AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Topics
Textbook Correlations
Reproduction, growth, & development
Concepts: 21.1-21.4, 46.1-46.5,
47.1-47.3
Structural, physiological, and behavioral
adaptations
Response to the environment
Concepts: 40.1-40.5, 41.1-41.5,
42.1, 42.2, 42.5, 44.2-44.6,
48.1-48.5, 51.3, 51.5
Concepts: 40.4, 40.5, 41.5, 43.143.5, 44.1, 44.2, 44.5, 44.6,
45.1-45.5,49.1-49.7, 51.3
Key Terms
1. actin
2. myosin
3. sacromere
4. action potential
5. peristalsis
6. pepsin
7. pyloric sphintcter
8. trypsin
9. villi
10. spiracles
11. alveolus
12. B-lymphocyte
13. T-lymphocyte
14. antigen
15. systole
16. diastole
17. macrophage
18. antibodies
19. nitrogenous wastes
20. nephron
21. filtrate
22. ganglia
23. neuron
24. axon
25. depolarization
26. synapse
27. myelin
28. peripheral nervous system
29. fight-or-flight response
30. sacroplasmic reliculum
Recommended work:
Chapter section and review questions
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Animals are complex systems of cells working in a coordinated fashion to monitor
changing external conditions while maintaining a constant internal environment. To
accomplish these tasks, animal cells are organized into systems that are specialized for
particular functions. This unit focuses on the structure of these various systems and how
they accomplish particular tasks.
Cells are organized in the following ways:
1. Tissues: Define tissue:
Describe each of the following four general categories of tissues.
 Epithelial tissue

Connective tissue

Nervous tissue

Muscle tissue
2. Organ: Define organ:
3. Organ system: Define organ sysytem:
The function of many animal systems is to contribute toward homeostasis.
Define homeostasis:
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Describe how homeostasis is maintained by negative feedback, include the following
terms in your description: receptor, integrator, and effector.
Describe a positive feedback and give two examples.
Thermoregulation
Animals can be grouped into two groups based upon how body temperature is
maintained: Ectotherms (poikilotherms) and Endotherms.
Describe ectotherms (poikilotherms):
Describe endotherms:
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Animals regulate their body temperature by employing the following mechanisms:
Describe and give examples of evaporative cooling:
Describe and give examples of warming by metabolism.
Describe and give examples of adjusting surface area to regulate temperature, include
the terms vasodilation, vasoconstriction, and countercurrent exchange.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
The Respiratory System
Animal cells require O2 for aerobic respiration. If cells are not directly exposed to the
outside environment, then some mechanism must provide gas exchange to internal cells,
delivering O2 and removing waste CO2. The movement of gases into and out of the entire
organism is called respiration.
Describe the following gas exchange mechanisms and give examples of animals that
employ the mechanism.
1. Direct with the environment
2. Gills, include the concept of countercurrent exchange
3. Tracheae
4. Lungs
Gas exchange in humans.
Trace the pathway of air through the human respiratory system from the nose to the
alveolus
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Describe how gas exchange occurs between alveolar chambers and blood.
Describe how oxygen to transport throughout the body.
Describe how carbon dioxide is transport throughout the body, and in your description
write out the equation of the blood buffer system and the function of carbonic anhydrase.
Describe the mechanism of respiration, include the diaphragm, intercostals muscles, and
pressure differences.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Describe how respiration is controlled, include the role of chemoreceptors and their
location, and use the blood buffer system in your description.
The Circulatory System
Large organisms require a transport system to distribute nutrients and oxygen and to
remove wastes and CO2 from cells distributed throughout the body. Two kinds of
circulatory systems accomplish this internal transport.
Describe an open circulatory system.
Describe closed circulatory system.
Compare and contrast arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins, and include the
present of oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Draw and label a diagram of the human heart, include the four chambers and the major
vessels into and out of the heart.
Describe the lymphatic system and its relationship to the circulatory system.
Describe the following contents of the blood.
1. Red blood cells
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
2. White blood cells
3. Platelets
4. Plasma
The Excretory System
In general, excretory systems help maintain homeostasis in organisms by regulating water
balance and by removing harmful substances.
Osmoregulation is the absorption and excretion of water and dissolved substances so
that proper water balance is maintained between the organism and its surroundings.
Describe how marine fish handle osmoregulation.
Describe how fresh water fish handle osmoregulation.
Various excretory mechanisms have evolved in animals for the purpose of
osmoregulation and for the removal of toxic substances. Toxic substances include byproducts of cellular metabolism, such as nitrogen products of protein breakdown.
Describe the following excretory mechanisms and the type of animals they are found in.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
1. Contractile vacuoles
2. Flame cells
3. Nephrida
4. Malpighian tubules
5. Kidney
Draw and label the nephron of the human kidney, give a brief description of each part
and display where filtration, secretion, and reabsorption occurs.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Two hormones influence osmoregulation by regulating the concentration of salts in the
urine.
Describe the function of each of the following:

