Homeostasis Experiment

P5 – Explain the concept of homeostasis

The main idea of homeostasis is to maintain a constant environment inside the body. This will happen by controlling specific systems throughout the body and keeping the body in the natural environment. Negative feedback can take place by external influences having a negative impact; homeostasis will then make the body react to the authorities by correcting it to the healthy environment. Negative feedback is how homeostasis keeps this system throughout the body in balance.

The process of negative feedback occurs when the receptors in the body detect something wrong or off balance; this then will tell the receptors to send a message to the effectors, the effectors then will cause a reaction in the body back to the healthy environment. Homeostasis continually maintains the climate of four systems; Heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature and blood sugar levels. An example of homeostasis is; when bacteria enter the body, which can cause illness, the lymphatic systems kick in to help maintain homeostasis. It will work to fight the infection before it can cause any harm, this will ensure the body remains healthy. Another example is the maintenance of healthy blood pressure; the heart can sense changes in the blood pressure, which will cause it to send signals to the brain, which will then send back signs telling the center how to respond. If blood pressure is too high, the center should naturally slow down, but if it is too low, the center will want to speed up.

Heart rate

The circulatory system is made up of blood vessels, such as arterioles and arteries; these vessels will take blood which has been oxygenated from the heart to the thin-walled capillaries where the exchange of oxygen and nutrients will take place, and ships and veins return the deoxygenated blood to the core. Then, the Nutrient molecules leave the capillaries to be made to the cells, and waste molecules are transferred off by the cells, and they are received by the capillaries to get rid of. Capillaries thrive in all parts of the body; blood is composed into two components: formed elements and plasma.

All the produced ingredients will go to homeostasis; oxygen is consumed throughout cellular respiration, this is a process that provides energy for metabolic activities. The body will fight infection to keep the unharmed and will prevent it from giving way to diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. The wastes given off by cells and nutrients needed are carried in plasma. Nutrients leave the plasma through capillaries.

Body temperature

The body can keep an average body temperature of 37° C. The metabolic activity of cells is the heating system of the body as cellular reactions give off heat as a side-effect. When the body is resting, body heat is produced mainly by the heart, liver, brain, and endocrine glands but when the muscles are active they produce many times the heat generated by these. So, increased muscle activity, such as by rubbing hands or stamping feet are used as a short-term measure to raise body temperature.

Breathing rate

When the body breathes in air, oxygen is inhaled into the alveoli of the lungs this is where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Blood will pass through to the capillaries; oxygen is then diffused into the blood, and carbon dioxide then diffuses out of the blood into the alveoli. Carbon dioxide is exhaled by moving from the alveoli to the nose. As the blood within the pulmonary vein is oxygen-rich and holds a lower concentration of carbon dioxide, the carbon dioxide has been exported for oxygen as blood passes through the lungs.

The respiratory centre will repeatedly release nerve impulses to the diaphragm and the muscles of the rib cage. When the respiratory system stops sending out nerve impulses, the rib cage and the diaphragm return to their original positions and then exhalation occurs.

M2 – Discuss the probable homeostatic responses to changes in the internal environment during exercise

When exercising takes place, different changes occur in the body to try to deal with the difference in the background and the reaction that happens in the body. Homeostasis is for the process of the body to maintain a relatively consistent. The nervous system sends and receives signals about temperature, hydration and blood pressure.

The endocrine system carries chemical messengers to adjust bodily functions. During exercise, the body’s internal environment is changed and placed under a considerable amount of stress. Through homeostatic, the body can maintain a healthy internal environment and will be able to return to normal after exercise ends quickly. The homeostatic mechanisms respond to exercise with changes in the heart rate, oxygen, respiration, carbon dioxide clearance, blood pressure, consumption and body temperature.

During exercise, the body requires more oxygen and soft removal of carbon dioxide, for this to happen, the respiratory system responds to changes in breathing rate. The cardiovascular system modifies the heart rate, blood pressure and capillary beds to keep the body temperature around thirty-seven degrees and blood pressure around 120/80mmhg.

