A cheetah, on seeing a prey, moves towards him at a very high speed. What causes the movement of his muscles? How does the chemistry of cellular components of muscles change during this event?
A cheetah, on seeing a prey, moves towards him at a very high speed. What causes the movement of his muscles? How does the chemistry of cellular components of muscles change during this event?
When a cheetah sees its prey, the nervous system processes this information and sends electrical impulses to its muscles to initiate rapid movement.
- Cause of Muscle Movement: The movement of the muscles is caused by the arrival of a nervous electrical impulse at the muscle fibres.
- Chemical and Cellular Changes:
- Muscle cells change their shape by shortening at the cellular level.
- This change in shape is driven by the chemistry of cellular components. Muscle cells contain special proteins that change both their shape and their arrangement in the cell in response to the incoming nervous electrical impulses.
- When these proteins rearrange, they give the muscle cells a shorter, contracted form, resulting in muscle contraction and rapid movement.
Marking Scheme
- 1State that the nervous electrical impulse reaching the muscle fibre triggers the movement. (1 mark)
- 2Explain that muscle cells move by changing their shape so that they shorten. (1 mark)
- 3Describe the role of special proteins changing their shape and arrangement in response to electrical impulses. (1 mark)
Hint
Think about how electrical impulses from nerves interact with the special proteins in muscle cells to make them change their shape and shorten.
Quick Oral Answer
Muscle cells change their shape by shortening. This happens because special proteins in the muscle cells change their shape and arrangement in response to nervous electrical impulses.
Analysis & Explanation
According to the NCERT textbook, the nervous system collects information, processes it, and conveys decisions to muscles for action. When a nerve impulse reaches a muscle cell, the muscle fibre must move. At the cellular level, muscle cells achieve movement by shortening. This is made possible by special proteins present in muscle cells. These proteins undergo a chemical and structural change, altering both their shape and their arrangement within the cell in direct response to nervous electrical impulses. This new arrangement of proteins results in a shorter form of the muscle cell, which collectively leads to muscle contraction and allows the cheetah to run at high speed.
Common Mistakes
- 1Students often write general answers about adrenaline or energy (ATP) without mentioning the specific cellular mechanism of special proteins changing shape and arrangement as described in the NCERT text.
- 2Forgetting to mention that muscle cells shorten to cause movement.
Interesting Facts
The rapid shortening of muscle cells is coordinated across thousands of fibres simultaneously, allowing the cheetah to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds!
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many marks does this question carry in CBSE Class 10 Science 2020?
This question carries 3 marks in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2020 examination.
Which chapter does this question come from in Science?
This question is from the chapter "Control and Coordination" in the CBSE Class 10 Science syllabus.
What topic does this question cover in Science?
This question covers the topic "How Nervous Tissue Causes Action" from CBSE Class 10 Science.
What type of question is this in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2020 paper?
This is a Short Answer question from Section B in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2020 paper.