What happens to the sarcomere during muscle contraction according to the sliding filament model?

Correct answer: The thin filaments are pulled and slide past the thick filaments.

Explanation

This question tests the fundamental principle of the sliding filament model of muscle contraction, which is that the myofilaments slide past one another to shorten the sarcomere, rather than shortening themselves.

Other questions

Question 1

Which property of muscle tissue is defined as its ability to be stretched or extended?

Question 2

What is a key structural difference between skeletal muscle fibers and cardiac muscle fibers?

Question 3

Which layer of connective tissue wraps around an entire skeletal muscle?

Question 4

What is the term for a bundle of muscle fibers organized by a middle layer of connective tissue called the perimysium?

Question 5

What is the specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum in a muscle fiber that stores, releases, and retrieves calcium ions?

Question 6

Which structure is considered the functional unit of a skeletal muscle fiber, defined as the region from one Z-disc to the next?

Question 7

What is the function of the T-tubules in a skeletal muscle fiber?

Question 8

What neurotransmitter is released at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) to initiate skeletal muscle contraction?

Question 9

According to the sliding filament model, what is the first step that initiates muscle contraction after an action potential reaches the muscle fiber?

Question 11

What is the function of the protein tropomyosin in a resting skeletal muscle?

Question 12

In the cross-bridge cycle of muscle contraction, what is the direct role of ATP binding to the myosin head?

Question 13

What is the direct physiological cause of rigor mortis, the rigidity observed in skeletal muscles soon after death?

Question 14

For approximately how long can creatine phosphate-derived ATP power muscle contraction?

Question 15

In the absence of oxygen, what is pyruvic acid converted to, which may contribute to muscle fatigue?

Question 16

Approximately how many ATPs are produced per molecule of glucose via aerobic respiration compared to anaerobic glycolysis?

Question 17

What is meant by the term 'oxygen debt' following intense muscle activity?

Question 18

Which of the following events initiates the relaxation of a skeletal muscle fiber?

Question 19

What is the term for the increase in muscle mass and bulk resulting from the increased production of sarcomeres and myofibrils within muscle fibers?

Question 20

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive weakening of skeletal muscles caused by a lack of which protein?

Question 21

Which type of skeletal muscle contraction involves the muscle producing tension without changing the angle of a skeletal joint, such as when attempting to lift a weight that is too heavy?

Question 22

Lowering a hand weight in a slow and controlled manner, where muscle tension diminishes and the muscle lengthens, is an example of what type of contraction?

Question 23

Where in the human body would you expect to find small motor units, where a single motor neuron supplies a small number of muscle fibers?

Question 24

What is the term for the increase in muscle contraction strength that occurs as more motor units are enlisted to activate larger muscle fibers?

Question 25

At what percentage of its resting length does a sarcomere produce the maximal tension?

Question 26

What is the first phase of a muscle twitch, during which the action potential is being propagated along the sarcolemma but contraction has not yet occurred?

Question 27

When a muscle fiber is stimulated while a previous twitch is still occurring, the second twitch will be stronger. What is this response called?

Question 28

What is the state of muscle contraction called when the stimulus frequency is so high that the relaxation phase disappears completely, leading to continuous contraction?

Question 29

What is the term for the small amount of contraction that allows muscles to stabilize joints and maintain posture, even when not producing movement?

Question 30

Which type of skeletal muscle fiber contracts relatively slowly and uses aerobic respiration to produce ATP, making it highly resistant to fatigue?

Question 31

Which characteristic is typical of fast glycolytic (FG) fibers?

Question 32

Why do slow oxidative (SO) muscle fibers have a red color?

Question 33

Fast oxidative (FO) fibers, which produce more tension than SO fibers but are more fatigue-resistant than FG fibers, are primarily used for which type of movement?

Question 34

What is the primary effect of endurance exercise on slow oxidative (SO) muscle fibers?

Question 35

What is the term for irreversible, age-related muscle atrophy where muscle fibers die and are replaced by connective and adipose tissue?

Question 36

Resistance exercise, which requires large amounts of FG fibers, primarily affects muscles by increasing the formation of what structures, thereby increasing muscle thickness?

Question 37

What is the main function of erythropoietin (EPO) when used as a performance-enhancing substance by endurance athletes?

Question 38

Which of the following is a characteristic feature of cardiac muscle tissue?

Question 39

What two structures, important for cardiac muscle contraction, are contained within intercalated discs?

Question 40

What is the term for the ability of specialized cardiac muscle cells, called pacemaker cells, to self-excite and fire action potentials on their own at set intervals?

Question 41

How are smooth muscle fibers typically described in terms of shape and number of nuclei?

Question 42

In a smooth muscle fiber, which regulatory protein does Ca++ bind to in order to initiate contraction, as it does not contain troponin?

Question 43

What is the key difference between single-unit smooth muscle and multiunit smooth muscle?

Question 44

What is the name for the subset of cross-bridges in some smooth muscles that can remain linked together for a prolonged period without the need for ATP, allowing for the maintenance of muscle tone?

Question 45

Unlike skeletal and cardiac muscle, smooth muscle can divide to produce more cells. What is this process called?

Question 46

Most muscle tissue of the body, excluding those of the head and limbs, develops from which embryonic structures that arise from paraxial mesodermal cells?

Question 47

During early development, embryonic myoblasts fuse to form a syncytium, or a continuous cytoplasm with many nuclei. What is this structure called?

Question 48

What is the function of satellite cells in skeletal muscle tissue?

Question 49

When a muscle is damaged to a greater extent than can be repaired by satellite cells, the muscle fibers are replaced by scar tissue. What is this process called?

Question 50

Which type of muscle tissue has the greatest ability to regenerate and repair itself, utilizing stem cells called pericytes found in some small blood vessels?