Tutor profile: Kortni C.

Describe operant conditioning and give an example.

Operant conditioning is a method of conditioning (training) a human/animal to learn a behavior through rewards and punishments. Operant conditioning was named by BF Skinner, a well-known American behavioral psychologist. One of his classic experiments was conditioning a rat to press a lever. When the rat would press the lever he would give the rat a treat, which is a reward. This trained the rat to push levers when it saw them. Alternatively, he could have also shocked the rat when it pressed a lever (a punishment), and this would have conditioned the rat to avoid pressing levers.

What is an ion?

An ion is an atom that has either donated or received electrons. Atoms are made of three parts, called subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons have a positive charge and neutrons have a neutral charge (they aren't positive or negative). Both protons and neutrons are in the center of the atom and make up what is called the nucleus. Around the nucleus are electrons which have a negative charge. When making ionic bonds some atoms will donate electrons to other atoms. A great example is bonding sodium (Na) with chlorine (Cl) to form table salt (NaCl). Sodium will donate an electron to chlorine which will receive the electron. Both are now ions. But because sodium donated an electron which has a negative charge it will actually be a positive ion. When a negative is removed it becomes more positive. Chlorine will be a negative ion because it has an extra electron.

What are two hormones released by the pancreas, and what effect do these hormones have?

Two hormones released by the pancreas are insulin and glucagon. Both of these hormones play an important role in regulating blood sugar, or the amount of glucose in the blood. When the body's blood sugar is high, the pancreas will secrete insulin which causes tissues to uptake (absorb) glucose. If blood sugar is low, the pancreas will secrete glucagon which will cause the liver to convert stored glycogen to glucose to raise the blood sugar and provide energy for tissues within your body.