Sports · Unit 18

Sports Science

The science of performance: body, training and mind

Sports science is where physiology, biomechanics, nutrition and psychology are applied to a measurable outcome, which makes it one of the better-tested applied sciences.

The unit covers exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports nutrition, training and periodisation, and sports psychology.

This unit breaks down into 21 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 4 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 21
Questions: 120
Difficulty: 4-5

What this unit covers

Exercise Physiology
Biomechanics
Sports Nutrition
Training and Periodization
Sports Psychology

Where this fits

The final unit in the track. Connects to Biology's Human Body Systems.

Where people slip

Training adaptation happens during recovery, not during the session. More training without more recovery makes performance worse, which is the most commonly ignored finding in the field.

How the unit is structured

Sports Science runs as 21 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 4 and climb to 5 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 21 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.

Biomechanics

Build the sentenceLevel 4
1. Build Newton's second law of motion as a sentence.
Answer: Force equals mass times acceleration
Newton's second law states that force equals mass multiplied by acceleration.
Fill the blankLevel 4
2. The turning effect of a force about a pivot is called ____.
- torquecorrect
- inertia
- friction
- impulse
Torque, or moment, is the turning effect produced when a force acts at a distance from a pivot.
Match the pairsLevel 4
3. Match each lever class to what lies in the middle.
Answer: First-class lever = Fulcrum between effort and load; Second-class lever = Load between fulcrum and effort; Third-class lever = Effort between fulcrum and load
Lever classes differ by what lies between the ends: the fulcrum, the load or the effort.
Multiple choiceLevel 4
4. Ground reaction force during running is best explained by which of Newton's laws of motion?
- The third law, action and reaction
- The first law, inertia
- The second law, force equals mass times acceleration
- The law of universal gravitation
When a runner pushes down and back on the ground, the ground pushes up and forward with an equal and opposite force, which is Newton's third law.
Choose all that applyLevel 5
5. Which of the following are vector quantities that have both magnitude and direction?
- Velocitycorrect
- Forcecorrect
- Accelerationcorrect
- Mass
Velocity, force and acceleration are vectors with direction; mass is a scalar with magnitude only.
Fact or fibLevel 5
6. Impulse equals the average force applied multiplied by the time for which it acts.
Answer: True
Impulse is force multiplied by time, and it equals the change in momentum it produces.

Exercise Physiology

Fact or fibLevel 4
7. The ATP-PC energy system supplies energy for very short, high-intensity efforts lasting only a few seconds.
Answer: True
The ATP-PC phosphagen system provides rapid energy for about the first ten seconds of all-out effort before other systems take over.
Fill the blankLevel 4
8. The volume of blood pumped by the heart each minute is called cardiac ____.
- outputcorrect
- arrest
- cycle
- murmur
Cardiac output is the amount of blood the heart pumps per minute, the product of heart rate and stroke volume.
Multiple choiceLevel 4
9. What does VO2 max represent?
- The maximum rate of oxygen uptake during maximal exercisecorrect
- The maximum heart rate a person can reach
- The largest volume of air exhaled in one breath
- The maximum blood lactate concentration reached
VO2 max is the highest rate at which the body can take up and use oxygen during intense exercise, a key marker of aerobic fitness.
Odd one outLevel 4
10. Which of these is NOT one of the body's energy systems?
- The sliding filament systemcorrect
- The ATP-PC system
- The glycolytic system
- The aerobic system
The three energy systems are the ATP-PC, glycolytic and aerobic systems; the sliding filament theory describes how muscles contract, not how energy is supplied.
Choose all that applyLevel 5
11. Which of the following increase with sustained aerobic endurance training?
- Capillary density in musclecorrect
- Mitochondrial densitycorrect
- Stroke volumecorrect
- Resting heart rate
Endurance training raises capillary and mitochondrial density and stroke volume, while resting heart rate usually falls.
Match the pairsLevel 5
12. Match each energy system to the effort it mainly powers.
Answer: ATP-PC system = Efforts up to about 10 seconds; Glycolytic system = Efforts of about 30 seconds to 2 minutes; Aerobic system = Prolonged endurance exercise
Each energy system dominates over a different duration, from the very short ATP-PC system to the long-lasting aerobic system.

