Question

After school, Kai feels hungry and tired. He finds some sugar cookies in the cabinet and finishes the whole package. Which statements best describe the role of glucagon and insulin in this scenario? Glucagon was secreted by his pancreas before he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was low. Insulin was secreted after he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was high. Insulin was secreted by his pancreas before he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was low. Glucagon was secreted after he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was high. Glucagon was secreted by his pancreas before he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was low. After he ate, insulin from the cookies increased his blood sugar levels. Insulin was secreted by his pancreas before he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was low. After he ate, glucagon from the cookies increased his blood sugar levels

Answer 1

Answer : Option A) Glucagon was secreted by his pancreas before he ate the cookies because blood glucose was low. Insulin was secreted after he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was high.

Explanation : When Kai was hungry and his blood glucose level was decreasing, glucagon is the hormone which was secreted by the islets of pancreas to increase the blood sugar levels in his body. Glucagon forces the liver to release the stored glucose in it, which increases the blood glucose level in the body. When Kai ate the sugar cookies there was enough of blood glucose available for his body, also it exceeded the requirement and went high. Insulin was then secreted to control this excess glucose from the islets of pancreas. As it helps the body cells to absorb the glucose and lowers the amount of glucose in the blood. It makes the cell available with the glucose to produce energy and perform their activities.

In short, glucagon and insulin both are secreted by the same organ which is islets of pancreas. But they differ in their function, glucagon increases the blood glucose when the body needs it, whereas insulin helps to absorb the excessive glucose and stores that in the body. Both are the hormones which help in regulating the body glucose levels.

Answer 2

The correct answer is Glucagon was secreted by his pancreas before he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was low. Insulin was secreted after he ate the cookies because his blood glucose was high.

At the time of hunger, the blood glucose level decreases, and glucagon at that time, that is, the hormone discharged by the islets of Langerhans increases the level of sugars in the body. The stored glucose in the liver gets discharged due to the presence of glucagon, which eventually elevates the level of glucose in the blood.

In the given case, when Kai ate the cookies, the level of glucose in the blood got increased and even elevated from the normal level in the blood. At that time, the insulin hormone is discharged from the islets of Langerhans, which helps the cells of the body to absorb the molecules of glucose and thus lowers the concentration of glucose in the blood. Therefore, both the hormones help in monitoring the levels of glucose in the body.