DP Biology Questionbank
6.2 The blood system
Description
Nature of science:
Theories are regarded as uncertain—William Harvey overturned theories developed by the ancient Greek philosopher Galen on movement of blood in the body. (1.9)Understandings:
- Arteries convey blood at high pressure from the ventricles to the tissues of the body.
- Arteries have muscle cells and elastic fibres in their walls.
- The muscle and elastic fibres assist in maintaining blood pressure between pump cycles.
- Blood flows through tissues in capillaries. Capillaries have permeable walls that allow exchange of materials between cells in the tissue and the blood in the capillary.
- Veins collect blood at low pressure from the tissues of the body and return it to the atria of the heart.
- Valves in veins and the heart ensure circulation of blood by preventing backflow.
- There is a separate circulation for the lungs.
- The heart beat is initiated by a group of specialized muscle cells in the right atrium called the sinoatrial node.
- The sinoatrial node acts as a pacemaker.
- The sinoatrial node sends out an electrical signal that stimulates contraction as it is propagated through the walls of the atria and then the walls of the ventricles.
- The heart rate can be increased or decreased by impulses brought to the heart through two nerves from the medulla of the brain.
- Epinephrine increases the heart rate to prepare for vigorous physical activity.
Applications and skills:
- Application: William Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of the blood with the heart acting as the pump.
- Application: Pressure changes in the left atrium, left ventricle and aorta during the cardiac cycle.
- Application: Causes and consequences of occlusion of the coronary arteries.
- Skill: Identification of blood vessels as arteries, capillaries or veins from the structure of their walls.
- Skill: Recognition of the chambers and valves of the heart and the blood vessels connected to it in dissected hearts or in diagrams of heart structure.
Theory of knowledge:
- Our current understanding is that emotions are the product of activity in the brain rather than the heart. Is knowledge based on science more valid than knowledge based on intuition?
Utilization:
- Understanding of the structure of the cardiovascular system has allowed the development of heart surgery.
Syllabus and cross-curricular links:
Biology
Topic 2.2 Water
Topic 2.3 Carbohydrates and lipids
Topic 6.4 Gas exchange
Topic 6.6 Hormones, homeostasis and reproduction
Aims:
- Aim 6: A heart dissection is suggested as a means of studying heart structure.
- Aim 8: The social implications of coronary heart disease could be discussed.
Directly related questions
- 17M.2.SL.TZ2.1a.ii: Outline the trends in capillary density in the results of this experiment.
- 17M.2.SL.TZ2.1a.i: State the significance of the statement: p<0.05.
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20N.3.SL.TZ0.2a:
State the independent and dependent variables in this experiment.
Independent:
Dependent:
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17N.3.SL.TZ0.03b:
Distinguish between the vein and the artery with reference to structures visible in the micrograph.
- 21M.1.HL.TZ1.19: An individual was presented with a stimulus resulting in the release of epinephrine. What was the...
- 21M.1.SL.TZ1.27: What is a property of arteries? A. Arteries have elastic walls. B. Arteries have valves. C....
- 18M.1.HL.TZ1.21: When intense physical activity is anticipated, which factor in the blood will increase the...
- 16N.1.SL.TZ0.25: What is the position of heart valves when blood pressure is highest in the aorta?
- 17M.1.SL.TZ1.26: In which blood vessel connected to the heart does blood have the lowest carbon dioxide...
- 17M.1.SL.TZ2.25: What is a feature of the left atrium? A. Epinephrine decreases its rate of contraction. B. It...
- 21M.1.SL.TZ1.29: What blood flow does the right semilunar valve prevent? A. Backflow of blood to the right atrium...
- 22M.1.SL.TZ1.25: Which structures are part of the walls of both capillaries and veins? I. Cells II. Pores III....
- 18N.2.SL.TZ0.4c: The heart responds quickly to physical activity. Describe how heart rate is controlled to meet...
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16N.2.SL.TZ0.6b:
Explain the structures and functions of arteries and veins.
- 17M.1.SL.TZ1.21: Cladograms can be created by comparing DNA or protein sequences. The cladogram on the left is...
- 17M.1.SL.TZ1.29: What helps to keep blood flowing onwards away from the heart in an artery? A. Valves B. Elastic...
- 17M.2.SL.TZ2.1d: Discuss the effect of exercise on the results of the experiment.
- 20N.1.SL.TZ0.25: What feature of arteries is most important in maintaining sufficiently high blood pressure? A. A...
- 20N.1.HL.TZ0.21: What happens in the heart when epinephrine is secreted into the blood? I. Pressure in the heart...
- 21M.1.SL.TZ1.30: Which reaction occurs in blood clotting?
- 22M.1.SL.TZ2.25: Changes in heart rate occur during and after a period of exercise. Which structure sends...
- 18N.2.SL.TZ0.4b: Explain how the circulatory system is able to transport the blood under high pressure from the...
- 18N.2.SL.TZ0.4a: Label X and Y on the diagram of the heart.
- 19M.1.HL.TZ2.30: What observation did William Harvey use as evidence for the circulation of blood? A. The...
- 19M.3.SL.TZ1.3b: Deduce what the experiment demonstrated about the circulation of blood.
- 17M.1.SL.TZ2.27: The bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes infections related to the human reproductive system....
- 17M.2.SL.TZ2.1c.ii: Compare and contrast the results for the water–no exercise group and the Epi–no exercise group.
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20N.3.SL.TZ0.2c:
Explain the differences between the results shown for vein and artery.
