Modeling Nerve Impulses
Chapter 34: Nervous System

A nerve impulse is a wave of chemical and electrical charge that moves along the membrane of a neuron. Nerve impulses move from one neuron to another. You can use dominoes to model the transmission of a nerve impulse if you…

Try This

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1. Arrange ten dominoes (or other similar object) on end in a row.
2. Gently push the first domino and observe what happens.

Analyze Your Results

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1. Why did all of the dominoes fall when just the first domino was pushed? How is this similar to what happens in a nerve?
2. What would you have to do in order to get the dominoes to fall over again?
3. How is this analogy similar to what happens in the nervous system when confronted with some type of stimulus?

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