GCSE PE paper 1

• Muscle attachment

  Place for muscles to attach via tough, fibrous tissue
• Muscle attachment sites


  • They have a large, broad surface area
• Joints


  Where movement occurs
• Movement at joints


  1. Muscles contract

  2. Movement takes place
• Types of joint movement

  • Flexion
  • Extension
  • Abduction
  • Adduction
  • Rotation
  • Circumduction
• Skeletal functions


  • Protect vital organs
  • Store calcium and phosphorous
  • Produce blood cells
  • Joints for movement
  • Muscle attachment
• Bone types


  • Long
  • Short
  • Flat
  • Irregular
• Long bones

  • Allow for movement to occur
  • Provide levers
• Short bones


  • As wide as they are long
  • Provide ability to bear weight
• Flat bones


  • Have a large surface area
  • Provide protection
• Irregular bones

  • Do not have an easily recognised shape
  • Act as shock absorbers
• Classification of bones

  • Long
  • Short
  • Flat
  • Irregular
• Types of synovial joints

  • Ball and socket
  • Hinge
  • Pivot
  • Condyloid
• Flexion

  Decreasing the angle at a joint
• Extension

  Increasing the angle at a joint
• Abduction

  Movement of a limb away from the midline of the body
• Adduction

  Movement of a limb towards the midline of the body
• Dorsiflexion


  Moving the foot upwards
• Plantar flexion

  Moving the foot downwards
• Rotation


  Movement/pivot/twist around an axis, or turning of a body part about its long axis
• Circumduction


  Circular movement at a joint in the shape of a cone, allowing 360° movement
• Muscle types


  • Voluntary
  • Cardiac
  • Involuntary
• Voluntary muscles

  • Attached to the skeleton to enable movement
  • Suffer from fatigue
  • Consist of different types of muscle fibres
• Cardiac muscle


  • Contracts to pump blood around the body
  • Non-fatiguing
• Involuntary muscles

  • Found in blood vessels and digestive system
  • Controlled by the Central Nervous System
  • Have a slow contraction speed
• Ligaments

  • Tough connective tissue that connect bones
  • Limit the risk of injury by preventing unwanted joint movement
• Tendons

  • Tough, flexible fibrous tissue that connect muscles to bones
  • When the muscle contracts, the tendon attachment creates movement
• Antagonistic muscle pairs


  • Work together to bring about movement
  • As one contracts, the other relaxes to allow the movement
• Isotonic contraction

  Muscle changes length but tension remains the same
• Isometric contraction


  Muscle tension changes but length remains the same
• Slow twitch are vital in long distance/endurance activities
• As such as


  • running
  • swimming
  • cycling
  • triathlon
• Slow twitch muscle fibre types contract slowly over a prolonged period of time and so have a high level of resistance to fatigue
• Slow Twitch


  Also known as Type I
• Slow Twitch Muscle Fibres

  • Used in endurance activities such as running, swimming, cycling, triathlon
  • Have a high level of myoglobin
  • Can sustain activity over a long period of time
• Fast Twitch


  Also known as Type II
• Fast Twitch Muscle Fibres

  • Subdivided into Type IIa and Type IIb
  • Contract quickly/very quickly over a relatively short period of time
  • Generate a greater/very high level of force
  • Have a lower resistance to fatigue
• Slow Twitch Muscle Fibres

  • 5,000m running
• Fast Twitch Muscle Fibres

  • 100m sprint
  • 400m sprint
• Anaerobic


  Producing force without the need for oxygen