Project 1.4 Information Processing
Introduction
Let’s take a look at how the parts of your nervous system work as a team to sense
information from the outside world, process this information, and cause an
appropriate reaction in your body.
In this project you will outline what happens in your body when you take in
information from the world around you.
Equipment
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Launch Log for each student
iPad® tablet
White poster board
Red yarn
Blue yarn
Body outline with central nervous system from Activity 1.1
Clay
Marker
Procedure
1. Read the informational text below.
The peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves, the main communication wires
that connect the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. Nerves are slender
fibers that are made up of cells called neurons. Neurons send signals to and from
the brain as electrical impulses. These impulses move quickly throughout the body
by jumping from one neuron to another. This quick action allows your body to react
at a moment’s notice. There are more than 80 major nerves in the body, and each
one may contain more than a million neurons. An example neuron is shown below.
Read the information about the parts of this important cell.
o The dendrites, the many short arms of the cell, receive signals and carry
this information to the cell body.
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PLTW Launch – Brain as a Computer Project 1.4 Information Processing – Page 1
o The cell body, the round central portion of the cell, processes information
and sends out signals through the axon.
o The axon, the long tail-like end, takes information away from the cell body
and to another neuron or a target organ. The axon is covered with an
insulating material called myelin. Like the coating on a wire, this myelin
helps increase the speed at which impulses can travel from neuron to
neuron.
2. Copy the image of a neuron, a nerve cell, into your Launch Log.
3. Label the cell body, the dendrites, and the axon. Also note the location of myelin.
Add a text box for each label that describes the function of the part.
4. Read the informational text below.
There are different types of neurons. Sensory neurons sense, or detect, changes
inside and outside of the body. They then send this input, information coming in, to
the central nervous system so it can be processed by the brain. Once the brain
decides what needs to be done with this information, it sends output, information
going out, in the form of nerve signals. Motor neurons take signals from the brain
and pass them to the organs or structures that will cause the body’s response.
Nerves are divided into two types, depending on where they connect with the central
nervous system. Cranial nerves connect directly to the brain and brain stem and
supply the head and neck. Spinal nerves connect with the spinal cord and supply the
rest of the body. Nerves branch out as they spread through the body, allowing
signals to pass throughout your body, even down to your pinky toe.
5. Write a definition of sensory neuron and motor neuron below the neuron drawing
in your Launch Log.
6. Return to the paragraph you wrote in Activity 1.2 about a place that you have
visited. Review the information you provided about each of the five senses.
7. Choose three things you sensed in the environment. Think about one way the
body would react to each piece of information. For example, if you chose a
forest, you may have noted that you smelled a skunk. You may react by running
away to avoid being sprayed.
8. Document your three experiences (sense and possible reaction) in your Launch
Log.
9. Return to your body outline. You will use your body outline to show the flow of
information through your body responsible for how you are able to react to the
outside world.
10. For each of the three experiences you described, use yarn to trace the path of
information to and from the central nervous system on your body outline.
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Use red yarn to show the path from where the body senses the information to
the “final destination” in the brain. Note that for most information this means
going through the spinal cord. However, signals that come from above the
neck, as is the case for sights, smells, and sounds, follow cranial nerves
directly to the brain.
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PLTW Launch – Brain as a Computer Project 1.4 Information Processing – Page 2
o In the skunk example, the sensory neurons in your nose send signals
directly to the olfactory bulb in your brain (located at the bottom of the
frontal lobe). You would use red yarn to string from the nose to the
bottom of the frontal lobe.
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Use blue yarn to show motor neurons taking information from the central
nervous system out to the body to cause a response.
o In the skunk example, your brain processes this information and may
decide you should run away. Motor neurons send messages from the
brain, through the spinal cord, to muscles of the leg to cause this
reaction. You would use blue yarn to string from the brain, down the
spinal cord, to the leg.
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Draw organs or other body parts on your outline as needed to show the inputs
and outputs.
o In the skunk example, draw a nose on your outline. Draw muscles on
the legs.
11. Add text boxes on your body outline that describe the input and the output for
each of your three situations. Use a different color marker for each input/output
pair. In the case of the skunk you may note:
o Input = stinky skunk smell
o Output = muscles activated to run
12. Share your completed body outline with the class.
13. Answer the conclusion questions in your Launch Log.
Conclusion Questions
Record your answers to the questions below in your Launch Log.
1. How do the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system work
together to help you interpret the world around you?
2. Using information from this module, describe how the brain is like a computer.
Unpublished Work © 2014 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
PLTW Launch – Brain as a Computer Project 1.4 Information Processing – Page 3