Sports Nutrition

Build the sentenceLevel 4
13. Build a true sentence about the role of protein.
Answer: Protein helps repair and build muscle tissue
Dietary protein supplies amino acids used to repair and build muscle tissue.
Fact or fibLevel 4
14. Dehydration of just two percent of body mass can measurably impair endurance performance.
Answer: True
Losing around two percent of body mass as fluid begins to reduce blood volume and impair endurance performance.
Fill the blankLevel 4
15. Eating extra carbohydrate in the days before an endurance event to maximise glycogen stores is known as carbohydrate ____.
- loadingcorrect
- counting
- cutting
- cycling
Carbohydrate loading boosts muscle glycogen stores before a long endurance event to delay fatigue.
Multiple choiceLevel 4
16. In what form is carbohydrate mainly stored in human muscle and liver?
- Glycogencorrect
- Glucose
- Triglyceride
- Creatine phosphate
Carbohydrate is stored as glycogen, a branched chain of glucose units, mainly in the muscles and liver.
Odd one outLevel 4
17. Which of these is NOT a macronutrient?
- Vitamin Ccorrect
- Carbohydrate
- Protein
- Fat
Macronutrients are carbohydrate, protein and fat; vitamin C is a micronutrient needed in much smaller amounts.
Choose all that applyLevel 5
18. Which of the following are correct roles of the macronutrients?
- Carbohydrate as a rapid energy sourcecorrect
- Protein for tissue repair and enzymescorrect
- Fat for energy and hormone productioncorrect
- Vitamin C as a major energy fuel
Carbohydrate, protein and fat are macronutrients with energy and structural roles; vitamin C is a micronutrient.

Sports Psychology

Build the sentenceLevel 4
19. Build a true sentence about intrinsic motivation.
Answer: Intrinsic motivation comes from personal enjoyment of the sport
Intrinsic motivation is driven by internal enjoyment rather than external rewards.
Choose all that applyLevel 4
20. Which of the following did Bandura describe as sources of self-efficacy in sport?
- Past performance accomplishmentscorrect
- Watching others succeedcorrect
- Verbal persuasion and encouragementcorrect
- Body mass index
Bandura identified performance accomplishments, vicarious experience and verbal persuasion as sources of self-efficacy.
Fill the blankLevel 4
21. A state of complete, effortless absorption in an activity, where skill matches challenge, is called ____.
- flowcorrect
- burnout
- boredom
- fatigue
Flow is the state of full immersion in a task where the challenge and the athlete's skill are well matched.
Match the pairsLevel 4
22. Match each sports psychology term to its meaning.
Answer: Intrinsic motivation = Doing sport for personal enjoyment; Extrinsic motivation = Doing sport for trophies or money; Somatic anxiety = Physical symptoms like a racing heart
Intrinsic motivation comes from within, extrinsic from outside rewards, and somatic anxiety shows as bodily symptoms.
Multiple choiceLevel 4
23. According to the inverted-U hypothesis, performance is best when arousal is:
- At a moderate, optimal level
- As high as possible
- As low as possible
- Completely absent
The inverted-U hypothesis states that performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point, then declines if arousal becomes too high.
Guess the numberLevel 5
24. How many main sources of self-efficacy did Bandura identify in his theory?
Answer: 4 sources
Bandura identified four sources of self-efficacy: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological states.

Training and Periodization

Choose all that applyLevel 4
25. Select the components of the FITT principle used to structure training.
- Frequencycorrect
- Intensitycorrect
- Typecorrect
- Talent
FITT stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type; talent is not part of the framework.
Fact or fibLevel 4
26. Tapering means increasing training load sharply in the final days before a big competition.
Answer: False
Tapering is a planned reduction in training load before competition so the athlete arrives fresh and recovered.
Fill the blankLevel 4
27. A ____ is a medium-length training block, usually a few weeks, that sits between the macrocycle and the microcycle.
- mesocyclecorrect
- megacycle
- unicycle
- recovery day
A mesocycle is a block of a few weeks focused on a particular goal within the larger macrocycle.
Guess the numberLevel 4
28. A mesocycle is a medium training block. About how many weeks does a typical mesocycle last?
Answer: 4 weeks
Mesocycles commonly last around four weeks, though they can range from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.
Build the sentenceLevel 5
29. Build a true sentence about progressive overload.
Answer: Progressive overload gradually increases training demands over time
Progressive overload steadily raises training demands so adaptation continues.
Match the pairsLevel 5
30. Match each training cycle to its typical length.
Answer: Microcycle = About one week of training; Mesocycle = Several weeks with one focus; Macrocycle = A whole season or year
Training cycles nest from the weekly microcycle up to the season-long macrocycle.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 14 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Build the sentence
Choose all that apply
Fact or fib
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Picture question
Put in order
Sort into groups
Spell it
True or false
Type the answer

Practise Sports Science

120 questions across 21 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about Sports Science

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

More units in Sports

See all 18 units in Sports →