Metabolism and Athletic Performance

Metabolism and Athletic Performance

Middle School

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Learning Objectives

• Define metabolism and its purposes for energy and building the body.

• Describe cellular respiration, including its inputs and outputs like energy and CO₂.

• Explain how body systems work together to support metabolism.

• Analyze how factors like high-altitude training can affect metabolic processes.

Key Vocabulary

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Metabolism

Metabolism is all the chemical reactions in your body's cells that turn food into energy for daily activities.

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Cellular Respiration

Cellular respiration is how cells use oxygen to release energy from glucose, creating waste products like carbon dioxide.

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Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar from food that provides the main source of energy for your body's cells.

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Molecule

A molecule is a tiny particle made of two or more atoms that are chemically bonded together.

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Oxygen

Oxygen is a gas we breathe that our cells need for cellular respiration to make energy for us.

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Energy

Energy is the power our bodies get from food to do everything, like moving, thinking, and growing.

Key Vocabulary

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Digestive System

The body system that breaks down food into small molecules that can be absorbed and used.

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Respiratory System

The body system responsible for taking in oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from the body.

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Circulatory System

The body's transport system that carries oxygen and nutrients to cells and removes waste products.

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Metabolism: Your Body's Busy Engine

Releasing Energy

• Metabolism breaks down complex food you eat into simpler molecules.

• This process releases the energy your body needs for daily activities.

• This energy powers everything from thinking and breathing to running and playing.

Building and Repairing

• Your body uses released energy and simple molecules to build and repair itself.

• These molecules are the building blocks for creating new cells and tissues.

• This process helps you grow bigger and heal from injuries like a cut.

Multiple Choice

What is the main purpose of metabolism as described in the text?

• To break down food for energy and use it to build and repair the body.

• To only create the complex molecules the body needs to function.

• To only release energy for activities like thinking and breathing.

• To store energy from food as fat for later use.

Multiple Choice

What is the relationship between releasing energy and building and repairing the body?

• The energy released from breaking down food is used to power the building and repair process.

• The process of building and repairing the body releases energy to break down food.

• Breaking down food turns simple molecules into the complex molecules needed for growth.

• The two processes are separate and happen at different times in the body.

Multiple Choice

If a person's metabolism could release energy from food but could not use that energy for building and repairing, what would be a likely consequence?

• The person's body would not be able to effectively grow or heal from a cut.

• The person would not have energy for activities like running or playing.

• The person's body would be unable to break down complex food into simpler molecules.

• The person would immediately stop breathing and thinking.

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Cellular Respiration: Releasing Energy

• Cellular respiration is how your cells get energy from the food you eat.

• It's a chemical reaction that happens inside every single one of your cells.

• The reaction needs two inputs: glucose from food and oxygen from the air.

• It releases energy, and creates carbon dioxide and water as waste products.

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Multiple Choice

What is the primary purpose of cellular respiration?

• To create oxygen from carbon dioxide

• To release energy for the cell from food

• To build larger molecules from smaller ones

• To store water inside the cell for later use

Multiple Choice

In cellular respiration, what two substances are combined to release energy?

• Water and energy

• Glucose and oxygen

• Carbon dioxide and water

• Energy and glucose

Multiple Choice

If a cell has plenty of glucose but is deprived of oxygen, what is the most likely consequence for the cell?

• The cell would produce more carbon dioxide as a waste product.

• The cell would use water as an energy source instead.

• The cell would not be able to release energy from the glucose.

• The cell would start producing its own oxygen.

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Body Systems: A Team Effort

• The digestive system breaks down food into a sugar called glucose.

• Your respiratory system takes in oxygen from the air when you breathe.

• Glucose and oxygen are absorbed from these systems into your bloodstream.

• The circulatory system delivers them to every single cell in your body.

Multiple Choice

What is the main goal of the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems working together as a team?

• To break down food into a sugar called glucose.

• To take in oxygen from the air when you breathe.

• To deliver glucose and oxygen to every cell in the body.

• To absorb nutrients directly from the air.

Multiple Choice

What is the relationship between the digestive system and the circulatory system?

• The digestive system breaks down food into glucose, which the circulatory system then transports.

• The circulatory system creates glucose, which the digestive system then uses for energy.

• The digestive system transports oxygen, which the circulatory system delivers to the cells.

• The circulatory system breaks down food, and the digestive system transports the resulting glucose.

Multiple Choice

A person eats a meal and breathes in oxygen. How does the body’s cells get energy?

• Glucose and oxygen enter the blood and reach cells for energy

• Oxygen breaks down food in the digestive system

• Energy forms in the circulatory system before reaching cells.

• igestive and respiratory systems store energy for later

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Metabolism for Growth and Repair

• Your body uses molecules from food to build and repair itself.

• Complex food molecules are broken down into simple building blocks.

• For example, proteins from a hamburger become amino acids.

• These amino acids are then used to build new muscle tissue.

Multiple Choice

What is the primary role of the molecules your body gets from food, according to the process of metabolism?

• To provide the body with immediate energy

• To build and repair parts of the body

• To help the body breathe automatically

• To remove waste products from the blood

Multiple Choice

What must happen to complex molecules from food before the body can use them for growth and repair?

• They are stored whole for later use.

• They are broken down into simpler building blocks.

• They are combined to make even more complex molecules.

• They are immediately turned into heat.

Multiple Choice

If a person eats a protein-rich food like a hamburger, what is the most likely way their body will use the resulting amino acids for repair?

• The amino acids will be stored as fat in the body.

• The amino acids will be converted directly into energy for running.

• The amino acids will be used to build new muscle tissue.

• The amino acids will be exhaled during breathing.

Metabolism and Athletic Performance

• Athletic performance depends on getting enough oxygen to the body's cells.

• High-altitude training legally increases red blood cells, which carry more oxygen.

• Blood doping is an illegal method that also increases red blood cells.

Multiple Choice

What is a critical factor that affects an athlete's performance?

• Getting enough oxygen to the body's cells

• Increasing the number of training hours

• Reducing the amount of water consumed

• Strengthening the body's bones

Multiple Choice

What is the primary benefit of having an increased number of red blood cells for an athlete?

• The body's metabolism slows down significantly

• More oxygen is delivered to the body's cells

• The body becomes less dependent on water

• The person's athletic skill immediately improves

Multiple Choice

What can be concluded about high-altitude training and blood doping?

• Both methods are considered illegal for athletes

• Both methods result in an increased number of red blood cells

• Only one method is effective at high altitudes

• Only one method improves oxygen delivery to cells

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Common Misconceptions

Misconception	Correction
Metabolism is just about burning calories and losing weight.	It includes all life-sustaining reactions, like building muscle and getting energy.
Breathing is just for getting air into your lungs.	It supplies oxygen to cells and removes waste gas, carbon dioxide (CO
Our bodies create energy from the food we eat.	Energy is released from food; it cannot be created or destroyed.
A "fast" metabolism is always a good thing.	A very fast metabolism can make it hard to keep a healthy weight.

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Summary

• Metabolism includes all chemical reactions for energy, growth, and repair.

• Cellular respiration uses glucose and oxygen to release energy for your cells.

• The digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems work together to support metabolism.

• Atoms from food are rearranged to build and repair your body.

Poll

On a scale of 1-4, how confident are you about explaining the process of metabolism to a friend?

• 1 (Not confident)

• 2 (A little confident)

• 3 (Confident)

• 4 (Very confident)