Sadie Springfield

Lab Report

The muscles in our body are constructed of 3 types of muscular system. These muscles are
the smooth, skeletal, and cardiac muscles. The Skeletal muscles is all about contraction,
these muscles help you move your body and keep you upright. The smooth muscles makes
up the parts of organs. Smooth muscles line the organs and keeps your body functioning.
The cardiac muscle is exactly like it sounds as it makes up your heart muscles. These
muscles propel the blood through your blood vessels.

Figure 1: The microscopic skeletal muscle drawing

The sliding filament theory is the explanation for how muscles contract to
produce force. As we have mentioned on previous pages, the actin and
myosin filaments within the sarcomeres of muscle fibres bind to create

cross-bridges and slide past one another, creating a contraction. The

sliding filament theory explains how these cross-bridges are formed and
the subsequent contraction of muscle. The individual motor neuron plus
the muscle fibres it stimulates, is called a motor unit. The motor end plate
(also known as the neuromuscular junction) is the junction of the motor
neurons axon and the muscle fibres it stimulates.
When an impulse reaches the muscle fibres of a motor unit, it stimulates a
reaction in each sarcomere between the actin and myosin filaments. This
reaction results in the start of a contraction and the sliding filament theory.

Figure 2: The Skeletal Muscle before and after contraction

Before ATP

After ATP

Initial

Percent Change

Trial 1

19 mm

12 mm

37%

Trial 2

15 mm

12 mm

20%

Trial 3

22 mm

15 mm

47%

Trial 4

18 mm

11 mm

39%

Trial 5

13 mm

8 mm

38%

Skeletal muscle, the type that is responsible for moving our muscles when we run, is
comprised of three different muscle fiber types, each with its own advantages,
disadvantages and specialty.
Type I, better known as slow-twitch fibers, are the bodys primary method for less
explosive, sustained movements. They do not contract forcefully and thus require less
energy to fire, which makes them well suited to long distance running. More importantly,
they house our main supply of oxygen-boosting power plants mitochondria, myoglobin
and capillaries.
Type IIx are best known as fast-twitch muscle fibers. These are the muscle fibers primarily
responsible for fast, explosive movements like sprinting. However, they lack the
endurance-boosting ability of slow-twitch fibers and can only be used for short periods of
time.
Type IIa are what we call intermediate fibers. These are a blend between fast- and
slow-twitch fibers. They have some aerobic capability, but not as much as the slow-twitch
fibers, and they can fire more forcefully, but not quite as explosively as the fast-twitch fibers
Sadie

Tyler

Jose

10 seconds

150.1 N

260.1 N

244.2 N

20-30 seconds

93.3 N

248.8 N

198 N

40-50 seconds

86.1 N

159.6 N

152.8 N

60-70 seconds

91.8 N

126.4 N

204.4 N

80-90 seconds

85 N

134.4 N

186.7 N

The table above shows the data collected during the Constant grip strength lab.
The table below shows the data collected during the repetitive grip strength lab.
Sadie

Tyler

Jose

10 seconds

153.9 N

185.4 N

218.4 N

20-30 seconds

82.4 N

262.5 N

207.9 N

40-50 seconds

104.5 N

176 N

168 N

60-70 seconds

99.4 N

200.4 N

194 N

80-90 seconds

86.3 N

275.7 N

328.1 N

Sadie Springfield
Muscle System Lab Report