1.2.2 Nerve Cells

Nerve Cells

1.2.2

Draw

On the chart, use the pen tool to identify which color/feeling matches you today. You can identify more than one if you'd like!

Objectives

Learners can:

• explain how neurons transmit messages through the body

• model a neuron

• cell

• nucleus

Prerequisite Vocab

• nerve

• neuron

New Vocab

Vocabulary

a bundle of neurons

Nerve

a cell that sends an electrical signal

Neuron

A neuron is a cell that sends an electrical signal. This function is an important part of an organism's ability to perceive and respond to its environment.

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Neuron

Parts of a Neuron

​The central part of the neuron contains the nucleus.

Cell Body

​The nucleus contains the cell's genetic material, or DNA.

Nucleus

Dendrites receive communications from other cells.

Dendrites

Nerve signals travel along the axon away from the cell body.

Axon

The myelin sheath insulates the axon and allows nerve signals to travel faster and more efficiently.

Myelin Sheath

The axon terminal connects the neuron with other neurons to create a network throughout the body.

Axon Terminals

Multiple Choice

Neurons have two ends. Nerve signals travel from the end of one neuron to the beginning of another. What terms are used for these ends?

• axon terminals and nucleus

• nucleus and cell body

• axon terminals and dendrites

• dendrites and nucleus

Sensory neurons carry nerve impulses from tissues and organs to the brain.

Sensory

Motor neurons carry nerve impulses from the brain to muscles and glands.

Motor

Relay neurons carry nerve impulses back and forth between sensory and motor neurons.

Relay

​Types of Neurons

Reorder

Drag to correctly order the steps that occur in the neurons when reacting to a stimulus, such as touching something hot.

• Receptors in your hand register that the item is hot.

• Sensory neurons carry the message of heat to the spinal cord.

• Relay neurons in the spinal cord select an appropriate response.

• A response is communicated to the motor neurons, which causes a reaction in your hand.

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• 1
• 2
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Nerve Impulse

Individual neurons are often bundled together into nerves. It is along the nerves that the body sends signals in the form of electrical impulses. These impulses are called nerve impulses. Within the nerve, these electrical signals pass through each individual neuron to send communications throughout the body. The impulse passes through the axon of neurons in a similar way to how people form a "human wave."

The fastest nerve impulses travel at a speed of about 100 meters per second. However, some nerve impulses are much slower. For example, the impulses that carry messages about warmth, cold, and aches travel at about one meter per second.

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Nerve Impulses

Labeling

Label the neuron based on prior knowledge or just using a good old fashioned educational guess!

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

axon terminals

myelin sheath

axon

nucleus

cell body

dendrites