Understand (in)voluntary actions and experiment with reaction time!
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Alignment
LS1B: Growth and Development of Organisms
Discussion Questions
1. Have you heard of reflexes? Describe a reflex that you have.
2. What is a way to test how fast you react to stimuli in your environment?
Video 1
Vocabulary
1. Motor cortex - a region of the brain that is responsible for planning and controlling voluntary movements
2. Reflex - an automatic, involuntary movement that occurs in response to a stimulus
3. Voluntary movement - a controlled movement or action that an organism makes on purpose
4. Involuntary movement - an uncontrollable movement that an organism does not make on purpose
5. Reaction Time - a measure of how quickly an organism can respond to a stimulus
6. Pupillary Response -
7. Hypothalamus - a small region at the base of the brain responsible for a variety of functions like controlling hunger, thirst, sleep, reproduction, and hormone production.
Video 2
Review
1. The brain responds to stimuli and changes in the environment by producing behaviors and regulating the body's internal environment.
2. Sometimes there is a difference in the amount of time that it takes different individuals to react to the same stimuli and changes in the environment.