P6 – Follow guidelines to interpret collected date for heart rate, breathing rate, and temperature before and after a standard period of exercise

• Raw Data
• Exercise results Resting rate
• Step 1 Exercise rate
• Step 2 Recovery rate
• 2nd Exercise rate  2nd Recovery rate
• Breathing rate 80 140 94 146 86
• Pulse rate 26 34 29 30 31

M3 – Present data collected before and after a standard period of exercise concerning the validity

D2 – Evaluate the importance of homeostasis in maintaining the healthy functioning of the body

Homeostasis is maintaining a constant internal environment within the body, which can adjust to extreme external conditions. Cold-blooded organisms are unable to manage and regulate their internal body temperature so when they become too cold; they are slower than usual. This means that ectotherms, rely on external factors such as the sun to regulate their temperature. On the other hand, warm-blooded organisms can control and maintain their body temperature by carrying out exercise. Due to homeostasis, both the nervous and endocrine system will maintain a core body temperature, resulting in shivering when it is too cold at low temperatures or if the temperature rises, sweating.

During exercise, we can maintain body temperature as the human body sweats to cool down. There will be a decrease in the production of urine as water from the organization has been lost. ATP is produced from the stores of glucose, therefore breathing becomes faster which will provide the body with more oxygen and heart rate will increase meaning that blood can be pumped around the body at a faster rate. The body can maintain the temperature, even if the body is surrounded by extreme conditions, e.g., a snowstorm, or extreme heat, this is due to homeostasis. If the body were in severe weather, homeostasis would occur to ensure that we survive.

The agency would start to sweat, and the process of cooling down the agency will take place, vasodilation. If the human body were in a snowstorm, the organization would start to shiver to produce heat. Also, vasoconstriction will happen, to raise the body temperature, if homeostasis didn’t occur, this would cause an issue, and the body would not be able to recognize the change or respond to the changes.

If the human body is in sweltering conditions for an extended period, the enzymes in the body will start to denature, and this in will result in the body cells dying, hyperthermia. Due to this homeostatic mechanism will stop working and so the hypothalamus can no longer function. If there is a significant amount of sweat, too much salt may be lost from the body, making ions in the blood fall out of balance, leading to cramps in the muscles. This extreme heat can also affect the messages from the brain to both the nerves and spinal cord slowing them down. Dehydration may also occur, meaning that the kidneys will hold on to urea and ammonium, however, this can be dangerous, as these toxins need to be removed. The heart may also start to beat faster as it needs to maintain blood pressure. Therefore blood vessels will dilate.

If the body was exposed to extreme freezing conditions, homeostasis still might not work. Hypothermia is defined as when the core body temperature drops to below the normal for bodily functions to be carried out efficiently, so chances of survival would decrease. Shivering may occur. However, this may not work, and so when hypothermia gets more severe, it will stop. Heart rate and breathing rate will decrease. If there were no action taken to support homeostasis, then the body would eventually shut down, resulting in death.

A non-stop supply of glucose is required by the body to carry out normal metabolism. This glucose is then converted to ATP. B – Cells of Langerhans are stimulated, releasing insulin into the blood if the blood glucose levels rise, leading to a decrease in these levels. The opposite then happens if blood glucose levels fall. The A – cells of Langerhans, releases glucagon into the blood, rising blood glucose levels. About blood glucose, if there was a homeostatic imbalance, it could result in Type one diabetes. Type one diabetes is when beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed, therefore, preventing the body from producing enough insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. This is also known as hyposecretion of insulin. If blood glucose levels get too low, then hypoglycemia may occur. Diabetes can also lead to long-term complications such as heart disease, stroke or kidney disease. Diabetes is an example of what may happen if the homeostatic mechanism fails.

References

• https://www.livestrong.com/article/369714-how-does-the-body-maintain-homeostasis-in-response-to-exercise/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pre_2011/homeostasis/importancerev1.html