NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 6 Notes Control and Coordination discuss how living organisms react to stimuli using nervous and hormonal control. These NCERT notes offer a short and well-organised overview of major concepts such as the nervous system, human brain, reflex action, coordination in plants, hormones in animals, and nervous and endocrine systems.
This Story also Contains
- Detailed Notes for Chapter 6: Control And Coordination
- Most Important Questions Class 10 Science Chapter 7
- Approach to Solve Questions of Class 10 Science Chapter 7 Control And Coordination
- Chapter-Wise NCERT Class 10 Notes Science
NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 7 Notes Control And Coordination- Download PDF Notes These NCERT Notes for Class 10 make tough concepts into simpler language without losing any information, making them easy to read and perfect for rapid revision before CBSE Board exams as well as competitive exams such as NEET. With NCERT Solutions and download PDF notes, students can effectively improve their knowledge and save time in exam preparation. For the best learning, download the NCERT Notes for Class 10 Science Chapter 6 PDF and learn anywhere, anytime.
Also, students can refer to:
Detailed Notes for Chapter 6: Control And Coordination
Movements caused as a response to a stimulus are a result of the action of some kind of underlying control and coordination mechanism. Precise control and coordination are carried out via some specialised tissues in multicellular organisms.
Animals - Nervous System
- Nervous and muscular tissues provide control and coordination in animals.
- Environmental changes are detected by specialised tips (dendrites) of some neurons (present in sense organs i.e., ear, tongue, skin, nose, and eye) by chemical reactions that create electrical impulses.
- This impulse travels through the cell body to the axon of the neuron.
- The nerve impulse is transmitted from one neuron to another through a junction called a synapse.
- Synapses could be electrical synapses or chemical synapses.
- The neuromuscular junction formed between the neuron and the muscle fibre transmits nerve impulses to muscle cells.

What Happens in Reflex Actions?
- Reflex actions refer to sudden, involuntary reactions to a stimulus in the environment.
- No thinking in the brain is involved in reflex actions, instead, this quick response is mediated by the reflex arc in the spinal cord.
- The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves on its way towards the brain from all across the body.
- In a reflex arc, a sensory neuron receives a signal from a receptor organ and transmits the impulse via a sensory neuron in the spinal cord, and then to a motor neuron that carries this impulse to the effector organ.
- It can also be perceived as the quickest/ shortest route for an impulse between a receptor to an effector.

Human Brain
- The central nervous system (CNS) is the site for information processing and control. It is constituted by the brain and spinal cord.
- The brain is the main coordinating centre of the body.
- The peripheral nervous system (PNS) facilitates communication between the CNS and the rest of the body.
- Nerves originating from the brain are called cranial nerves, and those from the spinal cord are termed spinal nerves.

The brain has three broad divisions; forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
- The forebrain is the biggest section of the brain, it receives sensory impulses from various receptors and is titled the main thinking part of the brain.
- It controls all voluntary actions.
- The forebrain has specialised areas for various senses and a separate area for interpretation of this sensory information by combining data from other receptors and comparing it with existing information stored from past experiences.
- The Hypothalamus (part of the forebrain) is associated with various sensations like hunger.
- The midbrain and hindbrain are responsible for controlling a lot of involuntary actions.
- The medulla (part of the hindbrain) controls involuntary actions, including blood pressure, salivation, and vomiting.
- The cerebellum (part of the hindbrain) maintains body balance and ensures the precision of voluntary actions.
How are These Tissues Protected?
- The brain is protected by the skull, which is a bony structure around the brain.
- Additional shock absorption is provided by the fluid around the brain.
- The spinal cord is protected by the bony vertebral column.
How Does The Nervous Tissue Cause Action?
- Muscle cells contract (shorten) in response to a nerve impulse.
- This change in muscle cells is brought into action by specialised muscle proteins in these cells that change their arrangement in response to an electrical impulse, this new arrangement of proteins shortens the muscle fibre.
Coordination In Plants
- Unlike animals, plants don’t have nervous tissues for control and coordination.
- Leaves of the Chui-mui/touch-me-not plant fold when touched; this movement is independent of growth.
- Growth-dependent movement in plants is seen during seed germination, the roots go down in the soil, and the stem rises in the air.
Immediate Response to Stimulus
- The plants also use electrical-chemical means to convey information from cell to cell.
- Folding leaves of touch-me-not is an immediate response to stimulus (touch/shock), it’s caused by a lowering of turgidity in plant cells.
Movement Due to Growth
- Environmental stimuli like light, gravity, or water can trigger directional growth towards/against the stimulus.
- The bending of plant shoots towards light is called phototropism.
- Plant roots move down the soil in the direction of gravity, this behaviour is termed positively geotropic growth.
- Plants also react to water; hydrotropism, and chemical stimuli; chemotropism, which is seen in pollen tube development in angiosperm ovules.
Electrical vs Chemical Coordination
- Electrical impulses deliver the message very quickly as compared to chemically administered signals, but cells have to be in direct contact with neurons to send/receive impulses.
- An electrical impulse also requires some time to reset before it can transmit the next impulse.
- In chemical coordination, cells release the messenger chemical that will reach its target by diffusion.
- Target cells have special molecules on their plasma membrane to detect the messenger molecule.
- This method of communication is much slower than electrical transmission, but it can be used steadily and persistently.
Plant Hormones
- Similar to animals, plants also use chemicals to communicate between different parts.
- Auxins, gibberellins, and cytokinins are plant-growth-promoting hormones.
- Auxin is synthesised at the shoot apex; it promotes cell elongation. Auxin causes the bending of the shoot towards the light.
- Gibberellins help in stem growth.
- A high concentration of cytokinins is found in areas of active cell division, they promote cell division.
Abscisic acid is a plant growth inhibitor hormone that affects the wilting of leaves.

