Name: Abigail Young

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.

09/21/16

page 1

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
0.0
1.04
1.32
1.65
1.81
1.82

Passive Force
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

09/21/16

page 2

Total Force
0.0
1.04
1.32
1.65
1.81
1.82

Latent Period
------2.00
2.00
2.00
2.00

09/21/16

page 3

09/21/16

page 4

Post-lab Quiz Results

You scored 100% by answering 6 out of 6 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

09/21/16

page 5

Review Sheet Results

1. Define the terms skeletal muscle fiber, motor unit, skeletal muscle twitch, electrical stimulus, and latent period.
Your answer:
Skeletal Muscle Fiber - is attached to the skeleton and usually helps with activities such as walking
Motor Unit- is a motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers that it innervates
Skeletal Muscle Twitch- is a mechanical response to a single action potential
Electrical Stimulus - is what causes the movement of the muscle
Latent period - is the time that elapses between the generation of the action potential and the muscle contraction
2. What is the role of acetylcholine in a skeletal muscle contraction?
Your answer:
The role of acetylcholine is to diffuse onto the muscle cell's sarcolemma and change the ion permability that will result with a
graded depolarizated plasma membrane
3. Describe the process of excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle fibers.
Your answer:
At the neuromuscular junction, events take place that lead to the production of the end plate potential. In which, triggers the
events that lead to the resulting muscle contraction
4. Describe the three phases of a skeletal muscle twitch.
Your answer:
Latent Period is the time that elapses between the generation of the action potential and the and the start of the muscle
contraction. The contraction phase begins at the end of the latent period and ends when the muscle tension peaks. The
relaxation phase begins when the muscle tension peaks and ends when the contraction is over.
5. Does the duration of the latent period change with different stimulus voltages? How well did the results compare with
your prediction?
Your answer:
The latent periods are the same, so my hypothesis is correct.
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:
At the threshold stimulus the sodium ions move into the cell.

09/21/16

page 6