Grade 6 · Science · Unit 1 of 6
Body Systems
Nerves, hormones, kidneys and more
What your child practises
How the nervous and endocrine (hormone) systems send messages, how the excretory system removes waste, and the basic organs of the reproductive system, all at a simple organ-and-job level.
BC Curriculum learning standard: Basic structures and functions of body systems: excretory, reproductive, hormonal and nervous
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Your heart pounds before a big race. Which hormone from the adrenal glands causes this?
🏃- growth hormone
- adrenaline
- insulin
- melatonin
Show answer
adrenaline
Hint: This hormone gets your body ready for action: a faster heartbeat and quicker breathing.
Question 2
What is the main job of the excretory system?
🚰- breaking down food
- removing wastes from the body
- pumping blood around the body
- sending messages to muscles
Show answer
removing wastes from the body
Hint: To excrete means to get rid of waste. Your kidneys, bladder, skin and lungs all help.
Question 3
Puberty is started by chemical messengers. Which body system releases them?
- the digestive system
- the excretory system
- the endocrine (hormone) system
- the skeletal system
Show answer
the endocrine (hormone) system
Hint: Hormones from glands such as the pituitary signal the body to begin the changes of puberty.
Question 4
What are the main parts of the nervous system?
🧠- lungs, windpipe and diaphragm
- brain, spinal cord and nerves
- kidneys, bladder and ureters
- heart, blood and blood vessels
Show answer
brain, spinal cord and nerves
Hint: The nervous system is your body's message network. The brain and spinal cord are the control centre, and nerves reach every part of you.
Question 5
Which body system does each part belong to? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: ⚡ nervous system · 🚰 excretory system · 🧪 endocrine (hormone) system
- 🎛️pituitary gland
- 🧵ureters
- 💧kidneys
- 🔗spinal cord
- 〰️nerves
- 🦋thyroid gland
Show answer
⚡ nervous system: spinal cord, nerves · 🚰 excretory system: ureters, kidneys · 🧪 endocrine (hormone) system: pituitary gland, thyroid gland
Hint: The nervous system carries fast electrical messages. The excretory system removes wastes. Endocrine glands release hormones into the blood.
Question 6
Using the table, which kind of message pulls your hand off a hot pan?
Two ways the body sends messages Feature Nerve signals Hormones Travel through nerves the blood Speed a fraction of a second seconds to hours Effect lasts a short time minutes to years - both, at exactly the same speed
- nerve signals
- hormones
Show answer
nerve signals
Hint: You need to move in a fraction of a second. Check the Speed row.