When performing any type of physical activity, skeletal muscles need to contract to make the body move. All of the following factors influence the ability of skeletal muscle to contract EXCEPT:
Explanation
Answer: C - The ability of skeletal muscle to contract depends on the speed of muscle contraction, the rate of myosin cross-bridge movement (and thus contraction speed), and the efficiency of muscle fibers’ energy use. Muscle size does not affect the ability of muscles to contract; it does, however, affect the force of the contraction. The force of contraction is a function of the number of cross-links made between the actin and myosin bridges; the more cross-links there are, the stronger the force of contraction. Larger muscles have more links, and thus muscle size can be considered as the single greatest factor determining the tensile force generated by a muscle.