Hormones In Animals
- Chemical signals or hormones reach all cells of the body, unlike neural impulses. As electrical signalling was under the nervous system, chemical messaging is studied under the endocrine system.
- Increased concentration of adrenaline hormone fastens heartbeat, diverts blood to skeletal muscles, and increases breathing rate. It decreases blood flow to the digestive tract and skin. It prepares the body for emergency response.
- The thyroid gland requires iodine for the formation of the thyroxine hormone. Thyroxin regulates carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism in the body. The deficiency of iodine leads to goitre.
- The pituitary gland (located in the brain) secretes multiple hormones including the growth hormone that is required for proper growth and development.
- Excess or scarcity of growth hormone will result in giantism or dwarfism, respectively.
- On reaching puberty (10-12 age), secretion of estrogen and testosterone hormones start in the female and male body respectively.
- Blood glucose level is regulated by the insulin hormone released by the pancreas.

Subject Wise NCERT Exemplar Solutions
Most Important Questions Class 10 Science Chapter 7
Control and Coordination explores how living organisms regulate and coordinate their body functions through the nervous, endocrine, and plant hormones. This chapter is vital for understanding how responses to stimuli are managed in both animals and plants.
Q1. Which part of the brain controls voluntary actions?
A. Medulla
B. Cerebellum
C. Cerebrum
D. Pons
Answer:
The cerebrum is responsible for controlling voluntary actions such as movement, reasoning, and decision-making.
Hence, the correct option is C. Cerebrum
Q2. What is the function of the cerebellum?
A. Controls heart rate
B. Regulates balance and coordination
C. Controls voluntary actions
D. Manages emotions
Answer:
The cerebellum regulates balance and coordination in the body, ensuring smooth and coordinated muscle activity.
Hence, the correct option is B. Regulates balance and coordination
Q3. Which hormone is responsible for the ‘fight or flight’ response?
A. Insulin
B. Thyroxine
C. Adrenaline
D. Estrogen
Answer:
Adrenaline is secreted by the adrenal glands during stressful situations, preparing the body for 'fight or flight' by increasing heart rate and energy availability.
Hence, the correct option is C. Adrenaline
Q4. Which part of the neuron receives messages from other neurons?
A. Axon
B. Dendrite
C. Cell body
D. Synapse
Answer:
Dendrites are the branched structures of a neuron that receive signals from other neurons and transmit them toward the cell body.
Hence, the correct option is B. Dendrite
Q5. What is the main function of plant hormones called auxins?
A. Promote cell elongation and growth
B. Inhibit growth
C. Induce wilting
D. Promote seed dormancy
Answer:
Auxins are plant hormones that promote cell elongation, root formation, and are crucial in the growth and development of plants.
Hence, the correct option is A. Promote cell elongation and growth
Subject Wise NCERT Solutions
Approach to Solve Questions of Class 10 Science Chapter 7 Control And Coordination
To answer Control and Coordination questions well, adopt this easy-to-follow approach:
- Understand the general principles of control and coordination, such as how living organisms coordinate body activities and react to environmental changes.
- Know the human nervous system structure and function, highlighting the brain, spinal cord, and neurons' roles; know the difference between voluntary, involuntary, and reflex actions.
- Investigate the function of hormones and the endocrine system in animals, including feedback and the roles of significant glands and hormones.
- Rework plant coordination, particularly how plants react to stimuli through hormones such as auxin, and learn about examples of plant movements (tropism and nastic movements).
- Practice labelling and drawing diagrams of the human brain, neuron, and endocrine glands, and practice NCERT textbook questions and previous years' papers to become familiar with exam-type questions
Chapter-Wise NCERT Class 10 Notes Science
Here are the direct links to access the notes for each of the 13 chapters: