Year 10 - Science
The human nervous system
Coordination and control: the human nervous system
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores the structure and function of the nervous system, including the CNS, reflex arcs, and the eye. It covers brain structure, common eye defects, and the challenges in treating nervous system damage. It also addresses ethical considerations.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe the parts that make up the human nervous system that enables us to sense and respond to changes.
Key Notes
- The human body has a nervous system that enables us to sense and respond quickly to changes outside and inside the body.
- Examples of stimulus (e.g. increase in temperature) and response (e.g. sweating).
- The structures that make up the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).
- Receptors detect stimuli; they can be single cells (e.g. in the skin) or groups of cells in sense organs (e.g. the eye).
- Sensory neurones join receptors to the CNS; motor neurones join the CNS to effectors that carry out the response.
Vocabulary To Learn
- nervous system: Detects and coordinates a response to changes in internal or external environment.
- receptor: Senses a change in the environment, such as a change in light or temperature.
- stimulus: The change in the environment, such as a sound, touch or light.
- neurone: A nerve cell which transmits electrical impulses between different parts of the body.
- effector: A muscle or gland which carries out a response.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- There are multiple misunderstandings about the nervous system, including the order and function of neurones, the roles of the stimulus, receptor and effector, and the central and peripheral parts.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
The human body has a nervous system that enables us to sense and respond quickly to changes outside and inside the body. Examples of stimulus (e.g. increase in temperature) and response (e.g. sweating).
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'nervous system'
Detects and coordinates a response to changes in internal or external environment. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: There are multiple misunderstandings about the nervous system, including the order and function of neurones, the roles of the stimulus, receptor and effector, and the central and peripheral parts. Correction: The pathway through the nervous system is built up with examples and demonstrated as a flowchart. The roles of the different parts is explained and practised, and distinctions are made between the central and peripheral parts.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Common defects of the human eye Study Guide
- Damage and disease in the human brain, including CT and PET scanning Study Guide
- Damage and disease in the human brain, including fMRI and electrical stimulation Study Guide
- Human reaction time: practical Study Guide
- Neurones and synapses Study Guide
- The human brain Study Guide
- The human eye Study Guide
- The structure and function of a reflex arc Study Guide
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