Feedback mechanism
- CBSE · NCERT Class 10, Ch 6 Control and Coordination
A feedback mechanism is the way the body senses the effect of a hormone and then adjusts how much of that hormone is released, and when.
Hormones in animals are made by endocrine glands and released straight into the blood. The blood carries them all over the body. Hormones must be released in just the right amounts. The timing and the amount are set by feedback mechanisms.
NCERT's table lists some glands and their hormones:
- Pituitary gland: growth hormone, for growth and development.
- Thyroid gland: thyroxin, which needs iodine and regulates metabolism.
- Pancreas: insulin, which regulates blood sugar.
- Adrenal gland: adrenaline, which prepares the body for an emergency.
- Testes and ovaries: testosterone and oestrogen.
A small example
Follow blood sugar through the loop in 4 steps. First, the sugar level in the blood rises. Second, cells of the pancreas detect it. Third, they make more insulin. Fourth, as the sugar level falls, less insulin is released. The result of the hormone feeds back to control the hormone.
Where marks go
CBSE's 2026-27 Science sample paper has no question on hormones. In a written answer on feedback, the loop has a clear order: the change, what detects it, the response, and the result. Writing the steps in that order lets the examiner find each one. Under step marking, a step that is not written cannot earn a mark.
Name the gland with its hormone. "Insulin from the pancreas" says more than "a hormone".
Sources
Facts last checked against these sources on 30 September 2026.
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