The Human Nervous System Practice Questions

Question 1

4 marks

A smoke alarm in a kitchen makes a loud sound. A person hears the alarm and walks out of the room.

(a)

Name the sense organ that contains the receptors which detect the sound of the alarm.

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(b)

The receptors send information to the central nervous system (CNS).

Name the two parts of the CNS.

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(c)

Name the type of neurone that carries impulses from the CNS to the effector.

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(d)

Give the effector and the response in this example.

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Question 2

4 marks

Figure 1 shows a diagram of the human brain. Four regions are labelled A, B, C and D.

(a)

Which letter labels the cerebellum?

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(b)

Region C is the medulla. Give one process controlled by the medulla.

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(c)

Give the letter that labels the cerebral cortex and state one function of the cerebral cortex.

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Question 3

4 marks

Figure 2 shows a section through the human eye.

(a)

Name structures A and B.

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(b)

Which letter labels the structure that controls how much light enters the eye?

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(c)

Structure D is the optic nerve. State the function of the optic nerve.

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Question 4

4 marks

A man waits at a bus stop on a cold winter morning. His body temperature starts to fall.

(a)

Name the part of the brain that monitors the temperature of the blood.

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(b)

The skin also contains temperature receptors. Describe how these receptors send information to the brain.

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(c)

Give two responses of the man's body that help to stop his body temperature falling further.

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Question 0

9 marks

A man walking barefoot on a beach steps on a sharp piece of shell. He pulls his foot away before he is aware of any pain.

(a)

Name the receptor and the effector involved in this response.

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(b)

Describe the passage of the impulse through the reflex arc, from the receptor to the effector. You should name the neurones involved.

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(c)

Explain how an impulse is passed from one neurone to the next at a synapse.

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(d)

Explain why reflex actions such as this one are important.

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Question 0

6 marks

A student investigated whether listening to loud music affects reaction time.

This is the method used.

A partner holds a metre ruler vertically between the open thumb and finger of the student.
The partner drops the ruler without warning and the student catches it.
The distance the ruler falls is converted to a reaction time using a conversion table.
The test is repeated three times in silence, and then three times while the student listens to loud music through headphones.

The results are shown in the table.

Trial	Reaction time in silence (s)	Reaction time with loud music (s)
1	0.18	0.24
2	0.21	0.22
3	0.18	0.26

(a)

Give the independent variable and one control variable in this investigation.

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(b)

Calculate the mean reaction time for each condition.

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(c)

Give two ways the student could improve this method to make the conclusion more valid.

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Question 0

5 marks

Scientists measured the mean reaction time of a group of shift workers at different times of day. Each person completed the same computer reaction test.

The results are shown in the table.

Time of day	Mean reaction time (s)
08:00	0.28
12:00	0.22
16:00	0.21
20:00	0.25
00:00	0.34

(a)

At which time of day did the workers react fastest?

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(b)

Calculate the percentage increase in mean reaction time between 16:00 and 00:00.

Give your answer to 1 decimal place.

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(c)

Suggest one reason for the mean reaction time recorded at 00:00.

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(d)

Give one variable the scientists should have controlled when taking these measurements.

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Question 0

6 marks

A student is reading a book. She then looks up at a clock on the far wall of the classroom.

(a)

Name the process by which the eye changes the shape of the lens to focus on objects at different distances.

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(b)

Describe the changes that take place inside the student's eye as she changes from looking at the book to looking at the clock.

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(c)

The student's grandfather cannot focus on the words in the book. Name this defect of the eye and give the type of spectacle lens used to correct it.

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Question 0

6 marks

Figure 3 shows what happens to light from a distant object in one person's eye.

(a)

Name the eye defect shown in Figure 3.

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(b)

Use Figure 3 to explain why the person cannot see the distant object clearly.

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(c)

Name the type of spectacle lens used to correct this defect.

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(d)

Give two other technologies, apart from spectacle lenses, that can be used to correct defects of the eye.

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Question 0

5 marks

Neuroscientists have mapped many regions of the human brain to particular functions.

(a)

Describe how studying patients with brain damage has helped neuroscientists to map the functions of the brain.

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(b)

Explain how electrically stimulating part of the brain can be used to find out what that part does.

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(c)

Give one advantage of using MRI scanning rather than these methods.

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Question 0

5 marks

A cinema-goer walks out of bright sunshine into a dark screening room.

(a)

Describe how the iris responds so that the person can see in the dim light.

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(b)

This change in the size of the pupil is a reflex action. Explain what this means.

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Question 0

5 marks

A patient has a tumour growing deep inside the brain, close to the medulla. Doctors must decide how to treat it.

(a)

Explain why treating a tumour in this part of the brain is very difficult.

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(b)

Some knowledge of brain function comes from studying patients who have brain damage. Explain one limitation of using these patients to work out what different regions of the brain do.

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Question 0

7 marks

A long-distance swimmer swims in the sea at $14\,^\circ\mathrm{C}$ . After 30 minutes her core body temperature has fallen from $37.0\,^\circ\mathrm{C}$ to $35.8\,^\circ\mathrm{C}$ .

(a)

Explain how the temperature change is detected and how the response is coordinated.

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(b)

Explain how vasoconstriction reduces the rate at which the swimmer loses energy to the sea water.

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(c)

Explain how shivering helps to raise the swimmer's body temperature.

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Question 0

8 marks

A student investigated the effect of a caffeinated energy drink on his own reaction time. He used a computer program that measures the time taken to click a mouse when the screen changes colour.

He carried out five tests before drinking $250\,\mathrm{cm^3}$ of the energy drink, and five tests 30 minutes afterwards.

The results before drinking are shown in the table.

Test	Reaction time before the drink (s)
1	0.22
2	0.20
3	0.45
4	0.21
5	0.22

The mean reaction time after drinking the energy drink was $0.17\,\mathrm{s}$ .

(a)

Identify the anomalous result in the table and suggest one reason for it.

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(b)

Calculate the mean reaction time before the drink, ignoring the anomalous result.

Give your answer to 2 decimal places.

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(c)

Calculate the percentage decrease in mean reaction time after drinking the energy drink.

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(d)

The student concluded: 'Caffeine reduces reaction time in humans.'

Evaluate whether the student's data support this conclusion.

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Cell Biology

Organisation

Infection & Response

Bioenergetics

Homeostasis & Response

Inheritance, Variation & Evolution

Ecology

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