Homeostasis & Body Systems

Mind Warmer
Mind
Warmer
(5 min)

Use the
picture to
help you
answer
the Qs.
Mind Warmer (5 min)
Part 1
Directions for Part 1
🡪 It is the end of gym class. You have exercised all period.
As a result, your body feels very hot.

Q1) How does your skin react when you feel very HOT?

🡪 It is in the middle of winter. It is snowing!

You are waiting at the bus stop outside. You feel cold.

Q2) How does your body react when you feel very COLD?
Information for #3
When it is hot, your body SWEATS to cool off.

After your body is cooled

down to the right temperature,
your body stops sweating.

In other words:
Body is cooled down?
Body will stop sweating.
When it is cold, your body SHIVERS to warm up.

After your body is warmed

up to the right temperature,
your body stops shivering.

In other words:
Body is warm enough?
Body will stop shivering.
Sweating and shivering are examples of how your
body maintains homeostasis.

*Homeostasis- keeping a stable (balanced) environment

inside the body even when outside conditions are
constantly changing.
Part 2
How can you show “homeostasis” using a graph?

Use the mini story to help you PREDICT what the graph
will look like. Draw your prediction on your paper.
Part 3 - Information
If it’s too hot, you sweat. But if it’s too cold, you shiver. This is
called negative feedback. Your body is going against a change.

-Body temperature rises? Body sweats & temperature lowers.

-Body temperature decreases? Body shivers & temperature rises.
What a graph of homeostasis (or negative feedback) looks like:

The data is always

changing, but wants to be
as close to ONE number
as possible.

In this case, the number is

represented by the
horizontal line going
through the middle of the
graph.
Continued… (What homeostasis graph looks like…)

The graph for homeostasis goes

up & down, like a roller coaster.
And that is how you are able to keep your body
temperature as close to 37℃ (= 98.6℉) as possible.

No matter if you are in icy

Antarctica or the hot desert, your
temperature is supposed to be
close to 37℃ or 98.6℉.

The only time your temperature is

NOT close to those temperatures is
when someone is sick or dead!!
NOTE about units. 37℃ = 98.6℉

They are the

same temperature.

It’s like saying

1 foot = 12 inches = 30 centimeters.
 Note about Negative vs Positive Feedback.
Negative Feedback Positive Feedback
This is HOMEOSTASIS. This is NOT homeostasis.

Your body is going against a change. Your body is going WITH the
change. (A little change causes
MORE of the same change.)
Examples For example
1) Too cold? Your body doesn’t like it & will
warm up. 1) Platelets are blood cells that help
with healing. If you get a cut,
2) Too little glucose (sugar) inside your
platelets will go to the cut. A little bit
blood? Your body doesn’t like that & will
release more glucose into your of platelets will cause MORE
bloodstream. platelets to go to the cut site.
Key words- think...

Homeostasis = balance = stable

Negative feedback = dynamic equilibrium
Dynamic equilibrium - the data changes, but stays
close to one number

Dynamic = always changing

Equilibrium = balanced

The graph for body temperature

DOES change, but tries to stay as close
to 37℃ as possible.
 Homeostasis is an example of “regulation”
Regulation = one of the life processes

*regulation- reacting to an outside stimulus

A stimulus is something that causes a reaction.

In the example below, the stimulus is the hot stove.

The response is pulling your hand away from the stove and saying “Ouch.”

You’ll need to respond to

outside conditions in order to survive.
Part 4
1) What does the Y-axis show? Are the units in degrees C or F?

2) What does the X-axis show?

3) How many days did you collect data for?

4) Did your body temperature stay exactly the same during the 3 days?
(For example, did you only get one number: 37℃ every time you took
your temperature?)

5) What does the dotted line represent?

Part 5
Let’s look at another example of homeostasis.
You learn that body temperature is just ONE of the things about
your body that need to stay within a certain range (level)

Other examples that need to stay within a range include:

-blood pressure
-heart rate
-pH level
-amount of water in your cells
-amount of glucose in your blood
-amount of oxygen in your cells
Part 6
Information: Our blood can have different levels of
glucose (sugar).
This disgram shows how your body changes after
you eat food. These body changes help you keep a
balanced glucose level inside your blood.
People can check how much glucose there is in
their blood using a glucose meter.
Graph for Part 6 - This graph shows the changes in
a person’s blood glucose levels throughout the day
Insulin is a hormone (type of protein molecule) that helps us regulate
(control) the amount of glucose inside our bloodstream.

[NOTE: Another
hormone called
glucagon is released
when there is too little
glucose.

Glucagon & insulin

do OPPOSITE things.]
After you eat, your blood
glucose level increases.

This causes your

pancreas to release
insulin.

The insulin helps to

decrease the amount of
glucose in your blood.
In other words:

Eat food →
Glucose levels increase →
Pancreas releases insulin →
glucose levels in blood decrease
“What if your body does not release insulin?”

“Without insulin, the glucose levels would be out of control.

Some people are not able to produce insulin.People who are not able
to produce insulin have a condition called diabetes. In those cases,
diabetics need to inject themselves with insulin.”
1 more graph & diagram
Compare the graph of a person with diabetes.

The yellow strip/area

represents the
“NORMAL range” for blood
glucose levels.

[“what it should be”]

The white line in the
bottom represents a
person who does NOT
have diabetes.)

The green dashed

line represents a
person who has Type
1 diabetes.)
Conclusion-

What does this

diagram show?