AP BIOLOGY STUDY GUIDE
EXCRETORY AND ENDOCRINE SYSTEMS
1. What
are the differences in composition between the glomerular fluid and the urine
that finally leaves the kidneys.
2. Alcohol
dilates the arteries in the skin. What would be its effect, then, on the
temperature control of the body?
3. Synthesis of urea occurs in what organ?
4. List
the most important structures for maintaining water balance in the (a) amoeba
(b) trout (c) human (d) Elodea.
5. Carnivorous mammals excrete a higher concentration of urea
than herbivorous ones. Explain.
6. What is the chief nitrogenous waste of the (a)
rattlesnake (b) dog (c) chicken (d) shark.
7. Trace
the path traversed by a molecule of urea from entering the renal artery to
leaving the body.
8. How
does the quantity of urine formed by a frog change when it moves from a pond
onto land? Would the quantity of urine formed by a beaver change under the same
circumstances?
9. During
the formation of urine, why does the concentration of salts not increase in
proportion to the concentration of urea?
10. In the
mammalian kidney, water is reabsorbed from the filtrate across the wall of the
collecting duct into the salty tissue near the bottom of the loops of Henle;
blood vessels then take the water away. Why doesn’t the blood in these vessels
become very salty?
11. If you
are lost in the desert with a case of liquor and are desperately thirsty,
should you drink the liquor? Explain you answer.
12. In the
Malpighian corpuscles, fluid is forced out of the capillaries by blood pressure.
Why does this not happen in the gills of freshwater fish?
13. Which
gland has a hormone that may influence intelligence?
14. How do
you account for the fact that the heartbeat of a basketball player increases a
great deal before the game as well as during the game?
15. Why is
a study of the endocrine glands often carried on at the same time as a study of
the nervous system?
16. What
hormone injected into the bloodstream of a male rat will often result in a
mothering instinct?
17.
Discuss dynamic balance in the endocrine system that results from feedback?
18.
Summarize the mechanisms, which participate in the control of the blood-sugar
level in the body.
19. How
will each of the following affect the quantity and composition of urine formed
in humans: (a) hypersecretion of ADH (b) hyposecretion of insulin (c) drinking
copious amounts of water.
20. Which
endocrine glands are controlled by the secretion of other endocrine glands?
21.
Compare the mechanisms by which (a) the body regulates the concentration of
water in the blood and (b) a steady temperature is maintained in your home.
22.
Distinguish between the molecular activities that take place when each of the
following interacts with one of its target cells: (a) a polypeptide or protein
hormone and (b) a steroid hormone.
23. Why do
you suppose the brain goes to the trouble of synthesizing and releasing
hormones, rather than simply directing the production of the pituitary hormones
immediately?
24. Why do
you suppose steroid hormones do not employ second messengers when so many
peptide hormones do?