Unit 1.2 Muscles and Motion: Muscle contraction, muscle orientation, Maniken muscle build, movement and biomechanics.
What to do if absent- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning — make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure — the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities — you open it through Schoology.
Week overview - Muscles and Motion: contraction, the Maniken build, and biomechanics
Model how muscles contract using the sliding of actin and myosin, build muscles on the Maniken, and explain motion using origin, insertion, and levers.
- 1Review a sarcomere diagram and label actin and myosin, then describe what happens when they slide past each other.
- 2Roll and place a muscle on your Maniken, identifying its origin and its insertion as you attach it.
- 3Trace the muscle you built and predict which movement it produces when it contracts.
- 4Label the tendon that connects your muscle to bone and explain its job.
- 5Identify one joint as a lever and show where the force and the load act.
- 6Write a short caption explaining how your built muscle creates motion from origin to insertion.
- • You will be able to explain muscle contraction using actin and myosin.
- • You will be able to build a muscle on the Maniken and identify its origin and insertion.
- • You will be able to describe a joint as a lever that produces movement.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
One-paragraph CER taking a position on whether performance-enhancing drugs should be permitted in competitive sport.
Labeled sarcomere diagram (Z-lines, A-band, I-band, actin, myosin) plus a two-sentence sliding-filament contraction explanation.
Two labeled photos of your Maniken muscle build (anterior and posterior views) with each muscle identified and its action stated.
Agonist-antagonist-synergist analysis for one chosen movement, plus a revised Maniken label card showing each muscle's role.
Complete muscle evidence packet: sarcomere diagram, Maniken build photos, agonist-antagonist analysis, and two-sentence reflection.
Quick intro to the week
- Hook: every time you move, billions of tiny protein filaments are sliding past each other inside your muscles.
- Today's goal: build a muscle with your own hands on the Maniken and explain exactly how it moves bone.
- Monday bioethics tie-in: is it fair for athletes to use legal supplements to build muscle faster than rivals?
- Reminder: your graded muscle model evidence is submitted in the PLTW course shell.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance the PLTW HBS online benchmark through Unit 1.2 Muscles and Motion.
- • Muscle contraction happens when actin and myosin filaments slide within the sarcomere.
- • A muscle attaches at an origin and an insertion and pulls on bone through a tendon.
- • Build a muscle on the Maniken and identify its origin and insertion.
- • Describe how a muscle and joint act as a lever to create motion.
📋 PLTW evidence due this week: your Maniken muscle build documented with origin, insertion, and the motion it produces.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Tue, Feb 9 | Bioethics: performance enhancement | One-paragraph CER taking a position on whether performance-enhancing drugs should be permitted in competitive sport. |
| Tuesday | Wed, Feb 10 | Sarcomere and contraction | Labeled sarcomere diagram (Z-lines, A-band, I-band, actin, myosin) plus a two-sentence sliding-filament contraction explanation. |
| Wednesday | Thu, Feb 11 | Maniken muscle build | Two labeled photos of your Maniken muscle build (anterior and posterior views) with each muscle identified and its action stated. |
| Thursday | Tue, Feb 16 | Muscle action analysis | Agonist-antagonist-synergist analysis for one chosen movement, plus a revised Maniken label card showing each muscle's role. |
| Friday | Wed, Feb 17 | Submit muscle evidence | Complete muscle evidence packet: sarcomere diagram, Maniken build photos, agonist-antagonist analysis, and two-sentence reflection. |
- M: Philosophy for Kids / John Carroll bioethical debate
- T: teacher background notes + PLTW launch task
- W: lab / data or model work
- Th: analysis / CER or design revision
- F: submit tracker + weekly evidence
Due by week's end: Muscle model evidence.
Lab day — what to bring & watch
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol — watch it before lab.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework — and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Schoology (CMSD) and keep goingHow to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
You can't do those from home — do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: Khan: muscle contraction.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan — complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Khan Academy: Muscular SystemVocabulary
Virtual resources
Standards this week
WebXam practice
Drop your Week 4 here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project