How do the kidneys respond to low pO₂ at altitude?

The kidneys release more erythropoietin (EPO) when blood oxygen is low. EPO stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells.

Why does a higher red blood cell count help a performer at altitude?

More red blood cells mean more haemoglobin. The blood can then carry more oxygen despite the low pO₂.

How long does acclimatisation to altitude take?

Some changes, such as raised ventilation, begin within days. A meaningful rise in red blood cells takes several weeks.

Why might a team arrive at altitude only a day before competing?

The ill effects of altitude, such as dehydration, poor sleep and altitude sickness, build up over the first few days. A performer who competes within about 24 hours avoids the worst of them.

OCR A-Level Physical Education H555

Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Topic overview Shoulder, elbow and wrist joints and muscles Hip, knee and ankle joints and muscles Planes of movement, muscle roles and contractions Analysing movement in sporting actions Motor units and muscle fibre types

The Cardiovascular System

Topic overview Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest The cardiac cycle and conduction system Cardiac responses to exercise and recovery The vascular shunt mechanism Venous return and heart rate regulation

The Respiratory System

Topic overview Breathing frequency, tidal volume and minute ventilation Mechanics of breathing at rest and in exercise Regulation of breathing Gas exchange at the alveoli and the muscles

Energy for Exercise

Topic overview ATP and coupled reactions The ATP-PC system The glycolytic system The aerobic system The energy continuum and intermittent exercise EPOC and the recovery process

Environmental Effects on Body Systems

Topic overview Altitude and oxygen delivery Acclimatisation and timing arrival at altitude Exercise in the heat and cardiovascular drift

Diet, Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids

Topic overview Components of a balanced diet Energy balance, meals and hydration Anabolic steroids, EPO and HGH Blood doping, intermittent hypoxic training and cooling aids Carbohydrate loading and supplements

Aerobic Training

Topic overview VO₂max and the factors that affect it Testing aerobic capacity Continuous training, HIIT and target heart rates Adaptations to aerobic training

Strength and Flexibility Training

Topic overview Types of strength and strength testing Strength training methods Adaptations to strength training Types of flexibility and flexibility testing Flexibility training methods and adaptations

Periodisation of Training

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Training and Lifestyle Diseases

Topic overview Atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease Heart attack and stroke Asthma and COPD

Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Acute and chronic injuries Risk factors, warm-up and cool-down SALTAPS, PRICE and concussion Fractures, joint injuries and muscle damage Treatments for sporting injuries

Biomechanical Principles and Levers

Topic overview Newton's laws and force calculations Forces and free body diagrams Centre of mass and stability Levers and mechanical advantage Limb kinematics, force plates and wind tunnels

Linear and Angular Motion

Topic overview Linear motion, distance and displacement Speed, velocity and acceleration Graphs of linear motion Angular motion and the axes of rotation Moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum

Fluid Mechanics and Projectile Motion

Topic overview Air resistance and drag Factors affecting projectile distance Forces on a projectile and flight paths Bernoulli's principle and lift Spin and the Magnus effect

Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer

Topic overview Classifying skills by difficulty, environment and pacing Classifying skills by muscular involvement, continuity and organisation Whole, part, whole-part-whole and progressive part practice Massed, distributed, fixed and varied practice Transfer of learning between skills

Theories and Stages of Learning

Topic overview Operant conditioning Cognitive theory and insight learning Bandura's observational learning Fitts and Posner's stages of learning

Guidance and Feedback

Topic overview Verbal and visual guidance Manual and mechanical guidance Intrinsic, extrinsic, positive and negative feedback Knowledge of performance and knowledge of results

Memory Models

Topic overview Atkinson and Shiffrin's multi-store model Selective attention Craik and Lockhart's levels of processing

Personality and Attitudes

Topic overview Trait theory of personality Social learning and interactionist perspectives Attitudes and the triadic model Persuasive communication and cognitive dissonance

Motivation and Arousal

Topic overview Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Rewards and motivation in coaching Arousal and drive theory Inverted-U and catastrophe theories

Anxiety

Topic overview State and trait anxiety Somatic and cognitive anxiety The zone of optimal functioning

Aggression

Topic overview Aggression and assertion Instinct and social learning theories of aggression Frustration-aggression and aggressive cue hypotheses

