Coordination

Traps in Coordination

• Mismatches hormones and functions
  Insulin (pancreas) lowers blood glucose; ADH (pituitary) reduces urine volume; adrenaline prepares for 'fight or flight'; thyroxine controls metabolic rate.
• Gives the job of a neighbouring structure or stage
  Learn structures as pairs of 'name → one job' and contrast neighbours: ribosome makes protein, mitochondrion releases energy; cochlea hears, semicircular canals balance. When two options sit in the same organ or process, ask which one does exactly the job in the stem.
• Reverses a direction, order or effect
  Before answering, say the process out loud in order with arrows (receptor → sensory → relay → motor → effector; lungs → pulmonary vein → left atrium). Then ask: does my option point the same way? If an option is the mirror image of a fact you know, it is a trap.
• Confuses parts of the nervous system
  Cerebrum: thought, memory, voluntary action. Cerebellum: balance and coordination. Medulla: breathing, heartbeat. Reflex arc: receptor → sensory → relay → motor → effector.
• Over-generalises a rule to all cases
  Absolute words (all, always, every, never) are rarely right in biology. Try to name one exception; if you can, reject the option.
• Confuses parts of sense organs
  Eye: cornea/lens focus, retina detects (rods dim light, cones colour), iris controls pupil size. Ear: ossicles amplify, cochlea detects sound, semicircular canals detect head movement (balance).
• Uses an everyday idea instead of the biology
  Translate everyday words into the textbook definition before choosing. If the only reason an option attracts you is its name or looks, test it against the definition in the stem.
• Takes one contributing factor as the whole answer
  Watch for 'only', 'just', 'mainly'. Ask: is this the MAIN reason, or one contributor? If it would need other things to work (plasma proteins need platelets), it is incomplete.
• Mixes up a pair of similar technical terms
  Make a two-column table for each confusable pair with one defining feature each, and a memory hook (aTLas holds the 'world' (skull) and nods; aXis lets you shake 'no'). Underline the defining feature the stem gives before you look at the options.
• Chooses a true but irrelevant statement
  Re-read the question word (why, which, where, what causes). An option can be a true fact and still be wrong because it answers a different question.
• Transfers a feature to the wrong organism group
  Keep a feature grid: rows = groups (bacteria, fungi, mosses, ferns, conifers, flowering plants, insects, fish, mammals), columns = wall, nucleus, gas exchange, reproduction. Check the option against the right row.