7 Cd-7

Building up muscles and bones

Name Class Date

1 ‘Bone mineral content’ is a measure of

Body Runners – mean Cyclists – mean
the mass of bone material in someone.
part (average) bone (average) bone
People with bigger measurements tend to
mineral content mineral content
have bigger and/or heavier bones.
(g) (g)
In an investigation, the bone mineral Spine 81 70
content of a group of serious runners was
compared to that of a group of serious Hip 45 42
cyclists. The people in both groups were Leg 567 549
all adult men and had similar masses, Arm 216 214
diets and levels of activity.
(The mean is a type of average in which you add up all your
readings and then divide by the total number of readings.)

a What are the units for bone mineral content?

b Which group of people do you think had the bigger and/or heavier bones?
c In which body part was there the greatest difference between the two groups?
d How do these results provide evidence that bones continue to change?
e Suggest a hypothesis (an idea) to explain these results. Think about the forces on the body
as you run or cycle.

2 Mitch is training.
a Muscles and bones form an organ
system. What is its name?
b Which muscle is Mitch exercising when
he raises his legs?
c Describe what happens to this muscle
when he lifts the mass on his feet.
d The quadriceps and hamstring muscles
are a pair. What is a pair of muscles
such as this called?
e Why do muscles need to work in pairs?
f Give the names of another pair of
muscles and describe what they do.
g How is a muscle cell adapted to its
function?

3 Draw a flow chart to show what happens in the nervous system to allow a muscle in Mitch’s
legs to lift the mass on his feet.

I can…
● describe how muscles and bones work together
● analyse evidence for changes in bones

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 7 Cd-7
Building up muscles and bones

● describe how muscle action is controlled.

© Pearson Education Ltd 2014. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. 38