MATSEC IM Physical Education cheat sheet

Technique is judged as the most economical movement pattern that satisfies the mechanical constraints of the task; unnecessary motion costs marks in every activity category.

Invasion games: attacking principles are width, depth, penetration, support, mobility and improvisation; defensive counterparts are pressure, cover, balance, delay and compactness.

Net and wall games: recovery to a central base position between shots, placement rather than raw power, and a repeatable toss or serve routine are the strongest performance indicators.

Striking and fielding: the decision to run depends on where the ball is, which fielder has it and the number of outs; batters must communicate to avoid a run-out.

Athletics: speed = stride length × stride frequency, and only one variable should be altered at a time; even pacing minimises total time in distance events.

Aesthetic activities (gymnastics, dance, swimming): amplitude, body line and posture, controlled landings and synchronisation with music or partners are the criteria that separate grade bands.

Assessment is criterion-referenced: each candidate is matched against a written band descriptor for technique, tactics, effort and conduct rather than being ranked only against peers.

The analysis cycle is observe, describe, diagnose the cause, intervene, then re-observe; a single observation of a performance is not a valid basis for a firm judgement.

Muscle fibre continuum: type I slow oxidative (dense mitochondria and capillaries, fatigue-resistant), type IIa fast oxidative-glycolytic (intermediate), type IIx fast glycolytic (fast and powerful but fatigues quickly).

Sliding filament theory: Ca²⁺ released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum binds troponin and displaces tropomyosin; myosin heads attach to actin, perform the power stroke, then detach using ATP and reattach further along.

In a sarcomere the A band stays constant while the I band and H zone shorten during concentric contraction; force is greatest at near-optimal resting length because actin-myosin overlap is maximal.

Energy systems: ATP–PCr for about 10 s (1 ATP per phosphocreatine, no fatiguing by-product); anaerobic glycolysis for about 10 s to 2 min (net 2 ATP per glucose, 3 per glycogen unit, lactate and H⁺ accumulate); oxidative phosphorylation from about 2 min (roughly 30 ATP per glucose, requires O₂).

VO₂ = cardiac output × arteriovenous oxygen difference, and cardiac output = heart rate × stroke volume.

Acute responses to exercise: heart rate rises, stroke volume rises to about 40–60% VO₂max then plateaus, ventilation and a-vO₂ difference increase, blood is redistributed to working muscle, systolic pressure rises and core temperature climbs.

Chronic aerobic adaptation: plasma volume increases, eccentric cardiac hypertrophy raises stroke volume and lowers resting heart rate, capillary density and mitochondrial enzyme activity rise, fat oxidation increases and blood lactate falls at a given workload.

Synovial joint types: hinge (elbow, knee), ball-and-socket (hip, shoulder), pivot (radioulnar, atlantoaxial), saddle (thumb carpometacarpal), condyloid (wrist), plane or gliding (intercarpal).

A motor unit is one alpha motor neuron plus every muscle fibre it innervates; transmission at the neuromuscular junction is cholinergic, and recruitment follows Henneman's size principle, small units before large.

Newton's laws: a body stays at rest or in uniform motion unless an external force acts; F = ma; for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, which is why ground reaction force propels a runner.

Levers: first class has the axis between effort and load (triceps at the elbow, neck extension); second class has the load between axis and effort (calf raise, wheelbarrow); third class has the effort between axis and load (biceps curl), and most human levers are third class.

Mechanical advantage = effort arm ÷ resistance arm; most human levers have a value below 1, which sacrifices force for speed and range of motion.

Torque or moment = force × perpendicular distance from the axis, measured in newton metres; lengthening the moment arm increases the joint torque required.

Impulse = force × time = change in momentum; extending a follow-through or a landing phase increases the impulse applied and therefore the resulting velocity change.

Linear kinematics: velocity = displacement ÷ time, acceleration = change in velocity ÷ time. Angular kinematics: angular velocity = angular displacement ÷ time, and angular momentum = moment of inertia × angular velocity.

Projectile range on level ground = (v² sin 2θ) ÷ g, maximal at 45° in a vacuum; air resistance and a higher release point both lower the optimum angle below 45°.

Stability increases with a larger base of support, a lower centre of mass, and a centre of mass positioned over the base in the direction of the applied force.

Drag = ½ρv²CdA, so drag rises with the square of velocity; the Magnus effect from spin curves the flight of balls, and drafting or streamlining reduces CdA.

Fitts and Posner stages: cognitive (many errors, conscious control), associative (refinement and consistency), autonomous (automatic execution with attention free for tactics).

Skill classification: open versus closed environment, discrete versus serial versus continuous, gross versus fine, self-paced versus externally paced; Gentile's taxonomy uses environmental context and task constraints as its two dimensions.

Feedback: intrinsic versus augmented; knowledge of results concerns the outcome while knowledge of performance concerns the movement pattern; KR frequency can be faded, summarised or averaged to reduce dependency.

Contextual interference: blocked practice produces better performance during practice, while random or serial practice produces better retention and transfer.

Practice design: whole versus part (part only when the skill is low in complexity and organisation), massed versus distributed, variable practice to build a schema (Schmidt), and mental rehearsal as a supplement to physical practice.

