GC Physiology Physiological Worksheet

1. Using at least one physiological example, explain the concept of homeostasis.

2. Explain and provide examples of specificity, competition, and saturation in proteins.

3. Explain the concepts of specificity, competition, and saturation as they relate to

enzymes.

4. Explain the fluid-mosaic model of the cell membrane.

5. Compare osmolarity and tonicity.

6. Compare simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion and active transport.

7. Explain why cells need both channel and carrier proteins.

8. Explain the concepts of specificity, competition, and saturation as they relate to carrier-

mediated transport.

9. Briefly outline the major components of the core concept of flow-down gradients.

10. Briefly outline the major components of the core concept of cell-to-cell chemical

communication.

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. *When answering short answer questions, look at the way the question is
worded.
* For core concept questions, make sure you begin your response with a paragraph
summarizing your understanding of the general core concept. Then use that
information to answer the specific question.
*Compare means tell me how things are similar and how they are different. I
am really asking you to “compare and contrast.” I think it is better to
point out similarities, then systematically point out differences.
* For describe, explain, and compare questions,
*THINK about what you want to write, OUTLINE your answer, and then write
your answer.
* If a series of paragraphs are needed, the first paragraph should be an introduction to
your answer.Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence, several sentences
which support or elaborate on the topic sentence, and a transition or concluding
sentence.

. This document has hints and comments for some of the Short Answer questions. I chose a core
concept question, a couple “specificity, competition, and saturation” questions, an explain
question, and a compare question. This should allow you to see the general types of things I am
looking for. You can use this document to check your answers. If you are checking off the
items in the question, you are off to a great start.
Organize your answer, write well, and present it in such a way that your information is easy to
find. Your answers also need to be precise and concise. Some students add so much information
(some of it relevant and some of it not) that it looks like they are throwing everything against the
wall and hoping something sticks. This tells me you haven’t really thought about your response,
and that is a no-no.
Remember whenever you see “homeostasis,” flow-down-gradients,” or “cell-to-cell signaling,”
think about our core concept and the bulleted items.
For the “competition, saturation, and specificity” questions, while it is not required, it would be a
good idea to have a standard general paragraph or two explaining the concepts which you can
use for all of them. You would just need to add information about the specifics (proteins in
general for question 2, enzymes for question 3, and carrier-mediated transport for question 7) to
have a wonderful answer to those four questions.
Finally, remember this is physiology so think about the function or “how” something occurs.