1 Interaction, a life process Living things interact with each other and the world around them in many ways.
For example, these fish are interacting
with the shark. They help it to keep clean by eating parasites.
In order to interact with other living things
and with our surroundings, we need to receive information about them. We use our senses to get this information. Which organs make up the nervous system? The brain Nerves It receives information and They connect the spinal cord then sends a message to to our muscles, joints and skin. a part of the body to tell it how to react. Motor nerves transmit messages our brain sends It is made up of the to the muscles, joints and cerebrum, the cerebellum skin. and the brainstem. Sensory nerves receive messages from the muscles, joints and skin The spinal cord and send them to the It connects the brain to the brain. rest of the body. How does the nervous system work?
The nervous system is made up of millions of neurons, which receive and
transmit messages from different parts of the body and from the brain.
Neurons are star-shaped. They consist of a
cell body, a long extension called the axon and shorter, thin fibres called dendrites.
To transmit messages, they create nerve impulses
(electrical signals). Cell body: It controls the neuron. Creates impulses. Axon: It transmits the impulses to other neurons. Dendrites: They receive nerve impulses from other neurons. How do we see? The iris is made of small muscles. It opens The retina is made of and closes the pupil. nervous tissue arranged in thin layers The pupil is a small of cells that detect hole that lets light into light and colours. They the eye. send information to the optic nerve. The cornea covers and protects the iris and The optic nerve is the pupil. connected to the brain. It transmits The lens is a transparent, oval-shaped information from the structure that focuses light onto the retina. retina. It’s located behind the pupil and the iris. How do we hear? Sound waves go into our ear and hit the eardrum. As a result, the When the eardrum vibrates. eardrum vibrates, it makes the small bones inside the ear vibrate, too.
The cochlea detects the vibrations and
produces nerve impulses. The auditory nerve transmits these impulses to the brain. Then the brain interprets the information. How do we taste and smell? Smells are made up of gases in the air. When air goes into your nose, the gases go into your nasal passages. The olfactory cells detect the gases and send nerve impulses to the olfactory nerve. It transmits the impulses to the brain and the brain interprets the information.
The tiny, pink bumps on your tongue are called tastebuds.
They can detect special chemicals in the things that you eat and drink. The chemicals mix with saliva and then the tastebuds detect them. The tastebuds produce nerve impulses and transmit them to the gustatory nerves. These nerves then transmit the impulses to the brain, which interprets the information. How can we keep our nervous system healthy? You should look after your brain and your muscles, because the nervous system is responsible for movement, breathing and your heartbeat. Keeping your brain healthy Keeping your muscles healthy
• You should exercise it for example by • Do regular exercise. This
doing puzzles or playing thinking guarantees a regular supply of games. blood and oxygen to your muscles. • You can also train your memory and solve mathematical or linguistic • By doing exercise, you’re also problems. exercising your heart and lungs. • It’s also important to rest your brain. Have enough hours of sleep. • A balanced diet is also important for a healthy brain. • You should also drink lots of water.