Is homeostasis a type of dynamic equilibrium?
1 Answer
No, homeostasis is not a type of dynamic equilibrium, but the two concepts have similarities.
Homeostasis is the maintenance of a constant internal environment. When a change is made to this environment it restores the environment to its original condition. For example when blood glucose levels rise above a certain threshold the body releases insulin to stimulate the uptake of glucose from the blood into muscle and fat tissue until it falls back into the acceptable range. Homeostasis also regulates other factors such as body temperature and blood pH.
Dynamic equilibrium refers to the extent to which a chemical reaction occurs. Most chemical reactions occur in both directions. Some of the product is reacting to form products and simultaneously some of the product is reacting to form reactants.
For example:
The double arrows indicate that the reaction proceeds in both directions. When the rates of forward and back reactions are equal the system is considered to be in equilibrium
For a fuller explanation on dynamic equilibrium click here
Because when a system in equilibrium is altered it moves to partially oppose the change it has some similarities to homeostasis. However there a two key differences. Equilibrium relates to chemical reactions not biological processes, and systems in equilibrium can only partially oppose changes, not restore a change as in homeostasis.
For a fuller explanation on dynamic equilibrium click here
For a fuller explaination on homeostasis watch the video here
