulus that comes from outside the body of an organism and influences the behavior of the organism.

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​Taxis is the movement of organisms toward or away from an external stimulus.

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​Tropism is the movement of a plant in response to an external stimulus, such as light or gravity.

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​Phototropism is a plants response to light, geotropism is it's response to gravity.

Multiple Choice

An animal scratches a flea bite to relieve irritation and remove the flea, preventing further blood loss. The animal is responding to an...

• Internal Stimulus

• Instinct

• External Stimulus

• Hormone

​What is an internal stimulus?

​An internal stimulus is a stimulus that comes from inside an organism's body.

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​Hunger and thirst are examples of internal stimuli.

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​Certain internal stimuli are controlled by hormones.

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​In animals, hormones are released into the bloodstream by the endocrine system.

Multiple Choice

Plants have tiny openings called stomata, which they open and close in response to the movement of water out of cells. This is an...

• Learned Behavior

• External Stimulus

• Internal Stimulus

• Instinct

​How does homeostasis work?

​To maintain homeostasis, organisms must constantly respond to external and internal stimuli.

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​Homeostatic responses allow individual cells or complete body systems to function properly.

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​If the body cannot maintain homeostasis, illness or disease may occur.

Multiple Choice

How do humans maintain stable body temperature in hot weather?

• By sweating

• By shivering

• By crying

• By sleeping

​Fight or Flight Response

​When faced with a threatening stimulus such as a predator or natural disaster, organisms display the fight-or-flight response.

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​Increased heart rate, anxiety, decreased blood supply to certain muscles, release of hormones and chemicals all occur during the fight-or-flight response.

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​These changes give the body a burst of energy and strength, which allows an organism to physically fight or run away in times of danger.

Multiple Choice

Humans have been known to perform incredible feats of strength, speed, and agility in times of danger. How is this possible?

• Super Saiyan powers

• It's a mystery

• Rapid gain of muscle mass

• Increased heart rate and release of hormones

​Migration

​Animals that live in environments where it is difficult to survive year-round will move to environments where conditions are more favorable for survival.

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​Migration is triggered by external stimuli such as colder conditions or lack of food.

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Multiple Choice

Humpback whales move between cold, northern waters where they feed and warm, southern waters where they give birth. This is an example of...

• Hibernation

• Migration

• Fight-or-Flight

• Estivation

​Hibernation

​A deep sleep during which an animal slows down its body processes to save energy is called hibernation.

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​Hibernation is triggered by external stimuli such as cold, dark conditions.

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​When internal processes slow down during hot, dry weather, it is called estivation.

Multiple Choice

Some animals will eat as much as they can during warmer months then enter a deep sleep in colder months when food is scarce to conserve energy. This is known as...

• fight-or-flight

• migration

• hibernation

• estivation

​What behaviors help plants survive environmental changes?

​Some plants have specialized structures, such as bulbs, to store food.

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​During dormancy, a plant conserves energy and stops growing.

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Multiple Choice

Why do trees drop their leaves in the winter?

• To conserve energy

• To expend more energy

• To move to a new location

• To transform into a new species of tree