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Exercise 2: Skeletal Muscle Physiology: Activity 2: The Effect of Stimulus Voltage on Skeletal Muscle Contraction Lab
Report

Pre-lab Quiz Results


You scored 100% by answering 4 out of 4 questions correctly.

1. Skeletal muscle fibers are innervated (stimulated) by


You correctly answered: c. motor neurons.

2. A single action potential propagating down a motor axon results in


You correctly answered: d. a single action potential and a single contractile event in the muscle fibers it innervates.

3. In resting skeletal muscle, calcium is stored in


You correctly answered: c. the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

4. During the latent period for an isometric contraction


You correctly answered: c. the cellular events involved in excitation-contraction coupling occur.

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Experiment Results
Predict Question:
Predict Question: As the stimulus voltage is increased from 1.0 volt up to 10 volts, what will happen to the amount of active
force generated with each stimulus?
Your answer : d. The active force will first increase and then decrease.

Stop & Think Questions:


What do you see in the active force display when the stimulus voltage is set to 0.0, and why does this observation make
sense?
You correctly answered: a. 0.00 g; there was no activation of skeletal muscle fibers by this stimulus.

What is the lowest stimulus voltage that induces active force in the skeletal muscle?
You correctly answered: b. threshold voltage

6. Enter the threshold voltage for this experiment in the field below and then click Submit Data to record your answer in the
lab report
You answered: 0.8 volts

12. Enter the maximal voltage for this experiment in the field below and then click Submit Data to record your answer in the
lab report.
You answered: 10 volts

Experiment Data:

Voltage Length Active Force Passive Force Total Force


0.0 75 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.2 75 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.8 75 0.02 0.0 0.02
0.9 75 0.09 0.0 0.09
1.0 75 0.15 0.0 0.15
1.1 75 0.21 0.0 0.21
1.1 75 0.21 0.0 0.21
1.5 75 0.43 0.0 0.43
2.0 75 0.66 0.0 0.66
2.5 75 0.87 0.0 0.87
3.0 75 1.04 0.0 1.04
3.5 75 1.19 0.0 1.19
4.0 75 1.32 0.0 1.32
4.5 75 1.42 0.0 1.42
5.0 75 1.51 0.0 1.51
5.5 75 1.59 0.0 1.59
6.0 75 1.65 0.0 1.65
6.5 75 1.70 0.0 1.70
7.0 75 1.74 0.0 1.74
7.5 75 1.78 0.0 1.78
8.0 75 1.81 0.0 1.81
8.5 75 1.82 0.0 1.82
9.0 75 1.82 0.0 1.82

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Voltage Length Active Force Passive Force Total Force
9.5 75 1.82 0.0 1.82
10.0 75 1.82 0.0 1.82

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Post-lab Quiz Results
You scored 83% by answering 5 out of 6 questions correctly.

1. Motor unit recruitment refers to


You correctly answered: a. an increase in the number of active muscle fibers to increase the force developed in a muscle.

2. Active tension (or force) in a skeletal muscle fiber results from


You correctly answered: a. activation of cross bridge cycling via increased intracellular calcium levels.

3. The ________ is the minimal stimulus needed to cause a depolarization of the muscle plasma membrane (sarcolemma).

You correctly answered: d. threshold voltage

4. By definition, the ________ is the amount of stimulus required to successfully recruit all the muscle fibers into
developing active force.
You correctly answered: c. maximal voltage

5. Why was a maximal voltage observed in this experiment?


You correctly answered: b. At the maximal voltage, all the muscle fibers contained in this muscle are depolarized and they
all develop active force (that is, they were all successfully recruited).

6. 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?
Your answer: b. The electrical stimulus only influences the skeletal muscle fibers that are in immediate contact with the
electrodes.
Correct answer: c. The electrical stimulus mimics acetylcholine release at a neuromuscular junction

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Review Sheet Results
1. Describe the effect of increasing stimulus voltage on isolated skeletal muscle. Specifically, what happened to the muscle
force generated with stronger electrical stimulations and why did this change occur? How well did the results compare with
your prediction?
Your answer:
Una vez que es superado el umbral, y seguimos aplicando un voltaje, la fuerza será proporcional a éste. ¿Qué pasa? Es
decir, si aumentamos el voltaje más fibras se activan y la fuerza total, producida por los músculos, aumenta.

2. How is this change in whole-muscle force achieved in vivo?


Your answer:
La fuerza muscular se logran in vivo al tener más unidades motoras adicionales que aumenten el total de la fuerza
muscular producida.

3. What happened in the isolated skeletal muscle when the maximal voltage was applied?
Your answer:
Todas las fibras musculares en el músculo esquelético aislado se despolarizan y todos desarrollan la fuerza activa.
Entonces, cada una de las fibras está involucrada en la fuerza activa generada a partir del voltaje máximo.

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