This course describes why humans see, touch, smell, taste and hear the world around us like we do. It also shows with practical examples how our body is able to move and how to improve flexibility, performance and posture. The course guides you to a better understanding of the operation of muscles and nerves, in movements and reactions observed in the body.

This course covers: nerves, the nervous system, motor skills, structure & function of skeletal muscle, muscular strength, endurance and flexibility.

Suggested Prior Learning: Human Movement (I) or equivalent.

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. How Nerves Work
2. Nerves & Motor Skills
3. Skeletal Muscle
4. Muscle Organisation
5. Muscular Movement
6. Muscular Development
7. Muscle Flexibility
8. Muscles & Posture

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Explain how nerves cause reactions in the human body.
• Explain how the nervous system affects motor skill performance.
• Explain the function and structure of skeletal muscle in the human body.
• Describe the organisation of muscle tissue in the human body.
• Describe the mechanics of muscular movement.
• Explain development of muscular strength and muscular endurance.
• Selecting muscular flexibility exercises.
• Explain significance of muscles to posture and general well being.

• Draw a cross section of the spinal cord, and label the anatomical parts.
• Explain what happens when an electrical stimulus is sent along the central nervous system, by illustrating and labelling the reflex arc.
• Explain nerve to nerve synapses, during a specific body movement.
• Explain activity at muscle-nerve junctions, during the specific body movement.
• Explain how proprioceptors function, during the specific body movement.
• Explain processes which occur in the nervous system, when a specific muscle moves.
• Explain the functioning of the following different sensory receptors:
  • smell
  • sound
  • balance
• Distinguish between the functions of the following different neuroglia:
  • Astrocytes
  • Oligodendrocytes
  • Microglia
  • Ependymal cells
  • Neurolemmocytes
  • Satellite cells
• Explain how the function of different parts of the brain affect different specific muscular movements in the body.
• Explain how a specific voluntary skill is learnt by the body.
• Explain the dampening affect, as exerted through the cerebellum