Lesson T1.2.3

T1.2.3 Muscles and antagonistic pairs Quiz: KS3 Biology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T1.2.3, Muscles and antagonistic pairs: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Biology (National Curriculum), Unit 1: Structure and function of living organisms, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What does antagonistic mean for muscles?

    • Muscles that always contract together to move the same bone at once
    • Muscles that work in opposite directions
    • Muscles that stretch the same bone to make it longer over time
    • Muscles that only relax and never contract to move a joint

  2. Which two muscles in the upper arm are an antagonistic pair?

    • Biceps and heart muscle
    • Biceps and diaphragm
    • Triceps and quadriceps
    • Biceps and triceps

  3. When the biceps contracts, what happens to the arm?

    • Nothing changes in the arm
    • The arm straightens at the elbow
    • The arm bends at the elbow
    • The arm rotates fully

  4. When the triceps contracts, what happens to the arm?

    • The arm bends at the elbow and the forearm lifts up towards the head
    • The hand closes into a fist and the fingers curl around the object
    • The shoulder lifts up and the whole arm rotates around the joint
    • The arm straightens at the elbow

  5. Why must muscles often work in antagonistic pairs?

    • Muscles do not need any energy to work, so they can keep pulling without any rest
    • Muscles produce their own pushing force that moves the bone in the opposite direction
    • Muscles can push and pull equally well, so one muscle is enough to move the joint
    • Muscles can only pull, not push, so a second muscle is needed to pull back

  6. Which muscle pair controls the movement of the lower leg?

    • Biceps and triceps, which bend and straighten the elbow in the arm
    • Heart muscle and lung muscle, which work together to pump blood around
    • Hamstring and quadriceps
    • Diaphragm and intercostal muscles, which move the chest for breathing

  7. A student's biceps is relaxed while the triceps contracts. Which movement happens?

    • The wrist rotates and the palm turns to face the ceiling above
    • The shoulder shrugs and the collarbone lifts up towards the neck
    • The elbow bends and the forearm lifts up towards the shoulder joint
    • The elbow straightens

  8. A muscle contracts and shortens. What happens to its antagonistic partner?

    • It relaxes and lengthens
    • It shortens as well
    • It contracts at the same time
    • It disappears from the joint

  9. Which type of force does a muscle produce?

    • A bending force only
    • A twisting force only
    • A pushing force
    • A pulling force

  10. Which statement about muscles in the body is correct?

    • Muscles work by contracting and relaxing
    • Muscles produce a pushing force only
    • Muscles can extend themselves actively
    • Muscles push bones actively, then pull them back

  11. When a muscle contracts, what happens to its length?

    • It becomes longer and thinner
    • It stays the same length
    • It becomes longer
    • It becomes shorter

  12. Why does the body use energy for antagonistic muscles to move a joint back and forth?

    • Energy is only needed to bend the skeleton, because muscles do not need energy
    • Muscles use no energy whatsoever when they are relaxed, so the joint stays still
    • Each contraction uses energy, and the two muscles contract at different times
    • Only the relaxed muscle uses energy, while the contracting muscle uses none at all

  13. Which body part does the hamstring muscle move?

    • The lower leg, by bending the knee
    • The jaw, by opening the mouth
    • The chest, by expanding the ribcage
    • The arm, by bending the elbow

  14. What is the function of a muscle that contracts to move a bone?

    • It pushes the joint apart so that the two bones move away from each other
    • It pulls the bone so that movement happens at the joint
    • It makes the bone longer so that the limb can grow to a larger size
    • It produces the skeleton that supports the body and holds it upright

  15. Which muscles cause the leg to straighten at the knee?

    • Quadriceps
    • Hamstrings
    • Triceps
    • Biceps

  16. Which description fits a joint that bends in only one direction?

    • A ball-and-socket joint, such as the shoulder
    • A hinge joint, such as the elbow
    • A pivot joint in the neck only
    • A fixed joint in the skull

  17. A cyclist's quadriceps contract. Which movement does this cause?

    • Closing the fists so that the fingers curl tightly around the handlebar
    • Rotating the hip so that the leg swings out to the side of the body
    • Straightening the knee
    • Bending the knee so that the lower leg moves backwards towards the hip

  18. Which structure joins a muscle to a bone?

    • A cartilage pad, which cushions the ends of bones
    • A nerve, which carries signals to the muscles
    • A tendon, which joins a muscle to a bone
    • A ligament, which joins one bone to another bone

  19. What happens to a muscle when it is relaxed?

    • It becomes shorter and thicker so that the joint can bend more easily
    • It pulls with maximum force on the bone to hold the joint in place
    • It returns to its normal length and does not pull
    • It produces heat only, and the muscle fibres stop working altogether

  20. Which pair of muscle actions would move the forearm from a bent position to a straight one and back?

    • Triceps only, with no other muscle needed to bend the arm back
    • Triceps contracts, then biceps contracts
    • Biceps contracts, then biceps contracts again to straighten the arm
    • Biceps and the heart muscle, which work together to move the arm up

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