Hormones Edexcel International GCSE Science (Double Award) revision
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In plain words
Not every message in the body goes by nerve. Some are sent as chemicals released into the blood by glands. They travel everywhere but only affect the organs built to respond. They're slower than nerves, and their effects last longer.
Three things to know
- A hormone is a chemical made by a gland and carried in the blood, which changes the activity of one or more target organs.
- Adrenaline (adrenal glands) prepares the body for action: faster heart and breathing, wider pupils. Insulin (pancreas) lowers blood glucose. Testosterone (testes) and oestrogen (ovaries) are the sex hormones.
- Compared with nerves, hormones are slower to act, travel in the blood rather than along neurones, and have effects that last longer.
Tips and tricks
- The definition has three parts: made by a gland, carried by the blood, affects a target organ.
- Adrenaline is "fight or flight": everything it does gets more oxygen and glucose to the muscles.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Hormones: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
How do hormones travel round the body?
They are released into the blood by glands.
Which gland makes insulin?
Insulin lowers the blood glucose concentration.
Which hormone is released when you are frightened?
It prepares the body for "fight or flight".
Which statement about hormones is correct?
They are slower to act but longer-lasting.
Where is testosterone made?
It causes the changes in boys at puberty.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 8 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Hormones
Edexcel International GCSE Science (Double Award) 4SD0 · 8 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
State what is meant by a hormone.[3]
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A chemical substance produced by a gland and carried by the blood, which alters the activity of one or more specific target organs.
State three effects of adrenaline on the body.[3]
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Any three: increases heart rate, increases breathing rate, widens the pupils, increases the concentration of glucose in the blood.
Give two differences between nervous control and hormonal control.[2]
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Nervous control is faster and its effects are shorter-lived; nerve impulses are electrical and travel along neurones, while hormones are chemicals carried in the blood.
Answers: Hormones
- 1. A chemical substance produced by a gland and carried by the blood, which alters the activity of one or more specific target organs.
- 2. Any three: increases heart rate, increases breathing rate, widens the pupils, increases the concentration of glucose in the blood.
- 3. Nervous control is faster and its effects are shorter-lived; nerve impulses are electrical and travel along neurones, while hormones are chemicals carried in the blood.



