VIRTUAL MUSCLE STIMULATION ACTIVITY

Go to: http://glencoe.mcgrawhill.com/sites/dl/free/0078757134/383958/BL_21.html
Read the Purpose and Objectives of the activity. Click on the blue
Information button on the bottom right. Answer the following questions:
1. Contrast voluntary and involuntary muscles. Include what types of
muscles are in each category and where these muscles are found.
Both cardiac and smooth muscles are called involuntary because their
contractions cannot be consciously controlled. Cardiac muscle exists only in
the heart and contracts approximately 70 times per minute to pump blood
throughout a body's circulatory system. Smooth muscles line many internal
organs such as the trachea, intestines, and bladder. Smooth muscles
contract and relax slowly, exerting and releasing pressure on the organs they
surround. Skeletal muscles are the muscles that are used for movement.
They are called voluntary muscles because their contractions are
consciously controlled.
2. What attaches muscle to bones? Tendons
3. What is the all or none law of muscle contraction? When exposed to
stimuli from the nervous system, each individual muscle fiber will contract
either completely or not at all.
4. How is the strength of the muscle contraction determined? By the
number of individual muscle fibers that respond to a stimulus.
5. Define a muscle twitch: If a single, quick electrical stimulus is applied to a
skeletal muscle, the muscle will respond by contracting and relaxing quickly.
6. Define a muscles threshold of stimulation: The weakest electrical
stimulation (measured in volts) required to cause a muscle to twitch.
7. Define the point of muscle overload: As the workload on a muscle
increases, the muscle will eventually reach a point at which it will no longer
be able to contract, no matter how much electrical stimulation it receives.
Finish reading the information and then close the Information window. Follow
the Procedure and record your data in the Table below. After you finish the
experiment, answer the Analysis questions.

TABLE 1 Threshold Stimulus (V)

LOAD

LOWER
FORELIMB
MUSCLES

UPPER
FORELIMB
MUSCLES

CALF
MUSCLES

THIGH
MUSCLES

0g

2.0

3.0

5.0

6.0

5g

3.0

4.0

5.5

6.5

10g

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

20g

none

7.0

7.0

8.0

40g

none

None

8.0

9.0

80g

none

none

none

10.0

ANALYSIS:
1. Based on the results of your investigation, what conclusions can you draw
about the relationship between a muscle's workload and its threshold of
stimulation?
As the load doubles, the threshold stimulus usually increases by 1. A muscle
that has a higher threshold of stimulation with no workload can handle a
much higher workload.

2. Why would a muscle's threshold of stimulation change as its Workload

changes?

It would require more stimulation in order to contract. The muscle

essentially has to work harder to get a contraction.

3. Which muscles were able to contract under the greatest loads? What does
this suggest about the role these muscles play in frog movement?
The calf and thigh muscles could contract with the greatest loads. These
muscles are required for the frog to leap and need to bear the weight of the
frog while causing the frog to jump.
4. Describe an experiment you might perform to determine which leg
muscles of a frog are important for jumping long distances.
Answers will vary.
5. What are some advantages of performing this experiment in a simulated
environment?
Each muscle can be isolated easily and a simulation does not hurt the
animal.