INVESTIGATING MUSCLE FATIGUE

PURPOSE:
In this activity students will investigate cellular respiration and
the factors that affect skeletal muscle fatigue.

OBJECTIVES:
To observe skeletal muscle fatigue
To explain the relationship between muscle fatigue and
cellular respiration
To experience the relationship between ATP, O2, and
the sliding filament model of contraction.
To graph and interpret the results obtained

BACKGROUND INFO: Just as an automobile must be

supplied with gasoline as a source of energy before it can
move, your muscles also require energy in order to contract.
This energy, in the form of ATP, can be produced with oxygen
(aerobic respiration) or without oxygen (anaerobic respiration).
In animal muscle cells the anaerobic process is called Lactic
Acid Fermentation, and it occurs when there isnt any oxygen
available in the cells for aerobic respiration. This buildup of
lactic acid, as a product of this anaerobic respiration, reaches a
point where the muscles have a reduced ability to contract,
until eventually exhaustion sets in and contraction of the muscle will stop. This is muscle fatigue. Similarly, in
the case of the automobile when the waste products (exhaust) cannot be removed and is built up inside the
engine, the automobile will stop (stall).

MATERIALS:
[Include everything needed to perform lab]
Yourself
Stopwatch
Flat surface
PROCEDURE:
[Step by step instruction...be detailed]
How many sit ups can you do in 20 seconds
Lay on ground with feet on ground, then see sit up and see how many sit ups you can do. Have arms
crossed over your chest.

DATA:
[Data table to record trials]
 Trial 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(20
secs)

How 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 12 11 11
many?

GRAPH:
[Prepare a line graph of the data you collected. The trial number should be on the x-axis and the number of
squeezes on the y-axis. Be sure you label the axis, give your graph a title, and make a key. ]

ANALYSIS QUESTIONS:
[Write at least 5 analysis questions that could be answered after completing the lab]
1. Why couldnt you do as many sit ups at the end?
2. How did you feel after doing the sit ups?
3. How many more trials could you do until you cant do anymore?
4. Why do our muscles get fatigued?
5. Did you like doing this sit up lab?