Practice question · Multiple choice
The nervous system and the endocrine system both carry signals through the body. Why does an organism need both, rather than one well-designed system?
Hints
- One system has wires to named destinations. What can the other do that wires cannot?
- Compare how each one ENDS its signal, as well as how it starts.
Show the answer
C. Because they solve different problems: fast and addressed, or slow and broadcast.
Why
The two occupy different points on one trade-off: a neuron delivers to a connected target in milliseconds and is cleared at once; a gland reaches every tissue with the receptor and acts until metabolised. The stress response uses both in sequence, sympathetic nerves within a second, the HPA axis over minutes and hours. Same threat, two timescales.
Practise The Endocrine System
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More questions on The Endocrine System
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