Describe how the body uses negative feedback to regulate blood glucose levels.

When blood glucose is high, insulin is released to help cells take up glucose. When blood glucose is low, glucagon is released to cause the liver to release glucose into the blood.

Explain the difference between negative and positive feedback loops, providing an example of each.

Negative feedback counteracts a change to bring a system back to a set point (e.g., temperature regulation). Positive feedback amplifies a change (e.g., childbirth contractions).

What is Homeostasis?

9th Grade•40 minutes•IGCSE Biology 14.4

Learning Objective

I can define homeostasis and explain its importance for maintaining stable internal conditions.

Key Concepts

Homeostasis is the state of balance in the body, ensuring that conditions like blood pH, blood glucose, and internal body temperature remain within a certain range.

In negative feedback, a variable triggers a counteracting response to return to a set point, while in positive feedback, the variable is intensified instead of counteracted.

An example of positive feedback is the birth of a human baby, where pressure on the cervix leads to more hormone release and stronger uterine contractions.

Practice Questions

This lesson includes 7 practice questions to reinforce learning.

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1. Define homeostasis in your own words.

2. Explain why maintaining a stable internal body temperature is important for humans.

3. Which of the following is an example of negative feedback?

...and 4 more questions

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Homeostasis and Negative/Positive Feedback

Amoeba Sisters

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Key Concepts

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