Control and Coordination Class 10

Control and Coordination explains how organisms detect changes in their surroundings, process information and produce an appropriate response. In animals, coordination occurs through the nervous system and hormones. Plants do not have nerves or muscles, but they coordinate responses through chemical signals, growth and changes in water content.

The chapter links a stimulus to a response. A receptor detects the stimulus, information travels through the body and an effector such as a muscle or gland performs the response.

Nervous coordination in animals

The neuron is the structural and functional unit of the nervous system. Students learn the functions of dendrites, cell body and axon and understand how an electrical impulse travels through a neuron and crosses a synapse chemically.

Important topics include:

• Stimulus, receptor and response

• Sensory, relay and motor neurons

• Transmission of nerve impulses

• Synapse and chemical signalling

• Reflex action

• Reflex arc

• Voluntary and involuntary actions

• Central nervous system

• Peripheral nervous system

Human brain and spinal cord

The brain is divided into specialised regions:

• The forebrain is associated with thinking, memory, sensory information and voluntary action.

• The midbrain helps control certain involuntary responses.

• The hindbrain includes structures involved in balance, posture and involuntary activities such as breathing.

Students also learn how the skull, vertebral column, meninges and cerebrospinal fluid protect the brain and spinal cord.

Chemical coordination through hormones

Hormones are chemical messengers secreted by endocrine glands and carried by blood to target organs. The chapter introduces major glands and hormones, including the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, pancreas, adrenal glands, testes and ovaries.

Students study growth hormone, thyroxine, insulin, adrenaline and reproductive hormones. Feedback mechanisms explain how hormone levels are regulated.

Coordination in plants

Plants respond to stimuli through movements. Directional growth responses are called tropisms. These include:

• Phototropism in response to light

• Geotropism or gravitropism in response to gravity

• Hydrotropism in response to water

• Chemotropism in response to chemicals

• Thigmotropism in response to touch

Students also study rapid movements that occur through changes in water content and the roles of plant hormones such as auxin, gibberellin, cytokinin and abscisic acid.

Learn Control and Coordination with Teachoo

Teachoo provides complete Class 10 Control and Coordination notes, NCERT Solutions and practice questions. Processes such as impulse transmission and reflex action are presented in sequence, while glands and hormones are organised into revision-friendly comparisons.

Students can study all concepts, solve NCERT questions, answer questions from inside the textbook and practise additional Teachoo Questions.

How should you revise this chapter?

Draw a reflex arc and follow the direction of the impulse. Prepare a table containing each endocrine gland, its hormone, target or function, and the effect of deficiency or excess where applicable. For plant responses, always identify the stimulus and whether growth is towards or away from it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is control and coordination?

Control and coordination is the process by which different parts of an organism work together to detect changes and produce suitable responses.

What is a reflex action?

A reflex action is a rapid, automatic response to a stimulus. It commonly follows a reflex arc involving receptors, sensory neurons, the spinal cord, motor neurons and an effector.

What is the difference between nervous and hormonal coordination?

Nervous coordination uses electrical impulses, acts rapidly and usually produces a short-lived, specific response. Hormonal coordination uses chemical messengers carried through blood and is generally slower but longer lasting.

How do plants respond without a nervous system?

Plants use chemical messengers and changes in growth or water content to respond to light, gravity, water, touch and other stimuli.

Where can I find Control and Coordination NCERT Solutions?

Teachoo provides concept-wise explanations, NCERT Solutions, in-text question answers and additional practice questions for Control and Coordination Class 10.