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH)

Aldosterone
Nitrogen forms a major waste product in animals. When amino acids and nucleic acids
are broken down, they release toxic ammonia (NH4). To rid the body of this toxin, several
mechanisms have evolved, each appropriate to the habitat or survival of the animal.
Describe the environment and give examples of animals that secrete type of nitrogenous
waste.
1. NH3 or NH4 directly into the surrounding water.
2. Urea
3. Uric acid
The Digestive System
Digestion is the chemical breakdown of food into smaller molecules. In an individual
cell, digestion is accomplished by ________________digestion when a______________
containing digestive _________________ merges with a food vacuole. In most animals,
however, the food ingested is too large to be engulfed by individual cells. Thus, food is
digested in a _________________________ cavity by ______________________
digestion and absorbed by individual cells.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
During digestion, four different groups of molecules are commonly encountered. Each is
broken down into its molecular components (monomers) by specific enzymes
Complete the following chart.
Nutrient compound
Monomer
Name one enzyme that aids
in the breakdown
Starches
Proteins
Fats or Lipids
Nucleic acid
Draw, label, and briefly describe each part of the human digestive tract, include the
mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and the large intestine.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Complete the following chart on enzymes.
Enzyme
Salivary
amylase
Origin
Site of action
Functional pH
Action
Pepsin
Proteases e.g.
Aminopeptidase
Maltase
Lactase
Phosphatases
Trypsin
Chymotrypsin
Lipase
Pancreatic
amylase
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
The Nervous System
The basic structural unit of the nervous system is a nerve cell or neuron.
Draw, label, and describe the function of two neurons end to end, include of the three
parts of the neuron: cell body, dentrite, and axon. And myelin sheath, Schwann cells,
nodes of Ranvier, synapse (synaptic cleft)
Neurons can be classified into three groups by their functions.
Describe the function of the following neurons:
1. Sensory neuron (afferent neurons)
2. Motor neuron (efferent neurons)
3. Interneuron (association neurons)
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
The transmission of a nerve impulse along a neuron from one end to the other occurs as a
result of chemical changes across the membrane of the neuron.
Describe the following events of an action potential in a neuron.
1. Resting potential
2. Action potential
3. Repolarization
4. Hyperpolarization
5. Refractory period
A nerve impulse propagates from neuron to neuron across a synapse. Describe how this
function occurs; include presynaptic membranes, postsynaptic membrane, and
neurotransmitter.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
The nervous system of humans and other vertebrates consists of two parts that could be
further divided into several more subdivisions.
Create a flow chart demonstrating how each of the following are related: central
nervous system, peripheral nervous system, somatic nervous system, autonomic
nervous system, sympathetic nervous system, and parasympathetic nervous system.
The Muscular System
Draw and label a muscle fiber (cell), include sacromere, myosin, actin, and Z-line.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Describe muscle contraction as describe by the sliding-filament model.
Describe the role of acetylcholine in muscle contraction.
Compare and contrast the three types of muscles: Skeletal, smooth, and cardiac.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Essay # 1
Describe a negative feedback loop involved in the maintenance of
homeostasis.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Essay #2
Design an experiment to measure the effect of a drug on animal
physiology. Include the following in your answer:
(a) A description of the animal, drug, equipment, and procedure to be used in
the experiment.
(b) A graph describing the results you would expect from your experiment.
(c) An explanation for your expected results.
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AP Biology Unit 10 Animal Structure and Function
Essay #3
Discuss how each of the following affects or contributes to the process of
contraction in a striated muscle.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Acetylcholine
O2
Ca2+
A decrease in the pH pf the blood
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