CNS, PNS, and brain regions
Do now
Analyze how the CNS and PNS divide labor and connect regions to functions.
- Hand in
- CNS/PNS sorting table (five body actions classified with justification) plus three brain-region-to-function matches referenced from the Wednesday map.
- Where
- Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
A stroke patient loses movement on the left side and never fully recovers; a construction worker severs a nerve in the arm and regains function in months. Why the opposite outcomes?
Analyze how the CNS and PNS divide labor and connect regions to functions.
- • You can distinguish CNS and PNS roles.
- • You can match brain regions to their functions.
- Name the two structures that make up the central nervous system.
- Why might a cut nerve in your finger heal but a brain injury not?
- 1Read the notes on the central and peripheral nervous systems.
- 2Sort five body actions into CNS-controlled and PNS-relayed pathways.
- 3Complete the PLTW online task on nervous-system organization.
- 4Match three brain regions to the functions they control.
- 5Submit your CNS/PNS sorting and region-function matches.
What did this day actually feel like?
CNS, PNS, and brain regions
Sorting five body actions into central and peripheral with a justification for each. Sorting is easy, justifying is where you find out whether you understand it.
AT HOME, THE WEEKEND BEFORE TUE MAR 16 Submit nervous-system evidence Neuron diagram, brain map, sorting table.
Turned in: nervous system packet → recorded in Class Records
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
The same day, drawn.
Sorting five body actions into central and peripheral with a justification for each. Sorting is easy, justifying is where you find out whether you understand it.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
🛠 Get unstuck · pick your level
🔑 Today's words · 5
Tap a word in the lesson for a plain meaning and one example. Recycled into next week's Do-Now.
Do the work · 80-minute blockfirst 5 min = hook▸
💡 Big idea: The CNS integrates while the PNS transmits, and because only PNS neurons regenerate, the location of a nerve injury determines whether recovery is possible.
- 0-8Intro: CNS vs PNS division and clinical significance
- 8-25Notes: CNS (brain + spinal cord) vs PNS (all other nerves); regeneration difference
- 25-45PLTW online task: nervous-system organization
- 45-62Sort five body actions into CNS-controlled vs PNS-relayed; justify each
- 62-75Match three brain regions (from Wednesday map) to specific functions
- 75-80Submit sorting and region-function matches; preview Friday packet
- • Yesterday you saw the brain from the outside and inside. Today we zoom out to see how it connects to the rest of the body.
- • Two divisions: the CNS is the brain and spinal cord. Everything else is the PNS. The difference matters clinically because damage to each heals differently.
- • Your sorting activity and region-function matches today are the analytical piece of this unit. Use your brain-region map from Wednesday as a reference.
- • Pathophysiology of the nervous system, what goes wrong and why, is one of the highest-weighted sections of the WebXam.
- • CNS: brain and spinal cord. Integrates sensory input and initiates motor output. Damage to CNS neurons is generally permanent because mature CNS neurons do not regenerate.
- • PNS: all cranial and spinal nerves outside the CNS. Transmits signals to and from the CNS. PNS neurons can regenerate under some conditions.
- • Neurological pathophysiology follows division lines: a stroke (CNS) causes permanent deficits on the opposite side of the body; a peripheral nerve injury may recover with time.
Unit 2.1 Getting Nervous: Nervous system structure, brain anatomy, neurons, signaling, sheep brain or virtual alternative. · CNS, PNS, and brain regions
Day 4 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (find it in Clever, Microsoft sign-in), then do the work below.
Do this: Complete the CNS and PNS analysis task in Lesson 2.1 Getting Nervous on myPLTW; finish all division-of-labor and region-to-function screens before writing your analysis.
Mark the CNS or PNS task complete after submitting your brain-region analysis.
Brain-regions task is done; today the analysis task should show complete and your written analysis should be submitted.
myPLTW completion status plus submitted analysis.
The official PLTW activity stays inside myPLTW. If myPLTW will not open, use F1 and E1-E3 on this page to complete today's local evidence decision, then make up the official activity when access returns. Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible through the submission route shown below.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Unit 2.1 Getting Nervous: Nervous system structure, brain anatomy, neurons, signaling, sheep brain or virtual alternative. · CNS, PNS, and brain regions
Complete the CNS and PNS analysis task in Lesson 2.1 Getting Nervous on myPLTW; finish all division-of-labor and region-to-function screens before writing your analysis.
Brain-regions task is done; today the analysis task should show complete and your written analysis should be submitted.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Analyze how the CNS and PNS divide labor and connect regions to functions.
- Read the notes on the central and peripheral nervous systems.
