AP Bio Free Response Question for Blood Sugar Homeostasis

👋 Welcome to the AP Bio Unit 4 FRQ (Blood Sugar Homeostasis). These are longer questions, so grab some paper and a pencil, or open up a blank page on your computer. After you finish, you can see how you did with Unit 4 FRQ (Blood Sugar Homeostasis) Answers.

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⏱ The AP Biology exam has 6 free-response questions, and you will be given 90 minutes to complete the FRQ section. (This means you should give yourself ~15 minutes to go through each practice FRQ.) -----

Setup

Blood sugar in humans is regulated through a series of homeostatic mechanisms to maintain levels at a consistent, healthy level. When sugar is consumed and blood sugar rises, different metabolic pathways are triggered to return the levels to normal. When blood sugar levels fall too low, other metabolic pathways are triggered to return the levels to normal.

A person with diabetes mellitus (a.k.a., Type II diabetes) experiences disruptions to these feedback loops when their blood sugar rises uncontrollably, and the body is unable to lower it on its own. A person with juvenile diabetes (a.k.a., Type I diabetes) also results in uncontrollable blood sugar levels, but due to a lack of a hormone that promotes blood glucose uptake in the liver to lower blood sugar levels. 

Questions

(a) Identify the hormone that is nonfunctional or nonexistent in Type I diabetes patients.

(b) Describe the feedback loop utilized to return blood sugar levels to normal after a person consumes a food containing glucose, such as fruit, white rice or a piece of candy.

(c) Construct a graph that demonstrates the amounts of glucose and the hormone identified in Part A in a healthy person’s blood after consuming a food containing glucose, such as fruit, white rice, or a piece of candy.

(d) Hormone receptors on the liver trigger a signal transduction pathway that results in the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream, lowering blood sugar levels to safe amounts. This is because glucose is able to enter liver cells through transport proteins called GLUT, which open and close on command when triggered by the hormone receptors. Identify the type of cell transport that the GLUT protein uses.

Answers & Rubric

💯 Ready to see how you did? Take a look at the Unit 4 FRQ (Blood Sugar Homeostasis) Answers.