Higher Tier: hormones interact across the cycle
| English | 中文 | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| FSH/ˌef es ˈeɪtʃ/ | 促卵泡激素 | cù luǎn pào jī sù |
| progesterone/prəʊˈdʒestərəʊn/ | 孕酮 | yùn tóng |
What would explain this observation?
- Higher Tier: A peak on a hormone graph is useful when connected to its effect and to other hormones. A cycle cannot be explained as four unrelated definitions.
- Start with a prediction. State the quantities or features you would compare, then decide what evidence could distinguish two explanations.
Build the model
- FSH 促卵泡激素 from the pituitary stimulates egg maturation and ovarian oestrogen production. Oestrogen supports rebuilding the uterus lining, inhibits FSH and, at the appropriate stage, stimulates LH release. The LH surge triggers ovulation. Progesterone 孕酮 maintains the lining and inhibits FSH and LH; falling progesterone allows lining loss and the start of another cycle.
- FSH: A pituitary hormone stimulating egg maturation and ovarian oestrogen production; progesterone: A hormone maintaining the uterus lining and inhibiting FSH and LH in the cycle model.
Which change supports lining loss at the end of the stated cycle?
Read the supplied curves for the same time interval. Identify a hormone peak, connect it with the specified effect and explain an inhibition or stimulation arrow. Do not describe every increase as negative feedback: stimulation of the LH surge differs from inhibition of FSH. The simplified cycle model does not determine an individual’s cycle dates.
Match each technical term to its precise meaning.
Use the definitions to distinguish related quantities and processes.
Choose evidence that can test it
- Read the supplied curves for the same time interval. Identify a hormone peak, connect it with the specified effect and explain an inhibition or stimulation arrow. Do not describe every increase as negative feedback: stimulation of the LH surge differs from inhibition of FSH. The simplified cycle model does not determine an individual’s cycle dates.
- Use fictional hormone graphs labelled with units or relative levels. Distinguish reading a value, describing a trend and explaining a mechanism. Relate a stated LH peak to the model ovulation event and a progesterone decline to lining loss. These are graph-analysis tasks, not instructions for personal fertility prediction or medication use.
Which two habits make the investigation or model in this case more defensible?
Use fictional hormone graphs labelled with units or relative levels. Distinguish reading a value, describing a trend and explaining a mechanism. Relate a stated LH peak to the model ovulation event and a progesterone decline to lining loss. These are graph-analysis tasks, not instructions for personal fertility prediction or medication use.
Work from known quantities
- State the known values and their units. Choose the relation because its assumptions fit this case, then rearrange before substitution.
- Known: a fictional LH curve rises from 2 to 10 relative units between two labelled days. Increase = 8 units and fold increase = 10/2 = 5. The peak timing must be read separately from its height. A fivefold change does not mean five eggs are necessarily released.
A fictional hormone value rises from 3 to 12 relative units. Calculate fold increase. Use the same sequence: known quantities → model → relation → substitution → unit and interpretation.
A fictional hormone value rises from 3 to 12 relative units. Calculate fold increase.
The result is 4 . Known: a fictional LH curve rises from 2 to 10 relative units between two labelled days. Increase = 8 units and fold increase = 10/2 = 5. The peak timing must be read separately from its height. A fivefold change does not mean five eggs are necessarily released.
Check the conclusion and its limits
- Hormone concentration and egg number are different quantities. Inhibiting FSH reduces further maturation in the stated model rather than removing every hormone instantly. Menstruation is linked to falling support for the lining, not to the egg being physically washed out of the ovary.
- Return to the original observation. Explain what the result supports, which conditions it assumes, and one way to test a competing explanation.
A hormone concentration peak directly states the number of eggs released. This claim is false: Hormone concentration and egg number are different quantities. Inhibiting FSH reduces further maturation in the stated model rather than removing every hormone instantly. Menstruation is linked to falling support for the lining, not to the egg being physically washed out of the ovary.
Higher Tier: hormones interact across the cycle: Read the supplied curves for the same time interval. Identify a hormone peak, connect it with the specified effect and explain an inhibition or stimulation arrow. Do not describe every increase as negative feedback: stimulation of the LH surge differs from inhibition of FSH. The simplified cycle model does not determine an individual’s cycle dates.
A hormone concentration peak directly states the number of eggs released.
Hormone concentration and egg number are different quantities. Inhibiting FSH reduces further maturation in the stated model rather than removing every hormone instantly. Menstruation is linked to falling support for the lining, not to the egg being physically washed out of the ovary.
A pituitary hormone stimulating egg maturation and ovarian oestrogen production: write the technical term.
FSH means A pituitary hormone stimulating egg maturation and ovarian oestrogen production.