Stimulus

Question

  Match the letter of each example from childbirth to the appropriate component of a positive feedback loop.

A. pituitary gland secretes oxytocin, which acts on the uterus
B. uterine contractions increase
C. fetus is pushed against uterine opening
D. receptors detect stretch
E. brain receives and compares stretch information

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?

Gather Content
What do you already know about positive feedback? What other information is related to the question?

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?

Answer 1

C. fetus is pushed against uterine opening

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · This question is asking about the components of a positive feedback loop.
What type of thinking is required?
        · Apply level:
            o You are being asked to take what you already know and use, or apply, it to the positive feedback loop associated with childbirth.

Gather Content
What do you already know about positive feedback? What other information is related to the question?
        · Positive feedback increases the deviation from a normal value of a variable.
        · Positive feedback consists of 4 components; the stimulus, integrating center, effector, and response.
        · The stimulus is the starting point for the feedback loop. It is a change to which the body will respond.
        · The integrating center receives the stimulus and organizes a response.
        · An effector is usually a muscle or a gland that causes the response to occur.
        · The response is an increase in the deviation from a normal value.

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · The stimulus in this case is the pressure against the uterine opening, because it is a change to which the body will respond.

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        · Apply level:
            o Answering this question correctly depended on your ability to use a positive feedback loop in a new situation. If you got an incorrect answer, did you remember that the pressure on the uterine opening is a change to which the body will respond, or that in a positive feedback loop the component that is known as the stimulus? Did you have trouble extending a positive feedback loop to determine the correct answer?