GENERAL BIOLOGY 2

NAME: ___________________________________ GRADE LEVEL: ____

SECTION: _________________________ DATE: __________

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

MAINTAINING STEADY INTERNAL CONDITIONS

Background Information for the Learners (BIL)

The tendency to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment is

called homeostasis. The body maintains homeostasis for many factors in addition to
temperature. For instance, the concentration of various ions in your blood must be kept steady,
along with pH and the concentration of glucose. If these values get too high or low, you can
end up getting very sick.

Homeostasis is maintained at many levels, not just the level of the whole body as it is
for temperature. For instance, the stomach maintains a pH that's different from that of
surrounding organs, and each individual cell maintains ion concentrations different from those
of the surrounding fluid. Maintaining homeostasis at each level is key to maintaining the body's
overall function.

So, how is homeostasis maintained? Let's answer this question by looking at some
examples.

Maintaining homeostasis
Biological systems like those of your body are constantly being pushed away from their
balance points. For instance, when you exercise, your muscles increase heat production,
nudging your body temperature upward. Similarly, when you drink a glass of fruit juice, your
blood glucose goes up. Homeostasis depends on the ability of your body to detect and oppose
these changes.

Maintenance of homeostasis usually involves negative feedback loops. These loops

act to oppose the stimulus, or cue, that triggers them. For example, if your body temperature
is too high, a negative feedback loop will act to bring it back down towards the set point, or
target value, 98.60F or 37.0∘C.

How does this work? First, high temperature will be detected by sensors—primarily
nerve cells with endings in your skin and brain—and relayed to a temperature-
regulatory control center in your brain. The control center will process the information and
activate effectors—such as the sweat glands—whose job is to oppose the stimulus by bringing
body temperature down.

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 Image credit: modified from Homeostasis: Figure 1 by OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 4.0

Of course, body temperature doesn't just swing above its target value—it can also drop
below this value. In general, homeostatic circuits usually involve at least two negative feedback
loops:
• one is activated when a parameter—like body temperature—is above the set point and is
designed to bring it back down.
• the other is activated when the parameter is below the set point and is designed to bring it
back up.
To make this idea more concrete, let's take a closer look at the opposing feedback loops
that control body temperature.

Homeostatic responses in temperature regulation

If you get either too hot or too cold, sensors in the periphery and the brain tell the
temperature regulation center of your brain—in a region called the hypothalamus —that your
temperature has strayed from its set point. For instance, if you’ve been exercising hard, your
body temperature can rise above its set point, and you’ll need to activate mechanisms that cool
you down. Blood flow to your skin increases to speed up heat loss into your surroundings, and
you might also start sweating so the evaporation of sweat from your skin can help you cool off.
Heavy breathing can also increase heat loss.

Image showing temperature regulation in response.

Image credit: Homeostasis: Figure 4 by OpenStax College, Biology, CC BY 4.0

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Disruptions to feedback disrupt homeostasis.
Homeostasis depends on negative feedback loops. So, anything that interferes with the
feedback mechanisms can—and usually will! —disrupt homeostasis. In the case of the human
body, this may lead to disease. Diabetes, for example, is a disease caused by a broken feedback
loop involving the hormone insulin. The broken feedback loop makes it difficult or impossible
for the body to bring high blood sugar down to a healthy level.

To appreciate how diabetes occurs, let's take a quick look at the basics of blood sugar
regulation. In a healthy person, blood sugar levels are controlled by two hormones: insulin and
glucagon. Insulin decreases the concentration of glucose in the blood. After you eat a meal,
your blood glucose levels rise, triggering the secretion of insulin from β cells in the pancreas.
Insulin acts as a signal that triggers cells of the body, such as fat and muscle cells, to take up
glucose for use as fuel. Insulin also causes glucose to be converted into glycogen—a storage
molecule—in the liver. Both processes pull sugar out of the blood, bringing blood sugar levels
down, reducing insulin secretion, and returning the whole system to homeostasis.

Image credit: modified from The endocrine pancreas: Figure 2 by OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 4.0

Glucagon does the opposite: it increases the concentration of glucose in the blood. If
you haven’t eaten for a while, your blood glucose levels fall, triggering the release of glucagon
from another group of pancreatic cells, the α cells. Glucagon acts on the liver, causing glycogen
to be broken down into glucose and released into the bloodstream, causing blood sugar levels
to go back up. This reduces glucagon secretion and brings the system back to homeostasis.

Diabetes happens when a person's pancreas can't make enough insulin, or when cells in
the body stop responding to insulin, or both. Under these conditions, body cells don't take up
glucose readily, so blood sugar levels remain high for a long period of time after a meal.
This is for two reasons:
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• Muscle and fat cells don't get enough glucose, or fuel. This can make people feel tired and even
cause muscle and fat tissues to waste away.
• High blood sugar causes symptoms like increased urination, thirst, and even dehydration.
Over time, it can lead to more serious complications.

Positive feedback loops

Homeostatic circuits usually involve negative feedback loops. The hallmark of a
negative feedback loop is that it counteracts a change, bringing the value of a parameter—such
as temperature or blood sugar—back towards it set point.

