Kinesiology 201 Questions
Tissue Mechanics
Tony Leyland
School of Kinesiology
Simon Fraser University
Connective Tissue
1 a) In a fall a ligament has 2500 N of tensile force exerted on it. If the area of the crosssectional area of the ligament is 2 cm2 what is the tensile stress on the ligament? [2]
b) If the force rises to 3000 N and 10% of the collagen fibres fail (break), what would the
tensile stress be now? [2]
c) What may happen to the ligament in this situation? Relate your answer to the stress-strain
curve for human ligament tissue. [4]
2. How does bone’s viscoelastic properties help reduce the likelihood of fracture? [3]
3. If a tendon was 0.1 m long and was stretched to a length of 0.12 m, what would be the strain
experienced by the tendon. What are the units of strain? [2]
4. What are the functions of articular fibrocartilage? [2]
5. a) Using the standard anthropometry given what would the
compressive force be across the knee if our 50% male stood
with weight evenly distributed between both feet? Assume there
is no muscle activity. [3]
b) What would happen to this force if the he stood on one foot? [3]
c) What would happen if we factored in muscle forces (no
calculation needed)? [1]
Segment
Relative Mass
Head
0.073
Trunk
0.507
Upper arm
0.026
Forearm
0.016
Hand
0.007
Thigh
0.103
0.043
7. What is the name given to the undulations seen in Calf
Foot
0.015
collagen fibres of an intact ligament? [2]
8. What is the basic composition of bone (yes bone is a connective tissue, albeit a specialised
connective tissue) and why is it termed a two-phase material? [4]
6.
The table below gives the relative masses (ratio with total
body mass) of various body segments. Calculate the
average pressure on the L5/S1 vertebral disc (cross
sectional area = 25 cm2) of a 90 kg man. Assume that
the mass of the trunk is above the L5/S1 joint. [8]
9. Bone is an anisotropic material. What does this mean? Explain the terms you use in this
explanation. [5]
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