Evaluation
AQA A-Level Physical Education 7582
The Cardiovascular System
The Respiratory System
The Neuromuscular System
The Musculo-Skeletal System and Movement Analysis
Energy Systems
Skill, Transfer and Practice
Theories of Learning
Guidance and Feedback
Information Processing and Memory
The Emergence and Globalisation of Sport
Topic overviewPre-industrial society, mob football and real tennisIndustrialisation, urbanisation and rational recreationAssociation football, lawn tennis and Victorian athleticsAmateurs, professionals and women in Victorian sportThe Golden Triangle of sport, media and sponsorshipProfessionalism and elite women's sport since 1950
Equal Opportunities in Sport
Diet and Nutrition
Preparation and Training Methods
Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
Biomechanical Principles and Levers
Linear and Angular Motion
Projectile Motion and Fluid Mechanics
Personality and Attitudes
Arousal and Anxiety
Aggression
Motivation and Achievement Motivation
Social Facilitation and Group Dynamics
Goal Setting
Attribution Theory
Self-Efficacy and Confidence
Leadership
Stress Management
Concepts of Physical Activity and Sport
Development of Elite Performers
Ethics and Violence in Sport
Drugs in Sport
Sport, the Law and Commercialisation
Energy Systems
- 6 subtopics
- 18 things to know
- Paper 1
What Energy Systems covers
Energy Systems is examined in Paper 1, Factors affecting participation in physical activity and sport. It covers ATP and the aerobic energy system, anaerobic energy systems and the energy continuum, lactate accumulation, the lactate threshold and OBLA, oxygen deficit and EPOC, VO₂ max, RER and measuring energy expenditure and altitude training, HIIT, plyometrics and SAQ.
Where it is assessed
Paper 1
Factors affecting participation in physical activity and sport, 2 hours and 35% of the A-level.
Check the AQA specification ↗The 6 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- ATP and the aerobic energy systemATP and its breakdown, glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, beta oxidation and the electron transport chain, ATP yield, fat as a fuel, and the system's advantages and disadvantages.Open →
- Anaerobic energy systems and the energy continuumThe ATP-PC system and coupled reactions, the anaerobic glycolytic system, their durations, advantages and disadvantages, the energy continuum and thresholds, and fibre types.Open →
- Lactate accumulation, the lactate threshold and OBLALactate accumulation, the lactate threshold and OBLA, their links to VO₂ max, fibre type and lactate removal, lactate producing capacity and training.Open →
- Oxygen deficit and EPOCOxygen deficit, oxygen consumption in submaximal and maximal exercise, MAOD, the fast and slow components of EPOC, lactic acid removal and recovery in a basketball match.Open →
- VO₂ max, RER and measuring energy expenditureVO₂ max and the factors affecting it, direct and indirect tests, indirect calorimetry, lactate sampling, and the respiratory exchange ratio with a worked example.Open →
- Altitude training, HIIT, plyometrics and SAQAltitude training and its adaptations and drawbacks, live high train low, HIIT, plyometrics and the stretch-shortening cycle, and SAQ training for a rugby winger.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
How does the ATP-PC system resynthesise ATP through a coupled reaction?
Key term
Explain the term oxygen deficit and what causes it.
Key term
Describe the electron transport chain.
Key term
Why does lactate accumulate during high-intensity exercise?
Key term
Define VO₂ max.
Key term
Why does air at altitude deliver less oxygen to the blood?
Key term
How does the ATP-PC system resynthesise ATP?
Key term
What happens to lactic acid in the muscle?
Key term
What is oxygen deficit?
Key term
In what units is VO₂ max usually expressed, and why?
Key term
At roughly what height is altitude training usually carried out?
Key term
What is ATP?
Key term
What is a coupled reaction?
Key term
Define the lactate threshold.
Key term
Why does an oxygen deficit occur at the start of exercise?
Key term
How does genetics affect VO₂ max?
Key term
How does the body adapt to altitude training?
Take Energy Systems further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
ATP-PC system vs Anaerobic glycolytic system
ATP-PC system: the phosphocreatine breakdown that fuels maximal efforts of up to ten seconds. Anaerobic glycolytic system: the breakdown of glycogen without oxygen, producing lactic acid.
Lactate threshold vs OBLA
Lactate threshold: the exercise intensity where lactic acid first climbs above resting levels. OBLA: the point where blood lactic acid reaches about four millimoles per litre.
Oxygen deficit vs EPOC
Oxygen deficit: the shortfall in aerobic supply at the start of exercise, met anaerobically. EPOC: the elevated gas uptake during recovery that returns the body to its resting state.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is ATP?
Model answer
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the only direct source of energy for muscle contraction. ATP is made of adenosine and three phosphate groups.
- 2
How is energy released from ATP?
Model answer
The enzyme ATPase breaks ATP down into ADP and a phosphate. Energy is released for muscle contraction.
- 3
Why must ATP be continually resynthesised during exercise?
Model answer
Muscles store only enough ATP for about 2 to 3 seconds of maximal work. ATP must be rebuilt from ADP and phosphate as fast as it is used.
- 4
Where does glycolysis take place, and what does it produce?
Model answer
Glycolysis takes place in the sarcoplasm of the muscle cell. Glucose is broken down into pyruvic acid, releasing enough energy to make 2 ATP.
- 5
Which enzyme breaks glycogen down to glucose, and which controls glycolysis?
Model answer
Glycogen phosphorylase breaks glycogen down to glucose. Phosphofructokinase (PFK) controls the breakdown of glucose to pyruvic acid.
- 6
What happens to pyruvic acid when oxygen is available?
Model answer
Pyruvic acid combines with coenzyme A to form acetyl coenzyme A. Acetyl coenzyme A then enters the Krebs cycle in the mitochondria.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Energy Systems revision questions
- What does Energy Systems cover in AQA A-Level Physical Education?
- 6 subtopics: atp and the aerobic energy system, anaerobic energy systems and the energy continuum, lactate accumulation, the lactate threshold and obla, oxygen deficit and epoc, vo₂ max, rer and measuring energy expenditure and altitude training, hiit, plyometrics and saq. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Energy Systems organised?
- By the AQA 7582 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Energy Systems, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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