D.P.S.

MIS DOHA QATAR

Class X
BIOLOGY NOTES

Control and Coordination - I

1. What are Neurons ?
Neurons are the fundamental units and are specialized cells of the nervous system. They
use electrical and chemical signals for transferring information and are specialised in
conducting information.
2. What do you mean by a Stimulus?
Stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment.
3. What is a Response ?
The reaction of an organism to a specific stimulus.
4. Define Receptors.
Receptors are specialized tips of the nerve fibres that collect the information to be
conducted by the nerves. They are usually present in the sense organs.
5. Name the receptors for taste and smell respectively.
Gustatory receptors help us to detect taste and olfactory receptors help us to detect smell.
6. Define a Nerve Impulse.
The information passing through a neuron in the form of electrical and chemical signals is
known as a Nerve Impulse.
7. How is information conducted through a neuron?
or
Explain how the nerve impulse travels inside the body.
i) All information from the environment is detected by specialized tips
(dendrites) of some nerve cells.
ii) These receptors are usually located in our sense organs. The information
acquired by the dendrites sets off a chemical reaction that creates an electrical
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impulse. This impulse travels from the dendrite to the cell body and then along the
axon to its end.
iii) When the impulse reaches axon ending neuro-transmitters are released.
iv) These chemicals cross the synapse and start a similar electrical impulse in the
dendrite of the next neuron.
8. What is a reflex action? Explain with an example.
It is an accurate, unconscious, involuntary, automatic and instantaneous response to a
stimulus.
E.g.: Hand is withdrawn when it accidentally touches a hot object.
The pathway taken by a stimulus to travel from receptor organ to the effector organ is known as
reflex arc.
STIMULUS
RESPONSE

RECEPTOR ORGAN
EFFECTOR ORGAN

(motor neuron)

(sensory neuron)
SPINAL CORD

9. Write the advantages of a Reflex Action?

a. It enables the body to give quick responses to harmful stimuli, thus protecting the body.
b) Minimises overloading of brain.
c) Efficient way of functioning in the absence of true thought processes.
10. Explain the types of nerves.
a) Sensory Nerve : it is formed by the union of sensory nerve fibres and transmit sensory
impulses from the receptors to brain or spinal cord i.e the CNS
b) Motor Nerve: It is formed by the union of motor nerve fibres and transmit motor
impulses from brain or spinal cord i.e from the CNS to different parts of the body.
11. What is the role of control and coordination in an organism?
Multicellular organisms consists of a number of components i.e. organs or tissues,
each specialised to perform a particular function. Most activities need simultaneous and
sequential functioning of number of organs
E.g. During feeding- 1. Eyes locate food. 2. Nose smells it. 3. Hands pick up food 4.
Mouth opens to receive food 5. Teeth and muscle masticates food. 6. Saliva moistens the food.
7. Tongue perceives taste and pushes crushed food.
All these work is possible through a system of control and coordination.
12. What is a synapse? What happens at a synapse between two neurons?
A Synapse is a functional gap between two neurons.
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 At the end of the axon terminals of the previous neuron the electrical impulse sets
off the release of some chemicals.
These chemicals cross the gap or synapse and start a similar electrical impulse in a
dendrite of the next neuron
13. What is the role of the brain in reflex action?
Reflex actions take place without the conscious involvement of the brain.
Quick responses are given through the governing centre i.e. spinal cord but the
information is also sent to the brain to be analysed later.
14 . How do animal muscles move ? (How does nervous tissue cause action)
The movements of muscle tissues are brought about by the contraction and relaxation of
the contractile proteins in response to nerve impulses.
When a nerve impulse reaches the muscle by a motor neuron, at the cellular level the
electrical impulse causes the release of some chemicals at the neuro-muscular junction.
In response to this chemical signal the muscle cells move by changing their shape and
arrangement so that they shorten.
The new arrangement of proteins gives the muscle a shorter form causing movement of
muscles.
15.

Explain the types of Nervous System.

i) Central Nervous System : Consists of Brain and Spinal cord .

In animals, all life activities are under the control of the brain.
Spinal cord controls the reflex actions and conducts messages between different parts of the
body and brain.
ii) Peripheral Nervous System : Consists of nerves arising from the brain (Cranial nerves)
and Nerves arising from the spinalcord (spinal nerves).
It assists in transmitting information between central nervous system and rest of the body.
iii) Autonomous Nervous System: (Parasympathetic and sympathetic system) Involuntary
activities like breathing and beating of the heart take place by the coordinated efforts of the
medulla oblongata and autonomous nervous system.
16.

Explain some types of movement by our body?

a) Voluntary actions like walking, writing etc. Mostly governed by the fore brain
b) Involuntary actions like beating of the heart and breathing.
Controlled by mid brain and hind brain.
c) Reflex actions Controlled by spinal cord.

17. Mention the differences between a reflex action and walking?

Reflex Action
1. Spontaneous immediate response
to a stimulus without thinking.
2. It is controlled by spinal cord.
3. Involuntary action

Walking
1. It is response to the information
transmitted by nerves to muscles which
involves thinking.
2. It is controlled by the brain.
3. Voluntary action.

18. Explain the structure of neuron or nerve cell.

A neuron is the basic unit of nervous tissue.
Each neuron has a central area called the cell body or cyton.
The cell body has a large central nucleus and cytoplasm.
Several short, thread like branches called dendrites arise from the cell body.
One branch arising out of the cell body is very long in comparison to others. This
branch is called axon or nerve fibre.
Axon may or may not be covered by a fatty sheath called myelin sheath.
This covering is missing at intervals. These gaps on the sheath are known as nodes of
Ranvier.