Muscarinic Jones

Concert:
Skeletal Muscle
Contraction Analogy
Worksheet

A. In the following analogy, identify each of the underlined words. Each word is key
component in skeletal muscle contraction.

At Myofiber University, things are very exciting today! It was just announced that in 2 hours, the
hottest pop star around, Muscarinic Jones, will perform a surprise concert at the campus. Word
of the concert first spread through a group text message from Molly Neuron. She told all of her
friends, a group she calls the “A Team” because their names all begin with the letter “A.” Once
one member of the A Team, Achley, heard the news, she told her entire dorm about the concert.
She did this by running down every hallway and knocking on each door of the dorm. One
particular dorm room houses several Campus Cheerleaders. The cheerleaders became very
excited and jumped up and down, released in excitement by the news. One cheerleader, Callie,
was so excited that she leapt onto her roommate Tory. Now, Tory was sitting on a tiny couch
with 2 other cheerleaders, so this caused some issues. When Callie grabbed Tory, the couch
shifted a little and Amy, also seated on the couch, was now freely accessible and able to grasp
Mary to give her a hug. Mary had just taken a sip of her energy drink and had more-than-usual
excitement about the concert, eagerly hugging Amy. As they hugged, they awkwardly moved
past one another and the entire dorm, buzzing with excitement, shook as if there was a small
earthquake. All because of a text message!

B. Identify the role of each of the following components of skeletal muscle contraction:
Transverse tubules: __________________________________________________
Sarcoplasmic reticulum: _______________________________________________
Sarcolemma: _______________________________________________________
Actin: _____________________________________________________________
Myosin: ____________________________________________________________
Calcium: ___________________________________________________________
C. Label the parts of the neuromuscular junction:

D. Describe what happens at the NMJ in skeletal muscle contraction.

E. Label the sarcomere below.

F. In the space below, describe what happens to the sarcomere during skeletal muscle
contraction. Include the A band, H zone, and I band in your description.
Muscarinic Jones Concert: KEY
Skeletal Muscle Contraction Analogy Worksheet

A. In the following analogy, identify each of the underlined words. Each word is key
component in skeletal muscle contraction.

At Myofiber University, things are very exciting today! It was just announced that in 2 hours, the
hottest pop star around, Muscarinic Jones, will perform a surprise concert at the campus. Word
of the concert first spread through a group text message from Molly Neuron. She told all of her
friends, a group she calls the “A Team” because their names all begin with the letter “A.” Once
one member of the A Team, Achley, heard the news, she told her entire dorm about the concert.
She did this by running down every hallway and knocking on each door of the dorm. One
particular dorm room houses several Campus Cheerleaders. The cheerleaders became very
excited and jumped up and down, released in excitement by the news. One cheerleader, Callie,
was so excited that she leapt onto her roommate Tory. Now, Tory was sitting on a tiny couch
with 2 other cheerleaders, so this caused some issues. When Callie grabbed Tory, the couch
shifted a little and Amy, also seated on the couch, was now freely accessible and able to grasp
Mary to give her a hug. Mary had just taken a sip of her energy drink and had more-than-usual
excitement about the concert, eagerly hugging Amy. As they hugged, they awkwardly moved
past one another and the entire dorm, buzzing with excitement, shook as if there was a small
earthquake. All because of a text message!
Molly Neuron=motor neuron
A team=axon terminals
Achley=acetylcholine neurotransmitter
Hallway=transverse tubules
Campus cheerleaders/Callie=calcium
Tory=troponin
Couch=tropomyosin
Amy=actin
Mary=myosin (or myosin head)
Energy drink=ATP
Dorm=muscle
Small earthquake=muscle contraction
B. Identify the role of each of the following components of skeletal muscle contraction:

Transverse tubules: __speed transmission of nerve impulses; inward extensions of

sarcolemma________

Sarcoplasmic reticulum: __store and release calcium______

Sarcolemma: __plasma membrane of skeletal muscle fiber_____

Actin: ___anchored at Z disks, slides past myosin in muscle contraction______

Myosin: __head binds to ATP to cock and connect to actin’s myosin binding site, anchored at M
line of sarcomere; pulls actin toward M line during muscle contraction_____

Calcium: ___first, released in axon when action potential reaches axon terminal and this causes
synaptic vesicles to dock at axon terminal to release ACh; also released from SR and binds to
troponin, causing myosin binding sites on actin to be exposed, thus leading to cross bridge
formation___

C. Label the parts of the neuromuscular junction:

1. Axon
2. Synaptic vesicles containing acetylcholine
3. Acetylcholine/neurotransmitter receptors
4. Muscle/motor end plate/sarcolemma
5. Synaptic cleft

D. Describe what happens at the NMJ in skeletal muscle contraction.

In the NMJ, the axon transmits an action potential to the axon terminal. Calcium then enters the
axon terminal which causes synaptic vesicles containing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to
move and dock at the axon terminal. ACh is released from vesicles by the active process of
exocytosis. They diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the sarcolemma of
the skeletal muscle. This depolarizes the membrane and causes an impulse to spread across
the muscle, ultimately leading to muscle contraction.

E. Label the sarcomere below.

1. Z disk

2. M line

3. Myosin

4. actin

5. A disk

6. Sarcomere

G. In the space below, describe what happens to the sarcomere during skeletal muscle
contraction.
During contraction of skeletal muscle, the actin, thin filament, slides past myosin toward
the M line. As this happens, the sarcomere, which runs from 1 z disk to the next,
shortens. The A band is dark and contains both actin and myosin, and it stays relatively
the same, however, the I band which is only made of actin decreases in length as the
filaments overlap. The same thing happens to the H zone which is only myosin.