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9th grade Neurons and the main parts of the brain worksheet

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Neurons and the main parts of the brain

Grade 9 Science Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    Use this

    Reflex path (model, not to scale):

  2. Ari brushes a hand against a prickly pinecone, and the hand pulls away. What kind of neuron is X, which links W to Y inside the spinal cord?

    • A motor neuron
    • A glial cell
    • An interneuron
    • A sensory neuron
  3. Bo reads the same reflex path. Which statement about neuron Y, which ends on the arm muscle, is right?

    Use the picture in question 1.

    • Y is a motor neuron that carries the message out to the muscle
    • Y is an interneuron that stays inside the spinal cord
    • Y is a motor neuron that carries the message from the muscle back to the cord
    • Y is a sensory neuron that brings the message in from the skin
  4. Esme brushes a hand against a prickly pinecone. The hand starts to pull away before Esme feels the prick. Why?

    • The impulse jumps each gap electrically, so no chemicals slow it
    • The brain sends the move first, and the spinal cord copies it
    • The signal first runs backward from the muscle to the skin
    • The reflex path stays in the spinal cord, and the brain is told afterward
  5. (model, not to scale). No arrow is drawn. Kira looks at a chemical synapse between neuron A and neuron B. Which way does the message cross?

    • From A's cell body straight to B's cell body
    • Both ways, from A to B and from B to A, at the same time
    • From B's dendrites to A's axon terminals
    • From A's axon terminals to B's dendrites, and not back
  6. Synapse steps (model data)

    stepwhat happens
    1An impulse travels down the axon of neuron 1 to its axon terminals
    2?
    3Receptors on neuron 2 pick up the message
  7. Luz reads the steps at a chemical synapse. What happens at step 2?

    • Neurotransmitter flows back up the axon toward the cell body
    • Small sacs in the terminals release neurotransmitter into the gap
    • The electrical impulse leaps across the gap into neuron 2
    • The terminals grow across the gap and join neuron 2
  8. Milo practices a short piece on the piano. The cerebrum plans the finger movements. Which part compares the plan with feedback from the hands and corrects the movement?

    • The spinal cord, part Z, which keeps the notes in order
    • The brainstem, part Y, which stores the practice as a memory
    • The cerebrum, part W, because it plans movements, so it also fixes them
    • The cerebellum, part X
  9. Noah rides a bike uphill. Which pairing matches what two parts of the brain do on the ride?

    Use the picture in question 6.

    • Cerebellum helps with balance; brainstem stores memories of the route
    • Brainstem helps with balance; cerebellum keeps breathing going
    • Cerebellum helps with balance; brainstem keeps breathing going
    • Cerebellum plans the route and helps with balance; brainstem keeps breathing going
  10. Pia is asleep, and breathing keeps going without any effort. Which part of the brain helps keep breathing going?

    Use the picture in question 6.

    • The cerebrum, because breathing needs a decision each time
    • The spinal cord, with no help from the brain
    • The cerebellum, the little brain that does the thinking
    • The brainstem, which helps keep breathing going
  11. Tala reads a graph of a neuron's voltage during one impulse. Which statement does the graph support?

    • After the peak, the drop means the impulse runs back toward the dendrites
    • The voltage is highest at 2 ms, at the threshold
    • The voltage stays at −70 mV the whole time
    • The voltage starts at −70 mV, peaks at +30 mV, then returns to −70 mV
  12. Model rate card (model data)

    activitybreathing rate (breaths per minute)heart rate (beats per minute)
    Asleep1260
    Walking1890
    Cycling30130
  13. Zee reads a card of breathing and heart rates. Which statement does the card support?

    • Breathing rate rose, but heart rate stayed the same
    • Both rates were lowest while cycling
    • Both rates rose from asleep to cycling, and the brainstem helps set both
    • Both rates rose, and the cerebellum helps set both
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9th grade Neurons and the main parts of the brain worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Neurons and the main parts of the brain. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can name the five parts of a neuron and say the job of each: dendrites receive messages from other neurons, the cell body holds the nucleus and other organelles, the axon carries the impulse away from the cell body, the myelin sheath wraps parts of the axon and speeds the impulse, and the axon terminals release chemicals onto the next cell.
  • I can say a signal moves one way through a neuron (dendrites, cell body, axon, axon terminals) and does not run back.
  • I can say that along the axon the signal is an electrical impulse, and that at a chemical synapse the impulse reaches the axon terminals, which release neurotransmitter chemicals that cross the gap and are picked up by receptors on the next cell. I can say that the message crosses one way.
  • I can say a neuron at rest has a voltage of about −70 mV, and I can read a model graph of one impulse (rest at −70 mV, a threshold near −55 mV, a peak, a return to rest).
  • I can tell the three neuron types apart in a reflex path: a sensory neuron carries messages in toward the spinal cord, an interneuron links neurons inside the spinal cord, and a motor neuron carries messages out to a muscle. I can say a reflex is quick because its path runs through the spinal cord while other neurons tell the brain afterward.
  • I can name the cerebrum (thinking, the senses, memory and planned movement), the cerebellum (balance and coordination, comparing a movement plan with feedback) and the brainstem (the link to the spinal cord, breathing and heart rate), and I can match each one to an everyday activity.

Standard: HS-LS1-2

Words to know

neuron: A nerve cell that sends and receives signals

dendrites: Branches of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons

cell body: The part of a neuron that holds the nucleus and other organelles

axon: The long fiber that carries the impulse away from the cell body

myelin sheath: An insulating wrap around parts of an axon; it speeds the impulse

axon terminals: The endings of the axon that release chemicals onto the next cell

impulse: The brief electrical signal that travels along the axon

synapse: The meeting place, with a small gap, where one neuron passes a message on

Common mistakes

Your child thought a nerve signal can run either way along a neuron. Inside one neuron the impulse runs one way, from the dendrites through the cell body and axon to the axon terminals, and a chemical synapse passes the message forward, not back. Ask your child to trace a signal through one neuron.

Your child thought the electrical impulse itself jumps across the gap between two neurons. At the usual kind of synapse, the impulse reaches the axon terminals, which release neurotransmitter chemicals that cross the gap. Ask your child what crosses the gap.

Your child thought the cerebellum does the thinking, perhaps because its name means little brain. The cerebrum handles thinking, the senses and planned movement. The cerebellum helps with balance and coordination. Ask your child which part helps keep balance on a bike.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with neurons and the main parts of the brain?

Your child thought a nerve signal can run either way along a neuron. Inside one neuron the impulse runs one way, from the dendrites through the cell body and axon to the axon terminals, and a chemical synapse passes the message forward, not back. Ask your child to trace a signal through one neuron.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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