Unit 3 Biology Exam Revision

Hormones – the endocrine system

Endocrine system - hormones
Transported around the body to regulate bodily
functions
Most hormones transported by circulatory system
Hormones are the chemical molecules used to
communicate a message from one part of the body to
another
Transport is via the bloodstream – most hormones
Some act on the cells where they are produced
Some act on nearby cells (extracellular fluid)

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Endocrine system - hormones
Some act on very specific cells and others act on many
Keep a homeostatic, or relatively stable or constant
internal environment, within narrow limits
Core body temperature
Signalling molecules produced by cells and regulate
‘target’ cells, usually located elsewhere in the body
Target cells have receptors that enable them to recognise the
chemical message; other cells ignore the hormone
Endocrine glands
Ductless glands that secrete hormones directly into the
bloodstream
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Endocrine glands
Pineal – melatonin; wake sleep
patterns
Hypothalamus – (just above
pituitary in brain); very many
body functions
Pituitary – control centre
Thyroid – thyroxin; metabolism
Thymus – T-cells; immune system
Adrenal – adrenalin; increases
heart rate
Pancreas – insulin
Ovary/testis – oestrogen,
progesterone/testosterone

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Homeostatic mechanisms
Stimulus – Response model
 The intensity of the stimulus needs to be sufficient enough to reach the
threshold of the receptor
 Stimulus  Effector  Response

Negative feedback systems

 The response produced reduces the effect of the original stimulus
 Blood sugar levels
 Calcium ion levels in the blood

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Negative feedback: Blood sugar levels

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Negative feedback: Calcium ion levels in the
blood

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 Homeostatic mechanisms
Positive Feedback systems – rare homeostatic mechanism
 The response produced increases or enhances the effect of the original
stimulus; moving levels out of the normal range
 Childbirth contractions – when it starts the pituitary produces oxytocin which
causes the uterus to contract and the pitutary to produce more oxytocin
 Blood clotting and fibrin production (this causes blood to coagulate; platelets
activate its production by releasing an enzyme when in contact with the damaged
tissue

Proportional control systems

 Stimulus and response are proportional
 Shivering and ambient temperature

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Hormone types – all via bloodstream
Three chemical types of hormones
Amino acid derivative – eg thyroid hormones
 Made in advance and stored in secretory vesicles till needed
 Leave by exocytosis (water soluble)
 Short lived

Steroid – eg sex hormones; need carrier protein

 Made on demand
 Leave cell by simple diffusion (lipid based; lipophilic)
 Long lived

Peptide and protein (most hormones) – insulin and TSH

 Made in advance and stored in secretory vesicles till needed
 Leave by exocytosis (water soluble)
 Short lived
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Hormone types (signal molecules)
Amino acid &
peptide/protein
Water soluble
 Hydrophilic (lipophobic)
Passes easily through
bloodstream
Can’t pass through target
cell membrane
 Receptor on cell surface
 Needs carrier protein or G
protein (second messenger)
Steroid
Lipid soluble
 Lipophilic (hydrophobic)
Need carrier protein
through bloodstream
Diffuse through target
cell membrane
 Receptor in cytosol
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Cell communication
Signal transduction
the movement of signals from outside the cell to inside
Can be simple, perhaps creating one molecule
Can produce many intracellular events
Can activate a particular DNA sequence
Once the message is delivered, enzymes break it down

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Plant hormones
Responsible for: Move in phloem and
Growth xylem
Buds starting to grow Small amounts
Stem length Found mainly in
Roots growing down Meristem (growing
Stems growing up stems and roots)
Flowers appearing Growing young leaves
Fruit ripening Growing seeds
Ripening fruit

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Plant hormones
Can stimulate or inhibit 5 groups of plant
Produced due to hormones
external factors Auxins
Temperature Cytokinins
Day length Gibberellins
Light intensity Abscisic acid
gravity ethylene

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Auxins
Enlargement and elongation of cells in stems
Lateral and adventitious roots
Promotes flower and fruit growth
Causes specialised cell development
Produced in growing tips of plants
Bending of plant shoots and roots in response to light
and gravity

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Auxins
IAA is an auxin responsible for apical dominance
IAA moves down phloem
Lateral buds are inhibited from developing
Cutting off the growing tip stops IAA production and
lateral buds start growing
Epicormic buds work in a similar way
Tropism: Growth of a plant in response to a stimulus
Positive = growing towards the stimulus
Negative = growing away from the stimulus

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Auxins - phototropism
Growth of a plant stem
towards light (positive)
Auxin moves away from
the light to the dark side
Auxin promotes cell
elongation and growth
This bends the stem
towards the light

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Auxin - geotropism
A seed germinates
Auxin produced in the
stem and root moves
down due to gravity
Stem has a NEGATIVE
response and grows up
Root has a POSITIVE
response a grows
towards gravity

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Cytokinins
Promotes growth; cell reproduction
Growing stems and roots, and developing fruit

