VCE PE Unit 1 Exam revision

Anatomical Position

Standing upright, facing forward, arms at sides, palms facing forward.

Superior

Refers to a body part that is closer to the head than another part.

Inferior

Refers to a body part that is closer to the feet than another part.

Anterior

A body part that is towards the front of the body

Posterior (Dorsal)

A body part towards the back of the body

Medial

Towards the midline of the body

Lateral

A body part that moves away from the midline of the body.

Proximal

Refers to a body part that is closer to the trunk.

Distal

A body part that is further away from the trunk.

Flexion

A joint movement that decreases the angle between two bones.

Extension

A joint movement that increases the angle between two bones.

Abduction

When a body part is taken away from the midline of the body

Adduction

A joint movement when a part of the body is brought towards the midline.

Rotation

Turning a bone around its own longitudinal axis.

Circumduction

Refers to circular movement that combines flexion, extension, adduction, and abduction. This allows the limb to move in a cone like shape.

Skeletal System Functions

The five primary functions of the skeletal system are support, protection, movement, mineral storage, and blood cell production.

Axial Skeleton

The central core of the body, including the skull, vertebral column, and rib cage.

Appendicular Skeleton

The limbs and the bones that attach to the axial skeleton.

Types of Bones

• Long (e.g., femur)

• short (e.g., carpals)

• flat (e.g., sternum)

• irregular (e.g., vertebrae)

• sesamoid (e.g., patella)

Synovial Joint

A freely movable joint where the articulating bones are separated by a cavity filled with synovial fluid.

Types of Synovial Joints

• Hinge (elbow)

• ball-and-socket (shoulder)

• pivot (neck)

• saddle (thumb)

• condyloid (wrist)

• gliding (tarsals)

Skeletal Muscle

Voluntary, striated muscle attached to bones via tendons that contracts to create movement.

Agonist

The prime mover muscle that contracts concentrically to create the desired movement.

Antagonist

The muscle that relaxes and lengthens as the agonist contracts to allow the desired movement.

Reciprocal Inhibition

The simultaneous contraction of the agonist muscle and the relaxation and lengthening of the antagonist muscle to facilitate movement.

Concentric Contraction

Where the muscle shortens while contracting, creating tension to overcome a resistance and produce movement.

Eccentric Contraction

Muscle lengthens under tension to control or resist a movement.

Isometric Contraction

A muscle contraction where the muscle generates force without changing length, resulting in no movement at the joint.

First-Class Lever (Effort.Fulcrum.Resistance)

A lever system where the fulcrum is located between the effort and the resistance.

Second-Class Lever (Fulcrum-Resistance-Effort)

A lever system where the resistance is located between the fulcrum and the effort.

Third-Class Lever (F-E-R)

A lever system where the effort is located between the fulcrum and the resistance.

Acute Injury

An injury that occurs suddenly and has a clear, identifiable cause, such as a bone fracture, sprain, or muscle tear.

Chronic (Overuse) Injury

An injury that develops gradually over time due to repetitive stress or trauma, such as tendinitis or shin splints.

Direct Injury

An injury caused by an external force making direct contact with the body, such as a collision, strike, or blow.

Indirect Injury

An injury caused by internal forces within the body, resulting from uncoordinated movement, overstretching, or excessive strain, rather than direct contact.

Sprain

An injury involving the stretching or tearing of ligaments.

Strain

An injury involving the stretching or tearing of muscle fibres or tendons.

Strategies for Injury Prevention

Key strategies for preventing injury include completing an adequate warm‑up, using proper protective equipment, applying correct technique, and ensuring appropriate surface conditioning.

Performance Enhancement

Methods or substances used to improve physiological or psychological performance in sport, including legal strategies and illegal performance‑enhancing drugs.

Permitted Performance Enhancement

Legal training methods or nutritional strategies used to improve performance, such as resistance training or carbohydrate loading.

Prohibited Performance Enhancement

Illegal methods or substances banned by WADA because they pose significant health risks or provide an unfair advantage in sport.

Anabolic Steroids

Prohibited synthetic variants of testosterone used to accelerate muscle growth, strength, and recovery. They are banned due to serious health risks and unfair performance advantages.

Human Growth Hormone (hGH)

A prohibited hormone used to stimulate muscle mass growth and tissue repair, providing athletes with an unfair performance advantage and posing significant health risks.

Cardiovascular System Functions

The cardiovascular system transports oxygen and nutrients, removes waste products such as carbon dioxide, clots blood to prevent bleeding, and regulates body temperature through heat distribution and control.

Atria

The two upper chambers of the heart that receive blood entering the heart, where the right atrium receives deoxygenated blood, and the left atrium receives oxygenated blood.

Ventricles

The two lower chambers of the heart that pump blood out to the lungs and body. The right ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood to the body.

Arteries

Thick‑walled blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart, with the pulmonary artery being the exception because it carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs.

Capillaries

Tiny, thin walled blood vessels where the exchange of nutrients, gases, and wastes occurs between blood and tissues.

Veins

Thin-walled vessels with valves that return deoxygenated blood back to the heart.

Heart Rate (HR)

The number of times the heart beats per minute.

Stroke Volume (SV)

The volume of blood pumped out of the left ventricle per beat.

Cardiac Output (Q)

The volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute.

Vasodilation

The widening of blood vessels to increase blood flow to active areas like working muscles or the skin during exercise.

Vasoconstriction

The narrowing of blood vessels to decrease blood flow to non-essential organs during exercise, helping redirect blood to working muscles and maintain blood pressure.

Thermoregulation

The process of maintaining a stable core body temperature by sweating and redirecting blood flow to the skin, allowing excess heat to be released during exercise.

Functions of the Respiratory System

The respiratory system brings oxygen into the body, removes carbon dioxide, and allows gas exchange to support energy production during exercise.

Alveoli

Tiny air sacs in the lungs where gaseous exchange takes place.

Gaseous Exchange

The diffusion of oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide out of the blood across a pressure (concentration) gradient at the alveoli.

Pulmonary Diffusion

The gaseous exchange that occurs at the alveolar–capillary interface in the lungs, where oxygen diffuses into the blood and carbon dioxide diffuses out.

Arteriovenous Oxygen Difference (a-vO2 diff)

The difference in oxygen content between arterial and venous blood, indicating how much oxygen the muscles extract and use.

Respiratory Rate (RR)

The number of breaths taken per minute.

Tidal Volume (TV)

The volume of air inhaled and exhaled per breath.

Ventilation (V) (V = RR x TV)

The total volume of air breathed in or out per minute.

Chronic Aerobic Adaptations

Long‑term physiological changes that occur from consistent aerobic training, such as increased stroke volume, greater capillary density, and improved lung and oxygen‑delivery efficiency.

Altitude Training

A legal training method performed at high elevations, where the reduced oxygen levels stimulate the body to naturally increase red blood cell production, improving oxygen‑carrying capacity.

EPO (Erythropoietin)

A prohibited synthetic hormone that increases red blood cell production, boosting the blood’s oxygen‑carrying capacity and giving athletes an unfair aerobic performance advantage.

Blood Doping

A prohibited method where red blood cells are transfused into an athlete to artificially increase oxygen‑carrying capacity, boosting aerobic endurance and providing an unfair performance advantage.