The breathing and nervous systems, and how a signal reaches the brain
Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.
Tala pedals up a hill and breathes faster. The figure shows the nervous and breathing systems. Which sentence explains how they work together?
- The diaphragm sends the signal to the brain, which then speeds up
- The lungs sense the hill and speed up on their own without waiting for any signal
- The brain sends signals along nerves that make the diaphragm contract faster
- The brain tells the lungs to make more oxygen for the muscles
“Two drawings, not to scale:” Zee’s class records breathing at rest and on a bike. Use the table and both systems to explain the change. Which explanation fits?
Two drawings, not to scale: a breathing path and a nervous-system path. Parts shown: muscle, brain, diaphragm. Numbered signal path: 1 brain, 2 motor nerve, 3 diaphragm. Table (model data): Activity | Breaths per minute: Resting | 14; Biking uphill | 30. Two drawings, not to scale: a breathing path and a nervous-system path. Parts shown: muscle, brain, diaphragm. Numbered signal path: 1 brain, 2 motor nerve, 3 diaphragm. Table (model data): Activity | Breaths per minute: Resting | 14; Biking uphill | 30. breathing path muscle diaphragm nervous-system path brain 1 motor nerve 2 diaphragm 3 Activity Breaths per minute Resting 14 Biking uphill 30 - The lungs make extra oxygen when the muscles ask for it
- Working muscle cells give off more carbon dioxide, so the brain signals the diaphragm to contract faster
- Muscles work harder, so the lungs take in pure oxygen with each breath
- The diaphragm sends the signal to the brain, and the brain follows it
At a swim lesson, Bo draws an air path: nose, trachea, stomach, lungs. Which statement finds the flaw?
Breathing drawing, not to scale: a chest outline with the air path inside. Parts shown: nose or mouth, trachea (windpipe), lungs. Numbered path: 1 nose or mouth, 2 trachea, 3 stomach, 4 lungs. This is Bo’s drawing. Breathing drawing, not to scale: a chest outline with the air path inside. Parts shown: nose or mouth, trachea (windpipe), lungs. Numbered path: 1 nose or mouth, 2 trachea, 3 stomach, 4 lungs. This is Bo’s drawing. Bo's drawing not to scale 1 nose or mouth 2 trachea 3 stomach 4 lungs chest outline with the air path inside Breathing drawing - Breathed-out air should be carbon dioxide, so the path needs no oxygen
- The diaphragm should come before the nose to pull air in
- Air goes from the trachea to the bronchi and lungs, not to the stomach
- Oxygen should start in the lungs, because the lungs make it
Read this first
Use this
Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Parts shown: receptor, sensory nerve, brain, motor nerve, muscle. Esme's drawing of a reflex.
Esme draws the pinecone reflex path: receptor, sensory nerve, brain, motor nerve, muscle. Which statement finds the flaw?
Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Parts shown: receptor, sensory nerve, brain, motor nerve, muscle. Numbered signal path: 1 receptor in the skin, 2 sensory nerve, 3 brain, 4 motor nerve, 5 muscle. Esme’s drawing of a reflex. Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Parts shown: receptor, sensory nerve, brain, motor nerve, muscle. Numbered signal path: 1 receptor in the skin, 2 sensory nerve, 3 brain, 4 motor nerve, 5 muscle. Esme’s drawing of a reflex. 3 brain 1 receptor in the skin 2 sensory nerve 4 motor nerve 5 muscle - There is no flaw, because the brain must decide before any movement
- The receptor should sit in the muscle, not in the skin
- The motor nerve should carry the signal toward the brain
- A reflex path turns around in the spinal cord, not in the brain
“A student's ladder, not to scale, read from the bottom step to the top step:” Jun’s ladder, from smallest to biggest, reads cell, organ, tissue, organ system. Which statement finds the flaw?
