BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) BTEC Sport Syllabus

BTEC Sport syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for BTEC Sport in BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Anatomy and Physiology for Sport

   4 topics

   • The Skeletal System
     • Functions of the skeleton and types of bone
     • Joint types and movement
   • The Muscular System
     • Major muscle groups
     • Types of muscle contraction
   • The Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems
     • The heart and blood circulation
     • Gaseous exchange and breathing
   • Energy Systems
     • Aerobic and anaerobic energy production
2. 2

   Fitness Testing and Training

   4 topics

   • Components of Fitness
     • Physical components: strength, stamina, flexibility
     • Skill-related components: agility, balance, coordination
   • Fitness Testing Methods
     • Validity, reliability and protocols
   • Principles of Training
     • FITT and SPORT principles
     • Progressive overload and reversibility
   • Training Methods
     • Continuous, interval and circuit training
     • Plyometrics and resistance training
3. 3

   Practical Sports Performance

   3 topics

   • Rules, Regulations and Scoring
     • Officials and their roles
   • Skills, Techniques and Tactics
     • Attacking and defensive strategies
   • Reviewing Sports Performance
     • Strengths, weaknesses and development plans
4. 4

   Leading Sports Activities

   3 topics

   • Attributes of a Sports Leader
     • Communication and organisation skills
   • Planning Sports Sessions
     • Warm-up, main activity and cool-down
   • Delivering and Reviewing Sessions
     • Adapting to participant needs and safety

BTEC Sport flashcards for BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council)

22 of 52 cards from the BTEC Sport deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. How many bones are in the adult human skeleton, and what are its five main functions?

   206 bones. Five functions: support, protection, movement (attachment for muscles), production of blood cells (in bone marrow), and storage of minerals (calcium and phosphorus).

2. Classify the four main types of bone, giving an example of each.

   Long bones (e.g. femur/humerus) for movement and leverage; Short bones (e.g. carpals/tarsals) for weight-bearing and fine movement; Flat bones (e.g. cranium/scapula/ribs) for protection and muscle attachment; Irregular bones (e.g. vertebrae) for protection and muscle attachment.

3. Name the three classes of joint by their range of movement, with an example of each.

   Fixed/fibrous (immovable, e.g. cranium sutures); Cartilaginous/slightly movable (e.g. vertebrae); Synovial/freely movable (e.g. knee, shoulder).

4. List the six types of synovial joint with an example of each.

   Hinge (elbow/knee), Ball and socket (shoulder/hip), Pivot (atlas/axis in neck), Condyloid (wrist), Saddle (thumb/carpometacarpal), Gliding (carpals in the wrist).

5. Name the key features of a synovial joint and their roles.

   Synovial fluid (lubricates), synovial membrane (secretes fluid), articular/hyaline cartilage (reduces friction, absorbs shock), joint capsule (encloses joint), ligaments (connect bone to bone, stabilise), bursae (fluid sacs reducing friction).

6. Define the joint actions: flexion and extension.

   Flexion is decreasing the angle of a joint (bending, e.g. bending the elbow). Extension is increasing the angle of a joint (straightening, e.g. straightening the elbow).

7. Define abduction, adduction, rotation and circumduction.

   Abduction: moving a limb away from the midline. Adduction: moving a limb towards the midline. Rotation: turning a bone around its axis. Circumduction: a circular movement combining flexion, extension, abduction and adduction.

8. What are the three types of muscle and where is each found?

   Cardiac muscle (found only in the heart, involuntary), Smooth/involuntary muscle (found in walls of organs/blood vessels, involuntary), Skeletal/voluntary muscle (attached to bones, under conscious control).

9. Explain antagonistic muscle pairs, using the biceps and triceps as an example.

   Muscles work in pairs: as the agonist (prime mover) contracts, the antagonist relaxes. When flexing the elbow the biceps is the agonist (contracts) and the triceps is the antagonist (relaxes); the roles reverse when extending the elbow.

10. Distinguish between isotonic and isometric muscle contractions, and the two types of isotonic contraction.

    Isotonic: muscle changes length while creating movement — concentric (muscle shortens, e.g. upward phase of a bicep curl) and eccentric (muscle lengthens under tension, e.g. lowering phase). Isometric: muscle stays the same length, producing tension without movement (e.g. holding a plank).

11. Compare slow-twitch (Type I) and fast-twitch (Type II) muscle fibres.

    Slow-twitch (Type I): contract slowly, resist fatigue, use aerobic energy, suited to endurance events. Fast-twitch (Type II): contract quickly and powerfully, fatigue rapidly, use anaerobic energy, suited to power/sprint events.

12. Trace the pathway of blood through the heart's four chambers.

    Deoxygenated blood enters the right atrium, passes to the right ventricle, is pumped to the lungs (pulmonary artery). Oxygenated blood returns to the left atrium, passes to the left ventricle, then is pumped around the body via the aorta.

13. Define cardiac output and give its formula.

    Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute. $$Q = HR \times SV$$ where $Q$ is cardiac output, $HR$ is heart rate (beats per minute) and $SV$ is stroke volume (mL per beat).

14. What are stroke volume and heart rate, and typical resting values?

    Stroke volume is the volume of blood pumped from the heart per beat (resting ~70 mL). Heart rate is the number of beats per minute (resting ~60-80 bpm).

15. Trace the pathway of air through the respiratory system.

    Air enters via the nose/mouth, travels down the trachea, into the bronchi, then bronchioles, and reaches the alveoli, where gaseous exchange takes place.

16. What is gaseous exchange and where does it occur?

    Gaseous exchange occurs in the alveoli of the lungs: oxygen diffuses from the alveoli into the blood capillaries, and carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood into the alveoli to be exhaled. It works by diffusion across a thin, moist, large surface area.

17. Define tidal volume, vital capacity and minute ventilation.

    Tidal volume: volume of air breathed in or out per breath at rest. Vital capacity: maximum air that can be exhaled after maximum inhalation. Minute ventilation ($VE$): volume of air breathed per minute, $$VE = TV \times BR$$ (tidal volume $\times$ breathing rate).

18. Name the three energy systems and the duration/intensity each is suited to.

    ATP-PC (creatine phosphate) system: high-intensity, very short duration (~0-10 s). Anaerobic/lactic acid (glycolytic) system: high intensity, ~10 s to ~3 min. Aerobic system: low-to-moderate intensity, long duration (over ~3 min).

19. What is the by-product of the anaerobic lactic acid system and its effect?

    Lactic acid (lactate) is produced. Its build-up causes muscle fatigue, a burning sensation and reduced muscle function, eventually limiting performance.

20. Write the word equation for aerobic respiration.

    $$\text{glucose} + \text{oxygen} \rightarrow \text{energy (ATP)} + \text{carbon dioxide} + \text{water}$$ In chemical form: $\ce{C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O}$ (releasing energy).

21. Name the components of physical fitness.

    Aerobic endurance (cardiovascular endurance), muscular endurance, muscular strength, speed, flexibility, and body composition.

22. Name the components of skill-related fitness.

    Agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time. (Some specifications also include speed.)

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