Pharmacology

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/pharmacology

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the core disciplines?Pharmacodynamics (drug effects on body) and Pharmacokinetics (body's effect on drug)
2. What is the historical turning point?Isolation of active compounds like morphine marked a shift to chemical understanding
3. How do drugs know where to go in the body?Drugs bind to specific proteins like receptors or enzymes, which tells them where to act.
4. Why do scientists test drugs before giving them to people?They test in labs and clinical trials to find safe doses and check for harmful effects.

Pharmacodynamics: The study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and their mechanisms of action.
Pharmacokinetics: The study of how a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted by the body.
Agonist: A substance that initiates a response by binding to a receptor.
Antagonist: A substance that binds to a receptor but does not activate it, blocking other agonists.