Some biological systems, however, use positive feedback loops. Unlike negative
feedback loops, positive feedback loops amplify the starting signal. Positive feedback loops
are usually found in processes that need to be pushed to completion, not when the status quo
needs to be maintained.

A positive feedback loop comes into play during childbirth. In childbirth, the baby's
head presses on the cervix—the bottom of the uterus, through which the baby must emerge—
and activates neurons to the brain. The neurons send a signal that leads to release of the
hormone oxytocin from the pituitary gland.

Oxytocin increases uterine contractions, and thus pressure on the cervix. This causes
the release of even more oxytocin and produces even stronger contractions. This positive
feedback loop continues until the baby is born.

Normal childbirth is driven by a positive feedback loop

Image credit: Homeostasis: Figure 2 by OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 4.0

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Osmotic Balance
Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a membrane in response to osmotic
pressure caused by an imbalance of molecules on either side of the
membrane. Osmoregulation is the process of maintenance of salt and water balance (osmotic
balance) across membranes within the body’s fluids, which are composed of water, plus
electrolytes and non-electrolytes. An electrolyte is a solute that dissociates into ions when
dissolved in water. A non-electrolyte, in contrast, doesn’t dissociate into ions during water
dissolution. Both electrolytes and non-electrolytes contribute to the osmotic balance. The
body’s fluids include blood plasma, the cytosol within cells, and interstitial fluid, the fluid that
exists in the spaces between cells and tissues of the body. The membranes of the body (such as
the pleural, serous, and cell membranes) are semi-permeable membranes. Semi-permeable
membranes are permeable (or permissive) to certain types of solutes and water. Solutions on
two sides of a semi-permeable membrane tend to equalize in solute concentration by movement
of solutes and/or water across the membrane.

As seen in figure 1.1. a cell placed in water tends to swell due to gain of water from the
hypotonic or “low salt” environment. A cell placed in a solution with higher salt concentration,
on the other hand, tends to make the membrane shrivel up due to loss of water into the
hypertonic or “high salt” environment. Isotonic cells have an equal concentration of solutes
inside and outside the cell; this equalizes the osmotic pressure on either side of the cell
membrane which is a semi-permeable membrane.

https://opentextbc.ca/biology/wp-content/uploads/sites/96/2015/03/Figure_41_01_01.jpg
Figure 1.1. Cells placed in a hypertonic environment tend to shrink due to loss of water. In a
hypotonic environment, cells tend to swell due to intake of water. The blood maintains an
isotonic environment so that cells neither shrink nor swell. (credit: Mariana Ruiz Villareal)

The body does not exist in isolation. There is a constant input of water and electrolytes
into the system. While osmoregulation is achieved across membranes within the body, excess
electrolytes and wastes are transported to the kidneys and excreted, helping to maintain osmotic
balance.

Why Are the Kidneys So Important?

Most people know that a major function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and
excess fluid from the body. These waste products and excess fluid are removed through the
urine. The production of urine involves highly complex steps of excretion and re-absorption.
This process is necessary to maintain a stable balance of body chemicals.

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 The critical regulation of the body's salt, potassium and acid content is performed by
the kidneys. The kidneys also produce hormones that affect the function of other organs. For
example, a hormone produced by the kidneys stimulates red blood cell production. Other
hormones produced by the kidneys help regulate blood pressure and control calcium
metabolism.
The kidneys are powerful chemical factories that perform the following functions:
• remove waste products from the body
• remove drugs from the body
• balance the body's fluids
• release hormones that regulate blood pressure
• produce an active form of vitamin D that promotes strong, healthy bones
• control the production of red blood cells

LEARNING COMPETENCY

Explain how some organisms maintain steady internal conditions.

(STEM_BIO11/12-IVi-j-2)

ACTIVITY NO. 1: FACT OR BLUFF?

Analyze each statement below. If the statement is correct write FACT and give your
reason. If it is incorrect, write BLUFF and underline the word/words that makes the statement
incorrect and write the correct answer on the line provided after the statement.

__________1. The tendency to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment is

called homeostasis. ____________________________________
__________2. Maintenance of homeostasis usually involves negative feedback loops.
____________________________________________
__________3. The normal body temperature of a human being is 98.8 0C.
____________________________________________
__________4. When an individual strenuously exercise, his body temperature can reach
below the set point. ____________________________________
__________5. Glucagon decreases the concentration of glucose in the blood.
______________________________________________
__________6. Diabetes happens when a person’s pancreas cannot make enough insulin.
______________________________________________
__________7. Positive feedback loop amplifies the starting signal.
______________________________________________
__________8. Oxytocin increases uterine contraction. _____________________________
__________9. The neurons send a signal that leads to release of the hormone oxytocin from
the pituitary gland. _________________________________________
__________10. The body maintains homeostasis for many factors in addition to temperature.
_____________________________________________________

Guide Questions:
1. What does homeostasis mean and how does it work?
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2. Why is the endocrine system important in homeostasis?
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3. How does homeostatic disruption/imbalance affect the body? Cite an example of the
resultant complications that may occur.
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ACTIVITY NO. 2. FILL IN!

Study the diagram below. Label the corresponding box into an appropriate action.
Choose the answer from the box below.

Skin and brain sense change Rise in body temperature

Skin makes sweat and blood vessels dilate Command from the brain

How do hormones influence life’s processes?

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