The Neuromuscular System | Edexcel A-Level Physical Education (9PE0)
The Neuromuscular System
- 59 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Component 1: scientific principles of physical education
- Component 1
The Neuromuscular System is examined in Component 1, Scientific principles of physical education.
It covers muscle fibre types and their characteristics, motor units, recruitment and gradation of contraction, muscle structure and the sliding filament theory and neuromuscular transmission and the response to warming up.
Sample questions from The Neuromuscular System
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Muscle fibre types and their characteristics
Why do fast glycolytic fibres fatigue so quickly?
Show the answer
Fast glycolytic fibres rely on anaerobic ATP production, which uses up their phosphocreatine and glycogen quickly. Lactate and hydrogen ions accumulate and slow contraction. -
Muscle fibre types and their characteristics
How do the energy stores of slow and fast twitch fibres differ?
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Fast twitch fibres hold larger stores of phosphocreatine and glycogen for anaerobic work. Slow twitch fibres hold larger stores of triglyceride for aerobic work. -
Motor units, recruitment and gradation of contraction
Define wave summation.
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Wave summation happens when impulses arrive so rapidly that a fibre cannot fully relax between them. Each twitch builds on the last, producing a stronger contraction. -
Motor units, recruitment and gradation of contraction
Why does a darts player rely on small motor units while a rugby player driving in a scrum uses large ones?
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Small motor units with few fibres allow fine, precise control of force. Large motor units with many fibres produce gross, powerful movements. -
Muscle structure and the sliding filament theory
Where are the calcium ions for contraction stored, and what releases them?
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Calcium ions are stored in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. An action potential arriving through the T-tubules triggers their release into the sarcoplasm. -
Muscle structure and the sliding filament theory
What happens in the resting stage?
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Calcium ions are held in the sarcoplasmic reticulum and tropomyosin covers the binding sites on actin. Myosin heads cannot attach, so no cross-bridges form. -
Neuromuscular transmission and the response to warming up
What is the neuromuscular junction, and what is the motor end plate?
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The neuromuscular junction is where a motor neurone meets a muscle fibre. The motor end plate is the specialised region of the fibre's membrane at the junction. -
Neuromuscular transmission and the response to warming up
How does a warm-up improve a goalkeeper's reaction time?
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Faster nerve conduction and heightened alertness shorten reaction time. The goalkeeper can respond sooner to a shot.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle fibre types and their characteristics | Slow twitch, fast oxidative glycolytic and fast glycolytic fibres, myoglobin and capillaries, speed and force of contraction, motor neurone size, myosin ATPase, energy stores, and the marathon runner, shot putter and 800 m runner. | 15 |
| Motor units, recruitment and gradation of contraction | Motor units and the all-or-none law, gradation of contraction, wave summation and tetanic contraction, the order of recruitment in a marathon and a vertical jump, the darts player and the scrum, and training recruitment patterns. | 14 |
| Muscle structure and the sliding filament theory | Muscle structure down to the myofibril, the sarcomere, actin and myosin, tropomyosin and troponin, calcium ions and the sarcoplasmic reticulum, cross-bridges and the power stroke, and the five stages of contraction. | 16 |
| Neuromuscular transmission and the response to warming up | The central nervous system, the motor neurone and myelin sheath, the neuromuscular junction and motor end plate, acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase, action potentials, and how a warm-up speeds impulses, reactions and recruitment. | 14 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel A-Level Physical Education Active Recall Guide
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