How the Body Stays in Balance · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

How the Body Stays in Balance

Science · The Human Body · ages 12-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which organ releases insulin when blood glucose rises?

    • Liver
    • Pancreas
    • Stomach

  2. What does homeostasis mean?

    • Keeping internal conditions steady
    • Growing taller during puberty
    • The brain sending signals to muscles

  3. Nerve signals are electrical and fast, while hormone signals are chemical and slower.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Count the steps shown in this blood sugar feedback loop.

    Eat sugarGlucose upInsulin outGlucose down

    Answer: ______________

  5. Maria eats a candy bar and her blood glucose rises. What does her pancreas do?

    • Releases insulin to raise glucose even higher
    • Stops sending any signals until she eats again
    • Releases insulin so cells take up the extra glucose

  6. Which situation relies on the nervous system rather than the endocrine system?

    • Pulling your hand back from a hot stove
    • Slowly controlling blood sugar for hours after a meal
    • Managing water balance over an entire day

  7. If a person's cells stop responding well to insulin, what would happen to their blood glucose feedback loop?

    • The nervous system would take over and fix it instead
    • Insulin would immediately raise glucose even more
    • Glucose would stay high because cells can't absorb it properly

  8. Deshawn says his body only reacts when he's cold, using shivering, and does nothing to cool down when he's hot. Is he right?

    • Yes, the body only ever reacts to cold
    • No, sweating also cools the body when it gets too hot
    • No, the body stops regulating temperature once it gets hot
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Answer key

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

How the Body Stays in Balance W1-mt_J40cOn7VWn-s1

  1. Pancreas · The pancreas senses the rise in glucose and releases insulin to bring it back down.
  2. Keeping internal conditions steady · Homeostasis is your body keeping things like temperature and blood sugar steady, no matter what is happening outside.
  3. True · Nerves fire quick electrical signals. Hormones travel through the blood, which takes longer to act.
  4. 4 · Four steps: eating sugar, glucose rising, insulin release, and glucose dropping back down.
  5. Releases insulin so cells take up the extra glucose · Insulin signals cells to absorb glucose from the blood, which lowers the glucose level back toward normal.
  6. Pulling your hand back from a hot stove · Reflexes need speed, so the nervous system's fast electrical signals handle them. Hormones are better for slower, longer jobs.
  7. Glucose would stay high because cells can't absorb it properly · If cells cannot respond to insulin, the feedback loop cannot bring glucose back down, so it stays high.
  8. No, sweating also cools the body when it gets too hot · Homeostasis works both ways. Shivering warms the body when it's cold, and sweating cools it when it's hot.
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