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:
Body
2.5 lb. weight

PROCEDURE:
1. Have person stand with legs shoulder width apart with the 2.5 lb. weight in
the dominant hand. The person should raise their entire arm up, making their arm
straight and the same height as the shoulder. They need to repeat this for 30
seconds and record how many times they could raise their hand in the 30 second
interval. They need to do this 10 times total, each for 30 seconds. Record in data
table.
2. Have person do same exact thing as in step 1, but with non dominant hand
to see the difference in muscle fatigue within the two arms.

DATA:
 Time (30 seconds each) Dominant (Right) Non-Dominant (Left)

1. 35 37

2. 37 37

3. 36 36

4. 36 36

5. 35 35

6. 35 35

7. 35 35

8. 35 34

9. 34 34

10. 34 34

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. Would having a higher weight make a difference in how fast the muscle
fatigued?
2. What would the results be if we did 20 trials for each arm instead of 10?
3. There wasnt much of a difference in fatigue, is it because of the low weight
and low amount of time?
4. At what point would we not be able to any due to the steady decline? Would
there be a point?
5. Is there actually a muscle difference within the dominant and nondominant
hand or is there just a coordination difference?