alleryStart learning →What happens to an astronaut's muscles during a long stay in microgravity?
AThey grow denser and stronger
BThey stay exactly as they were
CThey atrophy, or waste away
DThey turn gradually into bone
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. They atrophy, or waste away
1. On Earth the muscles work constantly against weight, which keeps them conditioned.
2. In microgravity that load is removed and the muscles atrophy, meaning they waste away.
3. There is a matching loss of bone mass over the same period.
4. This is why the health of long duration crews is studied so closely.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation", section "Weightlessness" and Microgravity_
Keep practising Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation
Browse all Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation questions for NECO SSCE, or explore more Physics topics.
Related questions
Spot the odd onePoints to the centre or not?What gravity depends onCircles and orbits bingoReal force or fictitious?The Moon stays in orbit around the Earth. Which force provides its centripetal force?Why does a centripetal force change a body's direction but never its speed?A stone is whirled on a string in a horizontal circle. What supplies the centripetal force