A student’s ladder, not to scale, read from the bottom step to the top step: cell, organ, tissue, organ system. Parts shown: cell, organ, tissue, organ system. A student’s ladder, not to scale, read from the bottom step to the top step: cell, organ, tissue, organ system. Parts shown: cell, organ, tissue, organ system. cell organ tissue organ system - Organ system should come first, because it contains the other levels
- There is no flaw, because organs and tissues are about the same size
- Cell should come last, because it holds the most parts
- Tissue should come before organ, because organs are made of tissues
Read-about card: an adult holds the bag; the sensor reads some oxygen in the breathed-out air. At a swim lesson, Kira breathes out once into a clear bag. A sensor still finds oxygen in the bag. How can that be?
Breathing drawing, not to scale: a chest outline with the air path inside. Parts shown: lungs, alveoli (tiny air sacs). Read-about card: an adult holds the bag; the sensor reads some oxygen in the breathed-out air. Breathing drawing, not to scale: a chest outline with the air path inside. Parts shown: lungs, alveoli (tiny air sacs). Read-about card: an adult holds the bag; the sensor reads some oxygen in the breathed-out air. air path lungs alveoli (tiny air sacs) not to scale - The bag adds oxygen from the room to the breath
- Breathed-out air is carbon dioxide, so the sensor reading must be wrong
- Air breathed in has oxygen, and the body takes just part of it
- The lungs make fresh oxygen as the air leaves
Levels ladder, not to scale
Four steps from the smallest piece at the bottom to the biggest group at the top. Part | letter | job: cell | W | the smallest unit of life; tissue | X | a group of similar cells that do one job; organ | Y | several tissues working together as one body part; organ system | Z | several organs working together on a big job.
Milo reads that nervous tissue carries signals in the brain, yet the brain is called an organ, not a tissue. Why?
- An organ joins nervous tissue with other tissues that work together
- An organ is one kind of cell, so the brain counts as one
- The brain is an organ system, since it controls the whole body
- A tissue is a bigger level than an organ, so the brain fits the smaller one
Breathing drawing, not to scale. Before a swim lesson, Pia and a teacher talk about how air gets into the lungs. Which claim with its reason is better?
Breathing drawing, not to scale: a chest outline with the air path inside. Letters: X is the trachea (windpipe); Y is the lungs; Z is the diaphragm. Breathing drawing, not to scale: a chest outline with the air path inside. Letters: X is the trachea (windpipe); Y is the lungs; Z is the diaphragm. X - trachea (windpipe) Y - lungs Z - diaphragm - The lungs pull air in, because they are muscles that squeeze
- The air sacs push air in, because they make oxygen to fill the lungs
- The windpipe pushes air in, because it pumps air down toward the stomach first
- The diaphragm contracts, because that makes more room for air in the chest
Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Ren and a teacher compare ideas about the pinecone reflex. Which claim with its reason is better?
Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Parts shown: receptor, sensory nerve, spinal cord, motor nerve, muscle, brain. Numbered signal path: 1 receptor in the skin, 2 sensory nerve, 3 spinal cord, 4 motor nerve, 5 muscle. Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Parts shown: receptor, sensory nerve, spinal cord, motor nerve, muscle, brain. Numbered signal path: 1 receptor in the skin, 2 sensory nerve, 3 spinal cord, 4 motor nerve, 5 muscle. 1 receptor in the skin 2 sensory nerve 3 spinal cord 4 motor nerve 5 muscle brain - The brain starts the pull-back, because it must decide first
- The spinal cord starts the pull-back, because a reflex does not wait for the brain
- The motor nerve starts the pull-back, because it carries signals in
- The muscle starts the pull-back, because it feels the prick itself
Use this
Four level cards, not to scale, shown in no order. Part | letter | job: organ | W | several tissues working together as one body part; cell | X | the smallest unit of life; organ system | Y | several organs working together on a big job; tissue | Z | a group of similar cells that do one job.
Noah sorts nerve cell, nervous tissue, brain and nervous system onto a ladder. Which order with its reason is better?
- Cell, tissue, system, organ, because a system is just one small part of an organ
- Tissue, cell, organ, system, because tissues hold the cells’ jobs
- Cell, organ, tissue, system, because an organ is simpler than a tissue
- Cell, tissue, organ, system, because each level is built from the one before