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22M.1.SL.TZ2.26:
The light micrograph shows two blood vessels, an artery and a vein, in transverse section.
[Source: Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, n.d. Epithelium: Simple Squamous Epithelium. [image online] Available at: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/hs/medical/sbpm_histology_old/lab/lab02_squamous.html [Accessed 29 November 2019].]
What explains the different shapes of these blood vessels?
A. Arteries do not have valves.
B. Muscle cells are found only in the walls of veins.
C. Arteries have a larger lumen-to-wall thickness ratio.
D. There are fewer elastic fibres in the walls of veins.
- 19M.1.SL.TZ1.26: Which feature of capillaries distinguishes them from arteries and veins? A. Narrow diameter B....
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19M.2.HL.TZ2.3a:
The graph shows blood pressure changes on the left side of the heart during one heartbeat. Identify the two parts of the circulatory system that produce traces I and II on the graph.
[Source: © International Baccalaureate Organization 2019]
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19N.1.SL.TZ0.26:
The diagram shows the human heart.
[Source: adapted to remove labels and arrows, recoloured and relabelled from Wapcaplet/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diagram_of_the_human_heart_(cropped).svg]After a red blood cell picks up oxygen in the lungs, which sequence shows the path it could take when passing through the heart during its circuit of the body?
A. I → II → III → IV
B. II → I → IV → III
C. IV → III → I → II
D. IV → III → II → I
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21N.2.SL.TZ0.4a:
This micrograph shows a transverse section of an artery.
[Source: OpenStax College, 2013. Comparison of artery and vein. [image online] Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2102_Comparison_of_Artery_and_Vein.jpg Attribution 3.0 Unported
(CC BY 3.0) https:/creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en [Accessed 11 March 2020].]Explain how the specialized structures of arteries help them to achieve their functions.
- 22M.2.HL.TZ1.1a: Estimate the difference between the highest and lowest mean body temperatures.
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16N.2.SL.TZ0.6a:
Outline the exchange of materials between capillaries and tissues.
-
16N.2.HL.TZ0.6a:
Explain how circulation of the blood to the lungs and to other systems is separated in humans and what the advantages of this separation are.
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17N.1.SL.TZ0.25:
The diagram shows red blood cells and undifferentiated tissue cells.
[Source: © International Baccalaureate Organization 2017]
Diffusion of oxygen from blood cells to tissue cells is represented by arrow 3 in the diagram.
What molecules are shown diffusing by arrow 1 and arrow 2? - 21M.1.SL.TZ2.25: The diagram shows changes in pressure in the left atrium, left ventricle and aorta during a...
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21N.1.HL.TZ1.24:
The image shows the four chambers of the mammalian heart viewed from the ventral side. The sinoatrial node is located in the wall of one of these chambers. Which chamber is it?
[Source: Anatomy Corner, n.d. [Elk heart]. [image online] Available at: http://anatomycorner.com/main/image-gallery/elk-heart/
[Accessed 23 March 2020].] -
22M.2.HL.TZ1.1c:
Explain the change in heart rate during the period of hibernation.
- 18M.1.HL.TZ1.6: How are fats and cholesterol transported in the blood? A. As groups of molecules inside...
- 18M.1.SL.TZ1.25: Which vessel carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart? A. Aorta B. Pulmonary artery C....
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19M.2.SL.TZ1.3a.ii:
On the diagram, label the right atrium.
- 19M.2.HL.TZ1.6b: Describe the functions of valves in the mammalian heart.
- 19N.2.HL.TZ0.7c: Explain the control mechanism of the heart rate.
- 17M.2.SL.TZ1.1c: Estimate how much smaller drilled oysters raised in seawater at a high CO2 concentration were...
- 17M.2.SL.TZ2.1c.i: State the time when the point of fatigue occurred in the Epi–exercise group.
- 17M.2.HL.TZ1.1f.ii: Suggest a reason for the greater expression of the gene for the urea transporter after an...
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22M.1.HL.TZ1.21:
The image shows the changes in heart rate of an athlete during exercise.
[Source: Liddle, P.F., 2010. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) during exercise. [online] Available at: https://canute1.wordpress.com/2010/07/ [Accessed 1 August 2019].]
What is likely to have occurred between 0 and 4 minutes and between 24 and 28 minutes?
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19M.2.SL.TZ1.3a.i:
On the diagram, label the aorta.
- 19M.2.SL.TZ1.3b: Explain how valves control the flow of blood through the heart.
- 19M.1.SL.TZ2.25: What causes the atrioventricular valves to close during a heartbeat? A. Pressure in the atria is...
- 17M.1.SL.TZ2.26: The diagram shows the human heart. Which shows the sequence of blood flow in the heart? A....
-
20N.3.SL.TZ0.2b:
State one feature of the rings that has to be kept constant apart from their initial diameter.
-
21N.2.SL.TZ0.4c:
State one function of epinephrine in the human body.
- 22M.2.HL.TZ1.1b: Compare and contrast the changes in mean ambient and body temperatures during 2012.
-
18M.2.SL.TZ1.3b:
Distinguish between the structure of arteries and the structure of veins.
- 19M.1.SL.TZ2.24: What is an advantage of capillary walls being one cell thick in the systemic circulation? A. To...
- 19M.3.SL.TZ1.3a: Identify the type of blood vessels shown in the diagram.
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19M.1.HL.TZ1.20:
Which diagram represents blood flow through the mammalian heart?
[Source: © International Baccalaureate Organization 2019]