Finger marathon
In this activity, students investigate muscle fatigue using the action of opening and closing a clothes peg. Extension ideas include graphing, averages and further investigations into fitness and recovery times.
Finger marathon using a clothes peg
The action of opening and closing a clothes peg can be used to investigate muscle fatigue.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
investigate how muscles use energy during exercise
discuss the link between repetition and muscle fatigue
accurately record and display the data they collect.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
extension ideas
student handout.
Related content
These articles help support the learning in this activity:
Energy for exercise – the source of energy used to power the movement of contraction in muscles working is adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the body’s biochemical way to store and transport energy.
Marathon versus sprint – looks at how can one person beat everyone in a marathon, but be left in the dust in a sprint?
