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    PracticeAQA GCSEAQA GCSE Biology Higher Tier Paper 1Question 04.3
    Medium2 marksStructured
    OrganisationHighersteroidsdrugs in sportmuscles

    AQA GCSE · Question 04.3 · Organisation

    Anabolic steroids are drugs. Anabolic steroids:
    • increase muscle mass in humans
    • are banned in most competitive sports.
    Some athletes take anabolic steroids to improve their performance in sport. Explain how taking anabolic steroids could improve an athlete's performance.

    How to approach this question

    The question states that anabolic steroids increase muscle mass. Connect this fact to athletic performance. What abilities would be enhanced by having more muscle mass? Think about strength, power, and recovery.

    Full Answer

    Anabolic steroids increase muscle mass and development. This leads to increased strength and power, which would improve performance in sports requiring these attributes (e.g., sprinting, weightlifting). They can also help athletes train harder and recover more quickly from injury.
    Anabolic steroids are synthetic hormones that mimic testosterone. They stimulate protein synthesis within cells, which results in the build-up of cellular tissue, especially in muscles. 1. **Increased Muscle Mass and Strength:** By increasing muscle mass, the athlete becomes stronger and more powerful. This directly improves performance in sports that rely on explosive power, such as sprinting, throwing events, or weightlifting. 2. **Enhanced Recovery:** Steroids can also help athletes recover more quickly from strenuous training sessions or injuries. This allows them to train harder and more frequently, leading to greater improvements in performance over time.

    Common mistakes

    ✗ Just repeating the information given ("they increase muscle mass") without explaining *how* this improves performance (by increasing strength/power). ✗ Giving vague answers like "it makes them better at sport".
    Question 04.2All questionsQuestion 04.4

    Practice the full AQA GCSE Biology Higher Tier Paper 1

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