Lesson 4: Muscle Homeostasis & Fatigue

How does your body "know" when to stop? How do muscles help regulate your internal temperature?

Negative Feedback, Thermoregulation, Shivering, Muscle Fatigue, Hypertrophy, Atrophy.

HS-LS1-3 (Feedback Mechanisms)

Writing a formal scientific argument; identifying variables and control groups in an experimental design passage.

Description: An inquiry-based lab where students test their own physiological limits.

Purpose: To observe feedback loops in real-time.

DOK Level 4.

Understanding the "Muscle Memory" phenomenon in musicians and athletes; the physiological impact of "overtraining syndrome."

Thinking that shivering is a sign of illness rather than a homeostatic "heater" for the body.

Tiered lab roles: some students focus on data collection/graphing, while others focus on experimental variable manipulation.

Formal Lab Report: "The Homeostatic Stress Test," synthesizing data on heart rate, fatigue, and recovery time.

Grip strength dynamometers; digital timers; cooling packs; Physical Therapist (Guest Speaker)