Did you know that the word hormone means “to excite or stimulate”? Well, that’s what hormones do to your body. These chemical messengers influence all your major bodily functions—from how tall you are to how much energy you have to how you respond to stress.
Your Mission: Use the Web sites below to find out more about hormones and complete the two activities. First, you’ll learn the basics about hormones and how they work. Then research different kinds of hormones and choose five you think are most important to the human body. Note: Don’t feel limited to the Internet for your research. Use books, magazines, and other resources along the way.
Web Links
General Info
The Endocrine System
http://www.yucky.com/noflash/body/index.ssf?/systems/endocrine/
Brought to you by the folks at yucky.com, this site provides a starting point for your investigation.
What Are Hormones?
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/045env_hormone/main3.html
There are definitions, diagrams, and links located here.
Specific Hormones
Endocrine Glands
http://www.tmc.tulane.edu/ECME/eehome/basics/endosys/glands.html
This site offers information about the endocrine system, plus additional pages related to the types of hormones and hormone target cells.
Compton’s Encyclopedia: Hormones
http://www.comptons.com/encyclopedia/ARTICLES/0075/00882688_A.html
Read a thorough explanation and check diagrams here.
World Book: Discovery School’s A-Z Science: Hormones
http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozscience/h/262680.html
Links to the Individual Hormones
http://www.ultranet.com/~jkimball/BiologyPages/H/HormoneTable.html
This is a pretty medically intense page, which offers extensive information.
Activity 1: Hormone Basics
Use the Web sites provided to answer these questions about hormones.
| 1. | What is a hormone and what does it do? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ |
| 2. | What bodily system produces hormones? ___________________________________________________________ |
| 3. | Where are individual hormones made? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ |
| 4. | Why are there different hormones in men and women? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ |
| 5. | What if a person does not have enough of a hormone? What if a person has too much of a hormone? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ |
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Activity 2: Top Five Hormones
Research different kinds of hormones using the provided Web sites. Then choose five you think are most important to the human body and complete the chart.
| Hormone | Where it’s produced | Purpose | Interesting fact | Reason for choosing it |
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