Homeostasis When A Student Walks Up The Down Escalator

Cassie Ho
Period 1
Physiology
September 16th 2014
Lab 1: Homeostasis
Background Information
The conditions in our bodies do not really change at all. Our body temperature has to stay within a certain range in order to function. We maintain these function through a process which is called homeostasis. Homeostasis is the process of maintaining a constant internal environment such as body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate. An analogy to help explain homeostasis is a student walking up the down escalator. When a student walks up the escalator at the same speed as the escalator is descending, the student stays in the same level. This shows how homeostasis maintains a constant temperature. If a student walks up the escalator at a faster
When the student becomes too hot, they will become exhausted and will need to rest (which is why going up on the down escalator is such hard work). On the other hand, when the student walks up at a slower rate than the rate at which the escalator descends he or she moves downwards. This is like getting cold because there is no activity or there is too much heat lost to the environment, and so the person slows down or stops moving all together. Negative feedback is a certain mechanism that causes a decrease in function, while positive feedback enhances an original stimulus. One inhibits or stops an action while the other enhances the action. In homeostasis positive and negative feedback loops are used to regulate and maintain a stable internal environment. When the body’s internal checkpoint gets too high or too
Blood pressure is the measurement of the force that is applied to the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood throughout the body. Blood pressure is normally measured with a blood pressure monitor, and is measured as a two number ratio. The top number is the systolic number, it is the higher of the two numbers and it measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts. The number on the bottom of the ratio is the diastolic number, this measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats when the heart is resting and refilling with blood. Normal blood pressure is when the systolic number is less than or equal to 120 and the diastolic number is less than or equal to 80. As the numbers increase a person is more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure which puts them at a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Blood pressure helps the body maintain homeostasis, without the regulation of blood pressure, the increase pressure of the blood flow could damage the walls of the arteries. When the arteries are damaged, plaque starts to build up causing obstructions in the arteries which can lead to cardiovascular