Exercise 2: Skeletal Muscle Physiology: Activity 1: The Muscle Twitch and the Latent Period Lab Report Pre-lab

Quiz Results You scored 100% by answering 5 out of 5 questions correctly. 1. Skeletal muscles are connected to bones by You correctly answered: b. tendons. 2. Skeletal muscles are composed of hundreds to thousands of individual cells called You correctly answered: c. fibers. 3. The term motor unit refers to You correctly answered: c. one motor neuron and all of the skeletal muscle fibers it innervates. 4. The motor neuron and muscle fiber intersect at what is called You correctly answered: d. the neuromuscular junction. 5. A twitch is You correctly answered: a. one contractile response to a single action potential.

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Experiment Results Predict Question: Predict Question: Will changes to the stimulus voltage alter the duration of the latent period? Your answer : b. No, changing the stimulus voltage will not change the latent period duration. Stop & Think Questions: What is the period of time that elapses between the generation of an action potential and the start of muscle tension development in a muscle fiber? You correctly answered: c. the latent period What occurs during the latent period of these isometric contractions? You correctly answered: b. All the steps of excitation-contraction coupling occur. Experiment Data: Voltage 0.0 3.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 Length 75 75 75 75 75 75 Active Force 0.00 1.04 1.32 1.65 1.81 1.82 Passive Force 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total Force 0.00 1.04 1.32 1.65 1.81 1.82 Latent Period ----2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00

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Post-lab Quiz Results You scored 100% by answering 7 out of 7 questions correctly. 1. An action potential in a motor neuron triggers the release of which neurotransmitter? You correctly answered: b. acetylcholine 2. The term skeletal muscle fiber refers to You correctly answered: a. an individual skeletal muscle cell. 3. The graded depolarization in the skeletal muscle fiber that is elicited in response to one action potential from the motor neuron is called You correctly answered: c. an EPP (end-plate potential). 4. Which of the following is not a phase of a skeletal muscle twitch? You correctly answered: b. hyperpolarization phase 5. A skeletal muscle twitch is You correctly answered: a. one contractile response to a single action potential. 6. Which of the following correctly matches the twitch phase with its definition? You correctly answered: d. the contraction phase: the time between the end of the latent period and peak muscle tension 7. A sufficiently strong electrical stimulus applied to an isolated, mounted skeletal muscle induces the development of muscle force, or muscle tension. Which of the following statements concerning this observation is true? You correctly answered: c. The electrical stimulus mimics acetylcholine release at a neuromuscular junction

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Review Sheet Results 1. Define the terms skeletal muscle fiber, motor unit, skeletal muscle twitch, electrical stimulus, and latent period. Your answer: Skeletal muscle fibers: are attached to the skeleton and make voluntary actions such as walking and standing possible. motor unit: consists of a motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers it innervates. Skeletal Muscle twitch: is the mechanical response to a single action potential. Electrical stimulus: is used to control muscle contractions. Latent Period: is the period of time thats between the generation of an action potential in a muscle and the start of muscle contraction.

2. What is the role of acetylcholine in a skeletal muscle contraction? Your answer: Acetylcholine diffuses onto the muscle fiber's sarcolemma and binds to receptors in the motor end plate initiating a change in ion permeability that results in a graded depolarization of the the end plate potential. 3. Describe the process of excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle fibers. Your answer: The events that occur at the neuromuscular junction lead to the end plate potential. The end plate potential triggers a series of events that result in the contraction of a muscle. 4. Describe the three phases of a skeletal muscle twitch. Your answer: The latent phase is the period of time thats between the generation of an action potential in a muscle cell and the start of muscle contraction. The Concentration phase starts at the end of the latent period and ends when the muscle tension peaks. The Relaxation phase is the period from peak tension until the end of the muscle contraction. 5. Does the duration of the latent period change with different stimulus voltages? How well did the results compare with your prediction? Your answer: In all of the tests the latent period remained the same. The results proved that I predicted correctly. 6. At the threshold stimulus, do sodium ions start to move into or out of the cell to bring about the membrane depolarization? Your answer: During the threshold stimulus sodium ions move into the cell.

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