Unit 2: Form and Function
Topic 2.8: Muscle and Movement (HL) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Biology Topic 2.8. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Identify1 mark
In a relaxed muscle fibre, what prevents the myosin heads from attaching to actin?
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Why must skeletal muscles work in antagonistic pairs to move a joint?
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In a sarcomere, which protein makes up the thin filaments that are anchored to the Z-discs?
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Which part of a synovial joint has the role of reducing friction on the surfaces where the bones meet?
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State the names of the two regulatory proteins of the thin filament that control whether myosin can bind to actin.
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State the action of the biceps and the action of the triceps on the elbow joint.
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To straighten (extend) the arm at the elbow, what happens to the biceps and triceps?
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According to the sliding filament model, what changes when a muscle contracts?
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Which statement best describes how a skeletal muscle produces movement?
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Two muscles act on opposite sides of a joint, so that when one contracts to bend the joint the other relaxes, and vice versa.
What is this arrangement called?
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State the name given to the functional contractile unit of striated muscle that lies between two adjacent Z-discs.
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State the name of the contractile unit of a muscle — the smallest repeating structure that shortens to produce the muscle's pull.
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A sarcomere is the functional contractile unit of striated muscle.
Which structures mark its two ends?
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Calcium ions released into the cytoplasm of a muscle fibre bind directly to which protein?
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Which connective tissue attaches a muscle to a bone so that the muscle's pull moves the bone?
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State which protein makes up the thin filaments of a sarcomere and which structure these thin filaments are anchored to.
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In a sarcomere, where is the actin (thin) filament anchored, and where does the myosin (thick) filament sit?
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Outline why a single skeletal muscle, acting alone, cannot return a bone to its original position after moving it.
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The diagram shows one sarcomere.
The dark band that spans the full length of one whole myosin filament is which labelled region?
[Diagram: bio-sarcomere]
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Outline how the release of calcium ions leads to the exposure of the myosin-binding sites on actin.
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