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Practise 31 exam-style questions on Control of body temperature (biology only) for AQA GCSE Biology. Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.
Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.
Name the tiny blood vessels in the skin where vasodilation occurs to increase heat loss.
capillaries (in skin)
Capillaries in the skin dilate to increase blood flow and heat exchange at the surface.
capillaries
Allow dermal capillaries or skin capillaries
When cold, skeletal muscles may contract rapidly causing shivering. Explain how shivering raises body temperature.
rapid involuntary muscle contractions increase metabolic activity and respiration in the muscles, producing heat which warms the body
Shivering is a way to generate heat by increasing ATP use in muscle, with the extra metabolic reactions releasing thermal energy.
muscle contractions increase metabolic activity / respiration
increased heat produced warms the body
Explain briefly why a fever can be beneficial during infection.
higher body temperature can inhibit growth of some pathogens and can enhance immune system function (e.g., faster immune reactions), helping fight infection
Fever creates a less favorable environment for many microbes and can speed up immune processes, aiding clearance of infection.
high temperature can inhibit pathogen growth
high temperature can enhance immune response
HT: A patient has a fever (high set point) due to infection. Explain how shivering can occur during a fever even though body temperature is high.
infection raises the hypothalamic set point; the body interprets current temperature as too low relative to new set point, so it activates heat-generating responses such as shivering and vasoconstriction until core temperature reaches the higher set point
During fever the target temperature is raised; the body acts to reach this level, producing heat by shivering even though absolute temperature may already be elevated.
infection raises hypothalamic set point (fever)
current body temperature is below new set point so effectors are activated
activated responses include shivering and vasoconstriction until temperature reaches new set point
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