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Gibberellins
Eg gibberellic acid
Promotes plant growth
Cell elongation and cell
reproduction
Stems and leaves
Seed germination
Bud development
Juvenile leaves in some
species (eucalyptus)

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Gibberellins
Once a seed is wet,
gibberellin produces
gibberellic acid
This diffuses into cells,
causing DNA to produce
amylase
Amylase starts changing
starch into glucose,
which becomes food for
the embryo

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Abscisic acid
Inhibits growth
Abscission layer
Abscission
Dropping fruit
Falling deciduous leaves
Dormant buds
Closes stomata when
plants are stressed

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Ethylene
Gas
Increases respiration rate
Produced in fruits
Eg bananas, apples
Used to market fruit; uniform ripening
Dying flowers
Blocking ethylene production increases the life of cut
flowers

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Multiple choice questions

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Multiple choice questions
Q1. Signal molecules that pass from one cell to
another in plants include

A – gibberellins that inhibit seed germination

B – ethylene that gives the instruction for fruits to ripen
C – abscisic acid that gives the instruction for leaves to
grow
D – auxin that gives the instruction for stems to stop
growing
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Multiple choice questions
Q1. Signal molecules that pass from one cell to
another in plants include

A – gibberellins that inhibit seed germination

B – ethylene that gives the instruction for fruits to ripen
C – abscisic acid that gives the instruction for leaves to
grow
D – auxin that gives the instruction for stems to stop
growing
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Multiple choice questions
Q2. Hormones can be made of different types of
compounds. These include

A - amino acid hormones that are insoluble in water.

B - steroid hormones, insoluble in water, that act only on the
outer membrane of a cell.
C - protein hormones that bind to receptors on the cell
surfaces.
D - peptide hormones, soluble in water, that act on receptors
in the cytosol of a cell.
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Multiple choice questions
Q2. Hormones can be made of different types of
compounds. These include

A - amino acid hormones that are insoluble in water.

B - steroid hormones, insoluble in water, that act only on the
outer membrane of a cell.
C - protein hormones that bind to receptors on the cell
surfaces.
D - peptide hormones, soluble in water, that act on receptors
in the cytosol of a cell.
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Multiple choice questions
Q3. Testosterone is an example of a steroid hormone.
Testosterone affects only certain cells called target cells. This
is because:

A - testosterone can only cross the plasma membrane of target cells

B – only target cells have the necessary receptors in the cytosol to
which the testosterone can bind
C - only target cells have the necessary receptors on their
membranes to which the testosterone can attach
D - only target cells possess the genes in their DNA that will
respond

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Multiple choice questions
Q3. Testosterone is an example of a steroid hormone.
Testosterone affects only certain cells called target cells. This
is because:

A - testosterone can only cross the plasma membrane of target cells

B – only target cells have the necessary receptors in the cytosol to
which the testosterone can bind
C - only target cells have the necessary receptors on their
membranes to which the testosterone can attach
D - only target cells possess the genes in their DNA that will
respond

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Multiple choice questions
Q4. A student set up an experiment as follows: a very ripe
apple was placed in a sealed plastic bag with 2 unripe
bananas. Another plastic bag was set up as the first, but
without an apple. After a few days the bananas with the apple
had ripened, but the bananas in the other bag had not. The
bananas ripened due to:

A – ethylene gas being given off by the ripe apple

B – methane gas being given off by the ripe apple
C – the increase in temperature due to the decaying apple
D – excess carbon dioxide being given off by the ripe apple

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Multiple choice questions
Q4. A student set up an experiment as follows: a very ripe
apple was placed in a sealed plastic bag with 2 unripe
bananas. Another plastic bag was set up as the first, but
without an apple. After a few days the bananas with the apple
had ripened, but the bananas in the other bag had not. The
bananas ripened due to:

A – ethylene gas being given off by the ripe apple

B – methane gas being given off by the ripe apple
C – the increase in temperature due to the decaying apple
D – excess carbon dioxide being given off by the ripe apple

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 Multiple choice questions
Q5. In mammals the parathyroid gland secretes parathyroid hormone (PTH).
PTH regulates the concentration of calcium in blood plasma. PTH increases the
amount of calcium in blood plasma by causing calcium to move from bone to
the plasma, and by assisting the uptake of calcium from the alimentary canal.
PTH also stimulates the kidney to activate vitamin D. Calcium concentration in
plasma acts directly, in negative feedback, to regulate the amount of PTH.

It would be expected that

A – increased PTH production results in reduction of vitamin D activation

B – reduced PTH production results in increased calcium in the faeces
C – sustained overproduction of PTH results in strengthened bones
D – high levels of blood calcium stimulate release of PTH

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 Multiple choice questions
Q5. In mammals the parathyroid gland secretes parathyroid hormone (PTH).
PTH regulates the concentration of calcium in blood plasma. PTH increases the
amount of calcium in blood plasma by causing calcium to move from bone to
the plasma, and by assisting the uptake of calcium from the alimentary canal.
PTH also stimulates the kidney to activate vitamin D. Calcium concentration in
plasma acts directly, in negative feedback, to regulate the amount of PTH.

