Name _____ Date Class ____________

The Nervous System

Name Date Class ____________

The Nervous System1. What are three main functions of the nervous system? Give an example of each.

2. What are the three kinds of neurons? How do they work together to produce a response to an environmental stimulus?

3. Explain how your brain and sensory organs get information from the outside world.

4. What are the two main parts of the peripheral nervous system? What are the two main parts of the central nervous system?

  5.  ___ central nervous system a. cells that carry information through your nervoussystem

  6.  ___ reflex b. the message that a neuron carries  7.  ___ neurons c. a bundle of nerve fibers  8.  ___ nerve impulse d. a system of nerves that branches out and connects it

to the rest of the body  9.  ___ peripheral nervous system e. a system that controls the functions of the body with

the brain serving as the control center10.  ___ nerve f. the place where a neuron transfers an impulse to

another structure11.  ___ synapse g. an automatic response that occurs rapidly without

conscious control

Name Date Class ____________

The Nervous SystemPolygraph TestA polygraph, or lie detector, test is sometimes used to help determine whether a person is telling thetruth. In such a test, the subject is connected to a polygraph machine that records information abouthis or her body. This information includes such things as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, andsweat gland activity. An examiner asks the subject questions. As the subject answers, the machinerecords changes in the subject’s body. The examiner uses these changes to determine whether thesubject has answered truthfully.

The polygraph test relies upon responses of the subject’s nervous system. If the subject gives anuntruthful answer, fear of being caught in a lie triggers several responses that are largely involuntary.For example fear might cause the subject’s heart rate to increase or even skip a beat, and thesechanges would be recorded by the polygraph. However, there is disagreement among scientistsabout how reliable polygraphs are. Some studies indicate that lack of sleep or the use of some drugscan affect the results.

1. Why do you think it is important that a polygraph measures responses that are largely involuntary instead of responses that are voluntary?

2. Sometimes subjects are given a “practice test” to record their body’s response to lying. The examiner tells the subject to think of a number between 1 and 10 and answer “no” to all questions. Then the examiner asks “Is the number 1?”, “Is the number 2?”, and so on, until the examiner has asked the question for all the numbers from 1 to 10. Why is this a good practice test?

3. Name a voluntary response and an involuntary response of thenervous system during a polygraph test.

Name Date Class

Infectious Disease

Name Date Class

Infectious Disease  1. Diseases such as colds can be spread indirectly when infected people ____________________________.

  2. A person catching the flu after using utensils that a sick person used previously is an example of

pathogens spreading through __________________________________.

  3. A disease such as ___________________________is likely to have as its source a bite from an infected

animal.

  4. Contact with a pathogen that lives naturally in the soil, water, or food can causes a disease such as

_____________________.

  5. What are the five major groups of human pathogens?

  6. ___ microorganisms

  7. ___ pathogens

  8. ___ infectious disease

  9. ___ toxin

10. ___ parasite

a. a disease caused by a pathogen

b. a poison

c. living things too small to see without a microscope

d. organisms that cause disease

e. an organism that lives on or in a host causing it harm

Building VocabularyMatch each term in the left column with its definition in the right column by writing theletter of the correct definition on the line beside the term.

Name Date Class

Infectious DiseaseStopping MalariaMalaria is an infectious disease caused by the protist Plasmodium. This pathogen is transmitted fromone person to another by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. The disease infects more than150 million people a year and kills between 1.5 and 3.0 million people. Although malaria is treatable, itoccurs in parts of the world where effective treatments are largely unavailable. For this reason, the battleagainst the spread of malaria has focused on prevention. The diagram below provides information aboutthe spread of malaria and the life cycle of the Anopheles mosquito.

1. Diseases can be spread in four basic ways. In which of these ways is malaria spread?

2. Where does the female Anopheles mosquito lay eggs?

3. How does Plasmodium get into the body of a female Anopheles mosquito?

4. How does a person get malaria?

5. Sometimes shallow pools and swamps in an area are drained to help prevent the spread of malaria. Use

the diagram to explain why this strategy is effective.

  6. What are other ways to prevent the spread of malaria?