The Stress Response: Fast Nerves, Slow Hormones and the Cost of Staying On · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Alarm now, cope later: the two arms of stress

Science · The Human Body · ages 21-22
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Where does cortisol come from during stress?

    • The adrenal medulla
    • The pancreatic islets
    • The adrenal cortex

  2. Which division of the nervous system drives the fast stress arm?

    • Parasympathetic
    • Sympathetic
    • Somatic

  3. Adrenaline acts in seconds while cortisol builds over minutes to hours.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. The danger is over. Which shift restores the body?

    • Cortisol stays high to keep fuel mobilized
    • The parasympathetic division takes charge again
    • The adrenal medulla keeps firing adrenaline

  5. Why does cortisol damp the immune response during a crisis?

    • To save energy for the immediate threat
    • To destroy infected tissue before it spreads
    • To raise heart rate directly

  6. Why does cortisol act slower than adrenaline?

    • It must travel through the gut first
    • It is stored only in muscle tissue
    • It is a steroid acting largely through gene regulation

  7. The same stress response is useful briefly and harmful when sustained, because damage comes from staying on.

    Circle one:   True   False

  8. A student says months of stress keep immunity sharp and healing quick. What is wrong?

    • Chronic activation suppresses immunity and slows healing
    • Short stress never affects immunity at all
    • Cortisol cannot change blood fuel levels
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Alarm now, cope later: the two arms of stress W1-mt_4ZxCU21ziH-s1

  1. The adrenal cortex · ACTH from the pituitary tells the adrenal cortex to release cortisol.
  2. Sympathetic · Sympathetic fibres fire the alarm: heart, lungs, and the adrenal medulla together.
  3. True · Amine signals hit surface receptors fast, and steroid signals work slower through genes.
  4. The parasympathetic division takes charge again · Rest and digest returns control, reopening immune and repair work.
  5. To save energy for the immediate threat · Inflammation costs fuel, so cortisol pauses it until the threat passes.
  6. It is a steroid acting largely through gene regulation · Steroid signals change gene activity, which takes minutes to hours to show.
  7. True · Short alarm plus recovery helps, while a stuck switch drives the exhaustion costs.
  8. Chronic activation suppresses immunity and slows healing · A response that never switches off borrows from repair without repaying.
Worksheet · LightMySky