It would be expected that

A – increased PTH production results in reduction of vitamin D activation

B – reduced PTH production results in increased calcium in the faeces
C – sustained overproduction of PTH results in strengthened bones
D – high levels of blood calcium stimulate release of PTH

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 Multiple choice questions
Q6. In humans the thyroid gland produces the hormone thyroxin that
controls basal metabolic rate. Iodine (from the diet) forms part of the
thyroxin molecule. The pituitary gland produces a hormone, thyroid
stimulating hormone (TSH) that stimulates the production of thyroxin
by binding to a receptor on the surface of the thyroid gland. When the
level of thyroxin rises above a certain level it inhibits the production of
TSH.
One can conclude that a person whose diet is deficient in iodine:
A – would produce more thyroxin to compensate
B – would produce little thyroxin and little TSH
C – would be expected to have a higher than normal level of TSH in their blood
D – would produce a form of thyroxin that was less efficient than normal iodine
containing thyroxin
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 Multiple choice questions
Q6. In humans the thyroid gland produces the hormone thyroxin that
controls basal metabolic rate. Iodine (from the diet) forms part of the
thyroxin molecule. The pituitary gland produces a hormone, thyroid
stimulating hormone (TSH) that stimulates the production of thyroxin
by binding to a receptor on the surface of the thyroid gland. When the
level of thyroxin rises above a certain level it inhibits the production of
TSH.
One can conclude that a person whose diet is deficient in iodine:
A – would produce more thyroxin to compensate
B – would produce little thyroxin and little TSH
C – would be expected to have a higher than normal level of TSH in their blood
D – would produce a form of thyroxin that was less efficient than normal iodine
containing thyroxin
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Short answer question 1
 Thyroxin is a hormone produced by the thyroid
gland that increases the metabolic rate of most cells
a. What is a hormone?
b. What is one possible way of measuring an increasing
metabolic rate of cells? Explain your answer.

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Short answer question 1
 Thyroxin is a hormone produced by the thyroid
gland that increases the metabolic rate of most cells
a. A hormone is a chemical produced by an endocrine
gland that is released into the bloodstream or other
body fluids where it moves to target cells
b. Measuring an increase in oxygen uptake; an increase
in metabolic rate means an increase in aerobic
respiration to produce more energy, and hence an
increase in oxygen

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Short answer question 2
 A hormone was produced in one cell, entered the
bloodstream and travelled to two groups of cells
adjacent to each other. One group of cells responded to
the hormone but the neighbouring group did not.
What is the most likely reason for this difference in
response by cells to the same hormone?

Cells with the receptors specific for the hormone respond

to this hormone. Only one group of cells had these
receptors. The other group had receptors, but not for this
hormone
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Short answer question 3
Consider one hormone you have studied this year that
is transported through the blood to one or more types
of cells.
a. Name the hormone
b. Name the tissue or gland that produces the hormone
c. Explain what the term ‘signal transduction’ refers to
d. What is the outcome as a result of signal
transduction in the cells that were targets for the
hormone you chose for part a?

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Short answer question 3
Suggested answers
a. Hormone b. Tissue or gland d. Signal transduction outcome
(examples) producing hormone
Insulin Pancreas (beta cells) Liver/skeletal muscles take up more glucose
Glucagon Pancreas (alpha cells) Liver cells release glucose or break down
glycogen
ADH Hypothalamus Cells in kidney tubules reabsorb more water

c. Signal transduction refers to the series of events that occur after the
receipt of a specific signal and which result in a response

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Short answer question 4
A general signal transduction pathway is shown in the
following figure. Some of the parts of the pathway are
labelled.

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Short answer question 4
a. M represents a compound which could initiate signal
transduction. Give an example of compound M
b. The initiation of signal transduction in a cell is
controlled and specific. Explain what feature ensures
this specificity
c. What type of molecules generally act as intermediate
or relay molecules?
d. Name a response in the cell which may occur after
signal transduction initiated by the compound M
you have named in part a.
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Short answer question 4
a. Hormone (could be a specific answer like glucagon)
b. The structures of the hormone and the receptor were
complementary; they fit together
c. cyclicAMP or more general responses such as
different proteins, different enzymes or secondary
messenger molecules
d. Eg an increase or decrease in protein synthesis or
(conversion of glycogen into glucose)

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Short answer question 5
The diagram shows a young plant growing with a sufficient
supply of nutrients in normal light.
a. What type of growth response is being shown by this
plant?
Some VCE students were asked to perform an experiment to
test the effect of lack of sunlight on the growth of a
sample of seeds of the same plant.
b. Name one controlled variable that students should keep
constant.
c. Name the one experimental variable that students
should change.
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Short answer question 5
a. Positive phototropism
b. Any of: temperature, number of seeds; nutrients
c. Amount of light

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