Homeostasis

• What is the definition of homeostasis?

  Homeostasis is the regulation of the internal conditions of a cell or organism to maintain optimum conditions for function in response to internal and external changes.
• Why do enzymes require stable conditions to function properly?

  Because unstable conditions can hinder their catalytic activity.
• What are the key internal conditions that homeostasis regulates in the human body?

  • Blood glucose concentration
  • Body temperature
  • Water levels
• What are the two systems that can be involved in automatic control systems in the human body?

  The nervous system and hormones.
• What are the general features of an automatic control system?

  • Receptor cells detect changes (stimuli)
  • Information is sent to a Coordination Center
  • Coordination Center processes information
  • Instructions are sent to an effector
  • Effector carries out the response
• What is the role of receptor cells in an automatic control system?

  Receptor cells detect changes in the environment.
• What is a stimulus in the context of homeostasis?

  A stimulus is a change to the environment that is detected by receptor cells.
• What is the function of a Coordination Center in an automatic control system?

  The Coordination Center receives and processes information from receptor cells.
• What is an effector in the context of homeostasis?

  An effector is a muscle or gland that carries out the response to restore optimum levels.
• How do the components of an automatic control system work together to maintain homeostasis?

  • Receptor cells detect stimuli
  • Coordination Center processes the information
  • Effector executes the response
  • Together, they maintain stable internal conditions