Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
Biology 2e

Critical Thinking Questions

Biology 2eCritical Thinking Questions

Critical Thinking Questions

24.

If a person sustains damage to axons leading from sensory receptors to the central nervous system, which step or steps of sensory perception will be affected?

25.

In what way does the overall magnitude of a stimulus affect the just-noticeable difference in the perception of that stimulus?

26.

Describe the difference in the localization of the sensory receptors for general and special senses in humans.

27.

What can be inferred about the relative sizes of the areas of cortex that process signals from skin not densely innervated with sensory receptors and skin that is densely innervated with sensory receptors?

28.

Many studies have demonstrated that females are able to tolerate the same painful stimuli for longer than males. Why don’t all people experience pain the same way?

29.

From the perspective of the recipient of the signal, in what ways do pheromones differ from other odorants?

30.

What might be the effect on an animal of not being able to perceive taste?

31.

A few recent cancer detection studies have used trained dogs to detect lung cancer in urine samples. What is the hypothesis behind this study? Why are dogs a better choice of detectors in this study than humans?

32.

How would a rise in altitude likely affect the speed of a sound transmitted through air? Why?

33.

How might being in a place with less gravity than Earth has (such as Earth’s moon) affect vestibular sensation, and why?

34.

How does the structure of the ear allow a person to determine where a sound originates?

35.

How could the pineal gland, the brain structure that plays a role in annual cycles, use visual information from the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus?

36.

How is the relationship between photoreceptors and bipolar cells different from other sensory receptors and adjacent cells?

37.

Cataracts, the medical condition where the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, are a leading cause of blindness. Describe how developing a cataract would change the path of light through the eye.

PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution
Reuse and redistribution of this content in digital or print format:
  • This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's prior written permission.
  • This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License, which means that you can reuse and modify the material only for noncommercial purposes, must attribute OpenStax, and must distribute any derivative works under the same license.
  • Any commercial printing of this textbook, including using a local or custom printer, must be approved by OpenStax, and proper citation provided.
  • OpenStax-copyrighted images, activities, assessments, and similar components of this book are subject to the same licensing – CC-BY-NC-SA. They can be used for noncommercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
  • Permission requests: Anyone who intends to incorporate this content (including text, images, and other components) into large language models, use it in AI offerings, use it commercially (including in print), and/or has questions about another use case is welcome to complete our reuse request form.
Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial digital format, then for every page that includes OpenStax content, you must license the derivative work under the same CC-BY-NC-SA license as the original, and include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

The information below includes the information needed to generate citations in most major styles (APA, MLA, etc.); you must reformat and organize the information as needed to fit the requirements of the style. Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.

© Jul 22, 2026 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo, and Rice University name, and Rice University logo trademarks, or wordmarks are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.