- Sort five body actions into CNS-controlled and PNS-relayed pathways.
- Complete the PLTW online task on nervous-system organization.
- Match three brain regions to the functions they control.
- Submit your CNS/PNS sorting and region-function matches.
Notebook check: CNS/PNS sorting table (five body actions classified with justification) plus three brain-region-to-function matches referenced from the Wednesday map.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Use the checklist just below and upload by 11:29 PM for full credit. Absent with an excused absence? You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Read the notes on the central and peripheral nervous systems. | _______ |
| Sort five body actions into CNS-controlled and PNS-relayed pathways. | _______ |
| Complete the PLTW online task on nervous-system organization. | _______ |
| Match three brain regions to the functions they control. | _______ |
| Submit your CNS/PNS sorting and region-function matches. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- You can distinguish CNS and PNS roles.
- You can match brain regions to their functions.
- 1Do thisAnalyze how the CNS and PNS divide labor and connect regions to functions.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisNotebook check: CNS/PNS sorting table (five body actions classified with justification) plus three brain-region-to-function matches referenced from the Wednesday map.
- 4Submit it here
- 1Open the drop folder.
- 2Sign in with your district Microsoft account, not a personal one.
- 3Upload the file, named Lastname_Firstname__Assignment Title.
- 4Your own upload panel says Uploaded with a green check: that is your receipt.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Human Anatomy & Physiology (Human Body Systems) › Unit 2.1 Getting Nervous: Nervous system structure, brain anatomy, neurons, signaling, sheep brain or virtual alternative. › Notebook checkOpen the drop folder
Learn it · deck, reading, and vocabulary▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
Each brain region runs a different set of functions, so where an injury lands determines which specific ability a patient loses.
The CNS integrates while the PNS transmits, and because only PNS neurons regenerate, the location of a nerve injury determines whether recovery is possible.
A mechanic studies a tool whose shape allows one job but limits another.
- Which feature makes the tool work?
- What changes if that feature bends or breaks?
- Which observation shows function rather than appearance?
Structure creates possibilities and limits for function.
Living tissues adapt and interact with other systems; a metal tool does not.
- • Tool shape maps to .
- • The job maps to physiological function.
- • Damage maps to a predicted functional change.
Driving question: A stroke patient loses movement on the left side and never fully recovers; a construction worker severs a nerve in the arm and regains function in months. Why the opposite outcomes?
What you already know: Each brain region runs a different set of functions, so where an injury lands determines which specific ability a patient loses.
New idea: The CNS integrates while the PNS transmits, and because only PNS neurons regenerate, the location of a nerve injury determines whether recovery is possible.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for CNS, PNS, and brain regions. Use it with E1-E3; it is a model or context image, not experimental or patient data. What to notice: Trace the labeled structure, movement, or system relationship that connects form to function.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in CNS, PNS, and brain regions.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: Structure creates possibilities and limits for function.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: A stroke patient loses movement on the left side and never fully recovers; a construction worker severs a nerve in the arm and regains function in months. Why the opposite outcomes?
What the evidence supports: E1-E3 and F1 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
- • : A nerve cell that carries electrical and chemical signals, with branches that receive input and a long fiber that sends the signal onward.
- • : A branching extension of a that receives incoming signals from other nerve cells and carries them toward the cell body.
- • axon: The long, slender fiber of a that carries electrical signals away from the cell body toward other cells.
- • : The tiny junction where one passes a signal to the next, usually by releasing chemical messengers across a small gap.
- • : A chemical messenger released by a that crosses the to pass a signal to the next neuron, muscle, or gland.
- • CNS: The central nervous system, made of the brain and spinal cord, which processes information and directs the body's responses.
- • PNS: The peripheral nervous system: all the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord that carry signals between the body and the central nervous system.
- • : The largest part of the brain, split into two hemispheres, that handles thinking, voluntary movement, sensation, language, and memory.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
CNS: brain and spinal cord. Integrates sensory input and initiates motor output. Damage to CNS neurons is generally permanent because mature CNS neurons do not regenerate.
Limit: E1 supplies context or an observation; it does not by itself establish the explanation.
The CNS integrates while the PNS transmits, and because only PNS neurons regenerate, the location of a nerve injury determines whether recovery is possible.
Limit: E2 is a teaching statement or comparison and must be checked against the task evidence.
You can distinguish CNS and PNS roles.
Limit: E3 supports only the result or product criterion named here; it cannot justify a broader clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-HAP-2027-03-12 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: anatomy and physiology consultant
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from CNS, PNS, and brain regions supports before submitting the notebook record named on the lesson page.
