Revision Notes: Class 10 Science Chapter 6 Control and Coordination

A fast, one-glance recap of Class 10 Science Chapter 6 (Control and Coordination) — for full explanations, see the Solutions. These Class 10 Science Chapter 6 notes are ideal for quick revision just before exams.

Last Updated: October 24, 2026

Common Mistakes Students Make in Control and Coordination

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Why This Chapter Matters

Control and Coordination is one of the standard chapters in the CBSE/NCERT Class 10 Science syllabus and questions from it appear regularly in board exams, in formats ranging from 1-mark objective questions to longer 3-5 mark descriptive or numerical questions. Because the concepts here often build on earlier chapters (and feed into later ones), a solid grip on this chapter also makes the rest of the Science syllabus easier to follow.

Revision Notes: Control and Coordination

• Control & coordination systems in animals: nervous system (fast, electrical) + endocrine/hormonal system (slower, chemical, via blood)
• Receptors: detect stimuli — eye (light), ear (sound), nose (smell), tongue (taste), skin (touch/heat/pain)
• Neuron structure: dendrite (receives) → cell body → axon (transmits) → synapse (chemical gap to next neuron/effector)
• Reflex arc: receptor → sensory neuron → relay neuron (spinal cord) → motor neuron → effector — bypasses the brain for speed
• Brain parts: cerebrum (forebrain — thinking, memory, voluntary actions), cerebellum (hindbrain — balance & precision), medulla (hindbrain — involuntary actions: heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure)
• CNS = brain + spinal cord; PNS = nerves connecting CNS to the rest of the body
• Voluntary vs involuntary vs reflex: voluntary = conscious control; involuntary = automatic/continuous (medulla); reflex = rapid, involuntary, one-off stimulus-response via spinal cord
• Plant movements — tropisms (directional, growth-based, hormone-driven): phototropism (light), geotropism (gravity), hydrotropism (water), chemotropism (chemicals)
• Plant movements — nastic movements (non-directional, not growth-based): e.g. touch-me-not leaf-folding, driven by rapid turgor-pressure change
• Plant hormones: auxin (growth/phototropism), gibberellin (stem growth), cytokinin (cell division), abscisic acid (growth inhibitor/stress), ethylene (fruit ripening)
• Key animal hormones: growth hormone (pituitary), thyroxin (thyroid, metabolism), insulin (pancreas, blood sugar), adrenaline (adrenal, fight-or-flight), testosterone/oestrogen (testis/ovary)
• Feedback mechanism: hormone levels are self-regulated by feedback (e.g. rising blood sugar triggers more insulin release)
• This chapter was Chapter 7 in the pre-rationalisation edition (before Periodic Classification of Elements was removed); it is Chapter 6 in the current 2026-27 NCERT textbook

See also: Extra Questions (HOTS) | Formulas Handbook

How to Use These Notes

These revision notes are meant for quick recall in the last few days before an exam or unit test — they are not a substitute for first reading the full chapter and working through examples in the NCERT textbook. A good routine is: read the chapter once, solve the in-text and end-of-chapter questions using the linked Solutions, then come back to this page a day or two before the exam to refresh the key definitions and formulas without re-reading the whole chapter.

Quick visual: a worked diagram from the full Solutions page, for reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a reflex arc, and why is it faster than a normal response?
A reflex arc is the pathway a nerve impulse follows during a reflex action — receptor to sensory neuron to relay neuron in the spinal cord to motor neuron to effector — it is faster than a voluntary response because it bypasses the brain entirely, involving only the spinal cord.

How do plant hormones differ from animal hormones in how they act?
Plant hormones typically act locally near their site of production and travel through plant tissues (not a dedicated bloodstream) to cause growth-related responses like tropisms; animal hormones are secreted by endocrine glands directly into the bloodstream and can act on distant target organs throughout the body.

What to Revise First (and Last) in Control and Coordination

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Written by Satish

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