Question

As the water evaporates from the skin of a swimmer who has just left a pool, the swimmer begins to shiver and goose bumps form on his skin. As the blood vessels under his skin move more internally, the goose bumps that form and the shivering are reactions to counteract the lowering of body temperature. After the swimmer has dried off the shivering stops and his body temperature returns to normal. This is an example of

• A. Product inhibition
• B. Disequilibrium
• C. A negative feedback mechanism
• D. A positive feedback mechanism

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

A negative feedback mechanism

When there is a drop in body temperature due to a drop in environmental temperature. The sensory receptors on the skin sends signal to the hypothalamus, which increases the body temperature by causing vasoconstriction and prevents blood from flowing closer to the skin, this also causes piloerection or goosebumps, this is to conserve energy and raise the body temperature. Once the swimmer has dried himself the thermosensors of the skin send a feed back of temperature returning to normal to the hypothalamus and the shivering is stopped. This is called negative feedback mechanism.

So, the correct answer is 'A negative feedback mechanism'