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IGCSE · Cambridge (CIE) · 0654

Describe adrenaline raising blood glucose concentration

Connect the Supplement metabolic effect with available respiratory substrate.

Hormones · Cambridge IGCSE 0654 · B13.2

Mapped to the named 0654 section using teaching from the corresponding single-science course. A 0654-specific review of every Core and Supplement objective is still in progress. Written practice is self-checked; it does not demonstrate supervised laboratory competence or award an official Cambridge grade.

Before you begin

  • Recall electrical impulses, blood transport, gland secretion and the distinction between a stimulus and a body response.

Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.

Quick readiness check

What blood quantity increases in the Supplement adrenaline account?

What you will learn

  • State the concentration change
  • Connect available glucose with cell respiration

Describe adrenaline raising blood glucose concentration

Supplement: adrenaline raises blood glucose concentration. Glucose is a respiratory substrate; the hormone is a signal, not energy itself. Original teaching model.

Hormones model reference
FeatureMeaning
QuantityBlood glucose concentration
DirectionIncreases
RelevanceGlucose available for cell respiration
BackgroundLiver stores can be mobilised; not direct muscle glucose export

State the concentration change

Adrenaline contributes to preparing the body for activity in fight-or-flight situations. The Supplement metabolic account includes an increase in blood glucose concentration. Concentration means the amount of glucose in a given volume of blood; it is not the total volume of blood, and it is not the heart rate. State both the named quantity and its increase direction.

Glucose carried in blood is available for uptake by responsive body cells and use in respiration. Respiration releases energy for cellular activity, including muscle contraction. An increased supply of glucose can support increased metabolic demands, but blood glucose is not itself an electrical impulse or energy made by the heart. Glucose is a respiratory substrate.

Connect available glucose with cell respiration

As supporting background, adrenaline can promote mobilisation of stored glycogen in the liver, increasing glucose availability in blood. This explanation must not be rewritten as muscle glycogen directly releasing free glucose into blood. The required Hormones description is limited to the increase in blood glucose concentration and the separate increase in heart rate.

A supplied concentration record can show before and after values, allowing a change calculation. It does not on its own measure cellular respiration rate, prove that oxygen is unlimited or establish a personal glucose diagnosis. Keep the biological chain clear: hormonal signal, more glucose available in blood, and glucose as a substrate for respiration, with other conditions still relevant.

Sources for this lesson

Pause and explain

Which link explains the role of available glucose?

Put the idea to work

Worked example

Describe the Supplement blood-glucose effect and its relevance.

Show the worked solution
  1. Adrenaline increases blood glucose concentration.
  2. Glucose is available as a substrate for cellular respiration.

Answer Adrenaline increases blood glucose concentration, making glucose available for use in cellular respiration.

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From guided practice to a new situation

Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.

1 · Guided

State the Supplement effect of adrenaline on blood glucose concentration and explain why glucose availability matters.

Give me a hint

Connect the direction with respiration substrate.

Compare my reasoning
  1. Concentration increases.
  2. Glucose can be used by cells in respiration.

Adrenaline increases blood glucose concentration; glucose is available as a substrate for cellular respiration.

Look for these in your work

  • State concentration and increase
  • Connect glucose with respiration
2 · Independent

Distinguish blood glucose concentration from total blood volume.

Give me a hint

One describes glucose per volume, the other the volume itself.

Compare my reasoning
  1. Concentration is glucose amount in a given blood volume.
  2. A concentration increase does not by itself establish a larger total blood volume.

Blood glucose concentration is glucose amount per blood volume. Its increase does not itself show increased total blood volume.

Look for these in your work

  • Define concentration
  • Avoid confusing two quantities
3 · Transfer

Correct: adrenaline makes energy directly, so cells no longer need respiration.

Give me a hint

Separate hormone signal and energy-releasing chemistry.

Compare my reasoning
  1. Adrenaline is a hormone influencing activity and glucose availability.
  2. Cells still release energy through respiration using substrates such as glucose.

Adrenaline is a chemical hormone, not a replacement for respiration. Cells use available glucose in respiration to release energy for work.

Look for these in your work

  • Keep hormone and substrate distinct
  • Retain cellular respiration

Common mistakes

  • Calling blood glucose concentration a heart-rate measure.
  • Saying the hormone itself is glucose or usable cellular energy.
Recall without your notes

What can you explain now?

Which link explains the role of available glucose?

Compare with the explanation

Cells use glucose as a substrate in respiration

Respiration releases energy for cellular work.

After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.

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Make it stick

Describe the glucose effect and connect it with respiration without confusing signal and substrate.

If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.

Keep learning Sciences — Co-ordinated (Double)

Course scope and assessment

This 2028–2029 pathway maps all 152 detailed subject-content sections in the published 0654 syllabus to original teaching and staged practice. It adapts teaching from the related single-science pathways and excludes clear 0610-only topics such as classification systems, human excretion, tropic responses, food supply, population dynamics, detailed pollution and biotechnology. Some explanations may include wider single-science context. A 0654-specific objective-by-objective review, Core/Supplement audit, human subject-teacher review, supervised laboratory experience and cumulative assessment remain in progress. Written practice is self-checked and does not predict an official grade. The 2025–2027 syllabus has not been reconciled here; choose the 2028–2029 syllabus only.

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