- • Proceed because the readiness evidence is complete.
- • Pause and correct the named setup or gap.
- • Repeat the measurement because quality controls are not acceptable.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the notebook record.
Claim ceiling: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about CNS, PNS, and brain regions. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from CNS, PNS, and brain regions supports before submitting the notebook record named on the lesson page.
Context: The nervous system splits into a central integrating half and a peripheral transmitting half, and because only peripheral neurons regenerate, where the injury sits decides whether recovery is even possible.
- • T1: Read the notes on the central and peripheral nervous systems.
- • T2: Sort five body actions into CNS-controlled and PNS-relayed pathways.
- • T3: Complete the PLTW online task on nervous-system organization.
- • T4: Match three brain regions to the functions they control.
- • T5: Submit your CNS/PNS sorting and region-function matches.
- • E1: CNS: brain and spinal cord. Integrates sensory input and initiates motor output. Damage to CNS neurons is generally permanent because mature CNS neurons do not regenerate.
- • E2: The CNS integrates while the PNS transmits, and because only PNS neurons regenerate, the location of a nerve injury determines whether recovery is possible.
- • E3: You can distinguish CNS and PNS roles.
Measurements: No patient measurement is supplied unless it appears explicitly in E1-E3 or F1. Do not invent a value.
Figure finding: Teaching diagram for CNS, PNS, and brain regions. Trace the labeled structure, movement, or system relationship that connects form to function. This is a teaching model, not patient or experimental data.
Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.
Students often think Students often assume all nerves heal the same way, since a numb finger usually comes back after time.. The trap: That is the trap. Peripheral (PNS) neurons can regenerate under some conditions, but mature central (CNS) neurons generally do not, which is exactly why a stroke causes permanent deficits while a peripheral nerve injury may fully recover.
CNS/PNS sorting (CNS integrates and decides; PNS carries signals to and from the CNS):
- Deciding to wave hello: CNS, the brain initiates the voluntary plan.
- Sensing a hot pan on your hand: PNS, sensory nerve carries the signal toward the CNS.
- The brain interpreting that the pan is hot: CNS, integration of input.
- Muscle in your arm contracting to pull back: PNS, motor nerve carries the command to the muscle.
- Storing the memory of the burn: CNS, processed and stored in the brain.
Region-function matches:
1. Cerebrum to voluntary movement and language.
2. Cerebellum to balance and coordination.
3. Brainstem to heart rate and breathing.
| Body action | CNS or PNS | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Deciding to wave | CNS | Brain initiates the plan |
| Feeling a hot pan | PNS | Sensory nerve relays toward CNS |
| Arm muscle pulling back | PNS | Motor nerve relays command out |
| Storing the memory | CNS | Processed in the brain |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: A sorting table that classifies five body actions by whether they are integrated by the CNS or relayed by the PNS with a short justification, plus three brain-region-to-function matches carried over from the brain map.
- Date and label the entry.
- Record the procedure, observation, or design decision clearly.
- End with what the evidence means and the next step.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Submit your sorting table and region-function matches as a single document.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in CNS, PNS, and brain regions. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Hand-picked readings, videos, and interactives for this lesson, all free and from authoritative open organizations (NIH, CDC, OpenStax, Khan Academy, PhET, HHMI, and more).
A fillable, Cornell-style notebook for Unit 2: Research Ready. Type your notes, cues, and summaries right in the PDF, or print it and write by hand. Each lesson page has a cue column, a notes column, and a summary box, plus dated lab-record pages you can turn in.
HBS Unit 2 notebook: Research Ready Fillable PDFCornell notes + lab recordsOpenVetted readings and references for this unit. Use them to prepare, to catch up if you were absent, or to go deeper on today's target.
This site may ask you to verify you are human. If it blocks you on a school device, ask for the class copy.
Check yourself · commit, then reveal▸
Claim ceiling for this check: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about CNS, PNS, and brain regions. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
A patient has permanent paralysis after a stroke but a coworker's severed arm nerve recovers in months. Which nervous system division explains each, and why?
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Fast retrieval with instant answers, not the commit-then-reveal check above. Try each from memory first: write what you remember about the earlier units, then check yourself here.
Go further and get help▸
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
The bench work needs equipment you do not have at home. Do the thinking half now: read the procedure, write your prediction, and set up your data table so it is ready.
Back in class. Ask Mr. Mendoza for the class data set, or for a bench slot to run it yourself. Do not submit a Notebook check with invented numbers.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Khan Academy: Nervous System- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way, on the class site or handed to Mr. Mendoza in class, and confirmed. Not in Schoology: that is where the report-card grade appears later.