The Muscular System

What The Muscular System covers

The Muscular System is examined in Unit A2 2, The Application of Science to Sports Performance. It covers muscle tissue and muscle roles, major muscles used in sporting movements, muscle fibre types and sporting activity, motor units, summation and the all-or-none law and concentric, eccentric and isometric contraction.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Muscle tissue and muscle rolesSkeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle, muscle structure and myofibrils, tendons, origin and insertion, agonist, antagonist, fixator and synergist, and antagonistic pairs.Open →
• Major muscles used in sporting movementsBiceps, triceps, deltoid, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, the abdominals, erector spinae, gluteals, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior.Open →
• Muscle fibre types and sporting activityType I, IIa and IIb fibres, their speed, force, colour and fatigue, motor neurones, fibre mixes for midfielders and rowers, inheritance and training, biopsies and fibre type testing.Open →
• Motor units, summation and the all-or-none lawMotor units and the all-or-none law, spatial and wave summation, twitches and tetanic contraction, the size principle, fine and gross control, asynchronous recruitment and the neuromuscular junction.Open →
• Concentric, eccentric and isometric contractionIsotonic, concentric, eccentric and isometric contractions, sporting examples, squats, press-ups and biceps curls, eccentric force and muscle soreness, plyometrics and the long jump take-off.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take The Muscular System further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Concentric contraction vs Eccentric contraction

  Concentric contraction: muscle shortening while under tension. Eccentric contraction: muscle lengthening while under tension.

• Isometric vs Isotonic

  Isometric: tension produced with no change in muscle length. Isotonic: tension produced while the muscle changes length.

• Agonist vs Antagonist

  Agonist: the prime mover that contracts to cause a movement. Antagonist: the muscle that relaxes to allow a movement.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Name the three types of muscle tissue.

   Model answer

   The three types are skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle. Skeletal muscle is the only type under voluntary control.

2. 2

   Describe skeletal muscle.

   Model answer

   Skeletal muscle is striated and attached to bones by tendons. Skeletal muscle contracts voluntarily to produce movement.

3. 3

   Describe cardiac muscle.

   Model answer

   Cardiac muscle is striated and found only in the wall of the heart. Cardiac muscle contracts involuntarily and is myogenic, generating its own impulses.

4. 4

   Where is smooth muscle found, and how is it controlled?

   Model answer

   Smooth muscle lines the walls of blood vessels, the airways and the gut. Smooth muscle contracts involuntarily under the control of the autonomic nervous system.

5. 5

   What are the functions of the muscular system?

   Model answer

   The muscular system produces movement and maintains posture. Muscles also generate heat and help return blood to the heart.

6. 6

   Describe the structure of a skeletal muscle from the whole muscle down to the myofibril.

   Model answer

   A muscle is wrapped in connective tissue and divided into bundles called fascicles. Each fascicle holds many muscle fibres, and each fibre is packed with myofibrils.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

The Muscular System revision questions

What does The Muscular System cover in CCEA A-Level Sports Science and the Active Leisure Industry?

5 subtopics: muscle tissue and muscle roles, major muscles used in sporting movements, muscle fibre types and sporting activity, motor units, summation and the all-or-none law and concentric, eccentric and isometric contraction. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is The Muscular System organised?

By the CCEA 7210 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.