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Endocrine System — HS Anatomy & Physiology practice questions

9 multiple-choice questions and 3 flashcards on Endocrine System, about 6% of the HS Anatomy & Physiology bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by Nick Burton · last updated 2026-08-22 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

Endocrine System is one of 13 chapters in CoStudy's HS Anatomy & Physiology bank, and it holds 9 of the bank's 150 multiple-choice questions — roughly 6% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free Endocrine System practice questions

5 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

Insulin and glucagon both originate in the pancreas, but they have OPPOSING effects on blood glucose. Which statement is correct?

  1. Insulin raises blood glucose; glucagon lowers it
  2. Both lower blood glucose
  3. Insulin lowers blood glucose; glucagon raises it
  4. Both raise blood glucose

Answer: C — Insulin lowers blood glucose; glucagon raises it

C) Insulin lowers, glucagon raises — a classic 'reversed-direction' trick. A) Reverses both. B/D) Treat the antagonistic pair as one direction.

Negative feedback regulates body temperature by:

  1. Amplifying changes in temperature
  2. Triggering responses that reverse changes and return to a set point
  3. Stopping all hormone release
  4. Ignoring temperature changes

Answer: B — Triggering responses that reverse changes and return to a set point

Negative feedback reverses deviations from a set point — e.g., sweating when hot, shivering when cold — maintaining homeostasis.

Which posterior-pituitary hormone increases water reabsorption in the kidneys?

  1. ADH (antidiuretic hormone / vasopressin)
  2. Oxytocin
  3. Aldosterone
  4. Cortisol

Answer: A — ADH (antidiuretic hormone / vasopressin)

A) ADH = water reabsorption in collecting ducts. B) Oxytocin = labor + bonding (also posterior pituitary). C) Aldosterone = adrenal cortex; Na⁺/K⁺ balance. D) Cortisol = adrenal cortex; stress/metabolism.

Hormones secreted by the anterior pituitary include:

  1. Adrenaline and noradrenaline
  2. Insulin and glucagon
  3. Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and oxytocin alone
  4. Growth hormone, prolactin, ACTH, TSH, FSH, and LH

Answer: D — Growth hormone, prolactin, ACTH, TSH, FSH, and LH

D) Standard anterior-pituitary catalog. B) Pancreas. C) Posterior pituitary. A) Adrenal medulla.

An action potential in a neuron is generated when:

  1. Calcium ions flow out of the cell
  2. The membrane reaches threshold and voltage-gated sodium channels open, depolarizing the cell
  3. The neuron divides
  4. Glucose binds to the cell membrane

Answer: B — The membrane reaches threshold and voltage-gated sodium channels open, depolarizing the cell

When depolarization reaches threshold (~-55 mV), Na⁺ channels open rapidly, sodium rushes in, and the membrane potential rises sharply — generating an action potential.

Endocrine System flashcards

1 cards from the 3 in this chapter.

Diaphragm role in breathing?

Contracts (flattens) on inhalation → chest cavity expands → air rushes in. Relaxes on exhalation.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full Endocrine System chapter runs 12 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

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