Skeletal and Muscular Systems

What Skeletal and Muscular Systems covers

Skeletal and Muscular Systems is examined in Component 01, Physiological factors affecting performance. It covers 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 and motor units and muscle fibre types.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Shoulder, elbow and wrist joints and musclesFunctions of the skeleton, ligaments, tendons, articular cartilage and synovial fluid, the ball and socket shoulder with its agonists for flexion, abduction, adduction, horizontal movements and rotation, circumduction, and the elbow and wrist joints.Open →
• Hip, knee and ankle joints and musclesThe hip, knee and ankle joints and their bones, hip flexion and extension out of the blocks, the adductors and rotators, the hamstring and quadriceps groups, rectus femoris, dorsiflexion, plantar flexion and the soleus.Open →
• Planes of movement, muscle roles and contractionsThe sagittal, frontal and transverse planes with a sprinter, a star jump and a discus turn, agonist, antagonist and fixator roles, and isotonic, concentric, eccentric and isometric contractions.Open →
• Analysing movement in sporting actionsJoint, movement, agonist and contraction type worked through a squat, a sprinter's drive and recovery legs, a high jump take-off, a press-up, a biceps curl, a football kick, a set shot, a pull-up, a side kick and a wall-sit.Open →
• Motor units and muscle fibre typesMotor units and the control they give, the motor neurone, action potentials and neurotransmitters at the neuromuscular junction, the all or none law, and slow oxidative, fast oxidative glycolytic and fast glycolytic fibres with their order of recruitment.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Skeletal and Muscular Systems further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Agonist vs Antagonist

  Agonist: the prime mover chiefly responsible for producing a movement. Antagonist: the muscle that lengthens in opposition so a movement can occur.

• Concentric contraction vs Eccentric contraction

  Concentric contraction: a muscle shortening while it produces tension. Eccentric contraction: a muscle lengthening while it remains under tension.

• Isotonic vs Isometric

  Isotonic: tension produced while the muscle changes length. Isometric: tension produced while the muscle stays the same length.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Name three functions of the skeleton that matter in sport.

   Model answer

   The skeleton protects vital organs, as the ribs shield the heart and lungs. Bones give muscles a rigid anchor to pull against. Red bone marrow produces the red blood cells that carry oxygen.

2. 2

   What is the difference between a ligament and a tendon?

   Model answer

   A ligament joins bone to bone and stabilises a joint. A tendon joins muscle to bone and transmits the muscle's pull.

3. 3

   How does articular cartilage help a synovial joint work?

   Model answer

   Articular cartilage covers the ends of the bones inside a synovial joint. The smooth surface reduces friction and absorbs shock as the joint moves.

4. 4

   What is the role of synovial fluid?

   Model answer

   Synovial fluid lubricates the joint so the bones move with little friction. Synovial fluid also nourishes the articular cartilage.

5. 5

   What type of joint is the shoulder, and which bones articulate there?

   Model answer

   The shoulder is a ball and socket joint. The head of the humerus fits into the glenoid fossa of the scapula.

6. 6

   Why is the shoulder more easily dislocated than the hip?

   Model answer

   The glenoid fossa is shallow, so the shoulder relies on muscles and ligaments for stability. The deep acetabulum of the hip holds the femur far more securely.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Skeletal and Muscular Systems revision questions

What does Skeletal and Muscular Systems cover in OCR A-Level Physical Education?

5 subtopics: 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 and motor units and muscle fibre types. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Skeletal and Muscular Systems organised?

By the OCR H555 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.