SCIENCE OLYMPIAD ANATOMY PHYSIOLOGY FINAL
EXAM 2026/2027 QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED
A+
✔✔peptides - ✔✔- short chains of amino acids (most hormones)
pituitary, parathyroid, heart, stomach, liver & kidneys
✔✔amines - ✔✔derived from tyrosine and secreted by thyroid and adrenal cortex
✔✔steroids - ✔✔lipids derived from cholesterol secreted by the gonads, adrenal cortex,
and placenta
✔✔eicosanoid - ✔✔produced from 20-carbon fatty acid, arachadonic acid, produced in
all cells except
RBCs -Prostaglandins and leukotrienes
✔✔Peptide/Protein - ✔✔Hydrophilic
• Large
• Can't fit through membrane
• Second messenger mechanism of action
• Most common hormone
Example: Insulin
✔✔Amine - ✔✔Synthesized from a single amino acid
• Melatonin from tryptophan
✔✔Eicosanoid - ✔✔Produced from 20-carbon fatty acid, arachadonic acid
• Produced in all cells except RBCs
• 2nd messenger
• Prostaglandins and leukotrienes
• inflammation
✔✔Steroid Hormones - ✔✔Small
• Hydrophobic/Lipophilic
• Travel in blood w/carrier
• Cytoplasmic or nuclear receptors
• change protein synthesis
• Example: estradiol
✔✔Neuron - ✔✔Basic functional cell of nervous system
• Transmits impulses (up to 250 mph)
✔✔Dendrite - - ✔✔receive stimulus and carries it impulses
toward the cell body
, ✔✔Cell Body - ✔✔- nucleus & most of
cytoplasm
✔✔Axon - ✔✔fiber which carries impulses away from cell body
✔✔Schwann Cells - ✔✔Glial cells that are located in the peripheral nervous system and
that form the myelin sheath around the axon of a neuron
✔✔Myelin sheath - ✔✔A layer of electrical insulation that surrounds the axon.
✔✔Node of Ranvier - ✔✔gaps or nodes in the myelin sheath
✔✔Sensory neurons - ✔✔Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense
receptors to the central nervous system.
✔✔Motor neurons - ✔✔Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central
nervous system to the muscles and glands.
✔✔Interneurons - ✔✔Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and
intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
✔✔stimulus - ✔✔change in the environment with sufficient
strength to initiate a response
✔✔Excitability - ✔✔ability of a neuron to respond to the stimulus and convert it into a
nerve impulse
✔✔All of Nothing Rule - ✔✔- The stimulus is either strong enough to start and impulse
or nothing happens
✔✔Synapse - ✔✔Gap between neurons
✔✔Neurotransmitters - ✔✔Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between
neurons.
✔✔Reflex Arc - ✔✔A. Receptor - reacts to a stimulus
B. Afferent pathway (sensory neuron) - conducts impulses to the CNS
C. Interneuron - consists of one or more synapses in the CNS (most are in the spine)
D. Efferent pathway (motor neuron) conducts impulses from CNS to effector.
E. Effector - muscle fibers (as in the Hamstring muscle) or glands responds by
contracting or secreting a
product.
EXAM 2026/2027 QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED
A+
✔✔peptides - ✔✔- short chains of amino acids (most hormones)
pituitary, parathyroid, heart, stomach, liver & kidneys
✔✔amines - ✔✔derived from tyrosine and secreted by thyroid and adrenal cortex
✔✔steroids - ✔✔lipids derived from cholesterol secreted by the gonads, adrenal cortex,
and placenta
✔✔eicosanoid - ✔✔produced from 20-carbon fatty acid, arachadonic acid, produced in
all cells except
RBCs -Prostaglandins and leukotrienes
✔✔Peptide/Protein - ✔✔Hydrophilic
• Large
• Can't fit through membrane
• Second messenger mechanism of action
• Most common hormone
Example: Insulin
✔✔Amine - ✔✔Synthesized from a single amino acid
• Melatonin from tryptophan
✔✔Eicosanoid - ✔✔Produced from 20-carbon fatty acid, arachadonic acid
• Produced in all cells except RBCs
• 2nd messenger
• Prostaglandins and leukotrienes
• inflammation
✔✔Steroid Hormones - ✔✔Small
• Hydrophobic/Lipophilic
• Travel in blood w/carrier
• Cytoplasmic or nuclear receptors
• change protein synthesis
• Example: estradiol
✔✔Neuron - ✔✔Basic functional cell of nervous system
• Transmits impulses (up to 250 mph)
✔✔Dendrite - - ✔✔receive stimulus and carries it impulses
toward the cell body
, ✔✔Cell Body - ✔✔- nucleus & most of
cytoplasm
✔✔Axon - ✔✔fiber which carries impulses away from cell body
✔✔Schwann Cells - ✔✔Glial cells that are located in the peripheral nervous system and
that form the myelin sheath around the axon of a neuron
✔✔Myelin sheath - ✔✔A layer of electrical insulation that surrounds the axon.
✔✔Node of Ranvier - ✔✔gaps or nodes in the myelin sheath
✔✔Sensory neurons - ✔✔Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense
receptors to the central nervous system.
✔✔Motor neurons - ✔✔Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central
nervous system to the muscles and glands.
✔✔Interneurons - ✔✔Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and
intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
✔✔stimulus - ✔✔change in the environment with sufficient
strength to initiate a response
✔✔Excitability - ✔✔ability of a neuron to respond to the stimulus and convert it into a
nerve impulse
✔✔All of Nothing Rule - ✔✔- The stimulus is either strong enough to start and impulse
or nothing happens
✔✔Synapse - ✔✔Gap between neurons
✔✔Neurotransmitters - ✔✔Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between
neurons.
✔✔Reflex Arc - ✔✔A. Receptor - reacts to a stimulus
B. Afferent pathway (sensory neuron) - conducts impulses to the CNS
C. Interneuron - consists of one or more synapses in the CNS (most are in the spine)
D. Efferent pathway (motor neuron) conducts impulses from CNS to effector.
E. Effector - muscle fibers (as in the Hamstring muscle) or glands responds by
contracting or secreting a
product.