Social Facilitation and Group Dynamics

Topic overview Social facilitation and inhibition Evaluation apprehension and reducing social inhibition Groups and Tuckman's stages of development Steiner's model, the Ringelmann effect and social loafing

Goal Setting

Topic overview Outcome, performance and process goals How goal setting improves performance The SMART principle

Attribution

Topic overview Weiner's model: locus of causality and stability Controllability, self-serving bias and attribution retraining Learned helplessness and mastery orientation

Confidence and Self-Efficacy

Topic overview Sports confidence, self-efficacy and self-esteem Vealey's model of sports confidence Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy Building confidence in performers

Leadership

Topic overview Effective, emergent and prescribed leaders Autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire styles Trait, social learning and interactionist theories of leadership Chelladurai's multi-dimensional model

Stress Management

Topic overview Stress and stressors in sport Self-talk, thought stopping and rational thinking Mental rehearsal, imagery, goal setting and mindfulness Relaxation, biofeedback, centring and breathing control

Sport in Pre-Industrial and Industrial Britain

Topic overview Popular recreation in pre-industrial Britain Urbanisation, rational recreation and the railways Amateurism and professionalism in Victorian sport Public schools and the cult of athleticism

Sport in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Topic overview Amateurism and professionalism in the 20th century Social change and sport in 20th-century Britain Class, gender and access in 21st-century sport The globalisation of sport

The Olympic Games and Global Sporting Events

Topic overview Coubertin and the aims of the modern Olympics Berlin 1936 and Mexico City 1968 Munich 1972 and the Cold War boycotts Hosting a global sporting event

Drugs in Sport

Topic overview Legal supplements and illegal doping Why elite performers dope Consequences of doping for society, sport and performers Strategies against doping

Violence and Gambling in Sport

Topic overview Causes of player and spectator violence Implications of violence in sport Preventing violence among players and spectators Match fixing, bribery and illegal betting

Commercialisation and the Media

Topic overview What drives the commercialisation of sport Impacts of commercialisation Television, radio, press and internet coverage Positive and negative effects of the media Sport as a commodity and the golden triangle

Routes to Sporting Excellence

Topic overview From talent identification to elite performance Schools, clubs and universities in elite success UK Sport and the national institutes Drop-out from elite programmes

Modern Technology in Sport

Topic overview Technology and elite performance Technology and general participation Technology and fair outcomes Technology and entertainment

Environmental Effects on Body Systems

Acclimatisation and timing arrival at altitude

3 things to know
Component 01

Overview

Acclimatisation above about 2,400 m, the kidneys, EPO and red blood cells, how long it takes, arriving a day or two to three weeks before competing, altitude sickness, ventilation, plasma volume and fluid intake.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is acclimatisation, where does altitude begin, and how do the kidneys respond to low pO₂?

Key term

What is acclimatisation?

Key term

Above what height does the OCR specification treat exercise as being at altitude?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is acclimatisation?
Model answer
Acclimatisation is the gradual adjustment of the body to a new environment, such as high altitude. The changes take days to weeks and reduce the effects of low pO₂.
2
Above what height does the OCR specification treat exercise as being at altitude?
Model answer
The specification treats altitude as above 2,400 m, where the low pO₂ makes acclimatisation and the timing of arrival matter. Endurance performance can start to suffer from about 1,500 m.
3
How do the kidneys respond to low pO₂ at altitude?
Model answer
The kidneys release more erythropoietin (EPO) when blood oxygen is low. EPO stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells.
4
Why does a higher red blood cell count help a performer at altitude?
Model answer
More red blood cells mean more haemoglobin. The blood can then carry more oxygen despite the low pO₂.
5
How long does acclimatisation to altitude take?
Model answer
Some changes, such as raised ventilation, begin within days. A meaningful rise in red blood cells takes several weeks.
6
Why might a team arrive at altitude only a day before competing?
Model answer
The ill effects of altitude, such as dehydration, poor sleep and altitude sickness, build up over the first few days. A performer who competes within about 24 hours avoids the worst of them.

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Skeletal and Muscular Systems

The Cardiovascular System

The Respiratory System

Energy for Exercise

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ADoping can damage health and add to healthcare costs.

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