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6.1: Fuels for Locomotion
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6.2: Types of Muscles
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6.3: Types of Locomotion
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6.4: Muscle Contraction
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For a muscle cell to contract, the sarcomere must shorten. However, thick and thin filaments—the components of sarcomeres—do not shorten. Instead, they slide by one another, causing the sarcomere to shorten while the filaments remain the same length. The sliding filament theory of muscle contraction was developed to fit the differences observed in the named bands on the sarcomere at different degrees of muscle contraction and relaxation.