Arousal theories: drive theory predicts a linear rise in performance; the inverted-U predicts an optimum level; catastrophe theory predicts a sudden collapse beyond the optimum; Hanin's individual zones model states the optimum zone is personal.

Anxiety is split into cognitive (worry) and somatic (physiological) components and into trait and state forms; interventions include breathing control, progressive muscular relaxation, imagery, self-talk and pre-performance routines.

Bandura's sources of self-efficacy, strongest first: mastery experiences, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and interpretation of physiological or affective states. Nideffer's attentional styles are broad or narrow crossed with internal or external.

Group dynamics: Tuckman's stages are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning; social loafing occurs when individual effort cannot be identified within a group.

Health-related components: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition. Skill-related components: speed, agility, power, balance, coordination and reaction time.

FITT describes the four variables adjusted to apply overload: frequency, intensity, time and type. The training principles are specificity, progressive overload, reversibility, individuality and variation.

Heart-rate reserve = HRmax − HRrest; Karvonen target = HRrest + (intensity% × HRR). The 220 − age rule predicts HRmax with a standard deviation of roughly 10–12 beats per minute.

Loading guide as %1RM: 85% and above for maximal strength (about 6 reps or fewer), 70–85% for hypertrophy (6–12 reps), 60–70% for muscular endurance (12–20+ reps), 30–40% moved at maximal velocity for power.

Periodisation hierarchy: macrocycle (season or year), mesocycle (a block of around 2–6 weeks), microcycle (about one week); a taper of roughly 1–3 weeks is used to peak for competition.

Field tests: multi-stage fitness test (20 m shuttle, predicted VO₂max), Cooper 12-minute run, 20 m sprint with timing gates, Illinois agility run, Sargent vertical jump, handgrip dynamometer, 1RM lift, sit-and-reach and the Wingate test for anaerobic power.

Test quality: validity (measures what it claims), reliability (repeatable on retest) and objectivity (independent scorers agree); standardise warm-up, surface, equipment, time of day and instructions.

Plyometrics exploit the stretch-shortening cycle, an eccentric loading immediately followed by a concentric action; ground contact times under roughly 0.2 s indicate effective use of the cycle.

Detraining: measurable falls in VO₂max and strength appear within 2–4 weeks of stopping training, and aerobic capacity declines faster than maximal strength.

The ancient Olympic Games are traditionally dated 776 BC to AD 393; the modern Games were revived at Athens in 1896 through the work of Pierre de Coubertin, and the IOC was founded in 1894.

Olympic values promoted by the IOC are excellence, friendship and respect; Olympism is defined as a philosophy of life that blends sport with culture and education.

Amateurism historically barred payment for participation; Olympic eligibility rules were progressively liberalised from the 1970s, allowing professionals to compete in most sports.

The World Anti-Doping Agency was created in 1999 and administers the World Anti-Doping Code; the Prohibited List is revised at least annually, covering substance classes S0–S9 and methods M1–M3, with strict liability for the athlete.

Prohibited classes include anabolic agents, peptide hormones, beta-2 agonists, hormone and metabolic modulators, and diuretics or masking agents; prohibited methods include blood doping and gene doping, while beta-blockers are banned in some precision sports such as archery and shooting.

Participation correlates with socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, age and disability; recognised barriers include cost, transport, facility proximity, time, prejudice and lack of appropriate coaching.

Deviance in sport: negative deviance breaks norms (doping, cheating, violence, match-fixing); positive deviance is overconformity to the sports ethic, such as playing through injury or extreme weight control.

Commercialisation through broadcast rights, sponsorship and merchandising shifts power towards media and sponsors and has driven rule changes designed for television scheduling.

Governance runs from the IOC to international federations, then national federations and clubs; in Malta, SportMalta and the Malta Olympic Committee, which dates from 1928, are the key national bodies for funding and Games representation.

Risk assessment sequence: identify the hazard, estimate the risk (likelihood × severity), apply controls, record the findings and review; assessments must be specific to the activity, venue and participants.

Hierarchy of control: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, then personal protective equipment, which is the last and least reliable line of defence.

Primary survey is DRABC (danger, response, airway, breathing, circulation); adult CPR uses 30 compressions to 2 breaths at 100–120 per minute with a depth of 5–6 cm, and an AED is attached as soon as it arrives.

SALTAPS is the on-field assessment sequence: See, Ask, Look, Passive movement, Active movement, Power, Stand.

Suspected concussion means immediate and permanent removal from play for that day, no same-day return, and a graded return over roughly six days with at least 24 hours at each step.

RICE for acute soft-tissue injury: rest, ice for 10–20 minutes with a barrier, compression and elevation during the first 48 hours, avoiding heat, alcohol, running and massage.

Heat: acclimatisation takes about 7–14 days, fluid loss above 2% of body mass impairs performance, WBGT guides activity limits, and heat stroke (core temperature above 40 °C with confusion) is a medical emergency.

Negligence requires a duty of care, a breach of the reasonable standard, causation and resulting damage; supervision, consent, equipment checks and a documented emergency action plan are the standard controls.

Lightning 30/30 rule: seek shelter when the flash-to-thunder interval falls below 30 seconds and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before resuming activity.