NASM CPT Basic & Applied Sciences and Nutrition Practice Questions
Basic & Applied Sciences and Nutrition makes up 8 of every 50 questions on a Tigertest NASM CPT practice test. Here are 10 of the 32 questions on it, each with the answer and the reason.
Updated by the Tigertest team. Based on NASM's CPT7 exam blueprint. Original questions, not affiliated with NASM; 50 per test with a 70% pass line.
1. Which sensory receptor detects a change in muscle length and triggers the stretch reflex?
- A.Joint capsule receptor
- B.Muscle spindle
- C.Golgi tendon organ
- D.Pacinian corpuscle
Answer: B. Muscle spindles lie parallel to muscle fibers and sense how far and how fast a muscle lengthens, causing it to contract. Golgi tendon organs sense tension, not length.
2. A Golgi tendon organ that senses high tension causes the same muscle to relax. This is called:
- A.Synergistic dominance
- B.Altered length-tension
- C.Reciprocal inhibition
- D.Autogenic inhibition
Answer: D. Autogenic inhibition is the GTO response that relaxes the muscle under tension, which is the basis of static stretching and SMR. Reciprocal inhibition relaxes the opposing muscle.
3. When the biceps contracts, the triceps relaxes to allow elbow flexion. This is:
- A.Reciprocal inhibition
- B.Synergistic dominance
- C.Autogenic inhibition
- D.Arthrokinetic inhibition
Answer: A. Contraction of an agonist sends an inhibitory signal to its functional antagonist. Autogenic inhibition is relaxation of the same muscle under tension.
4. When synergists take over for a weak or inhibited prime mover, it is called:
- A.Force-couple balance
- B.Neuromuscular efficiency
- C.Synergistic dominance
- D.Reciprocal inhibition
Answer: C. A common example is the hamstrings and erector spinae doing the work of an underactive gluteus maximus during hip extension, which raises injury risk.
5. In which plane of motion does a biceps curl take place?
- A.Transverse
- B.Coronal and sagittal
- C.Sagittal
- D.Frontal
Answer: C. Flexion and extension happen in the sagittal plane, which divides the body into left and right halves.
6. A side lateral raise is a movement in which plane?
- A.Frontal
- B.Transverse
- C.Horizontal
- D.Sagittal
Answer: A. Abduction and adduction of the shoulder or hip happen in the frontal plane, which divides the body into front and back halves.
7. A cable trunk rotation mainly works in which plane?
- A.Longitudinal
- B.Sagittal
- C.Frontal
- D.Transverse
Answer: D. Rotation happens in the transverse plane, which divides the body into upper and lower halves.
8. A muscle producing force while it lengthens, as the quadriceps do when lowering into a squat, is acting:
- A.Isokinetically
- B.Eccentrically
- C.Concentrically
- D.Isometrically
Answer: B. An eccentric action decelerates force as the muscle lengthens. Concentric actions shorten the muscle and isometric actions hold its length.
9. Which muscle fiber type is slow-twitch, rich in mitochondria and resistant to fatigue?
- A.Type IIb
- B.Type I
- C.Type IIa
- D.Type IIx
Answer: B. Type I fibers have more capillaries, mitochondria and myoglobin, so they work for long periods at low force. Type II fibers produce more force and fatigue faster.
10. A motor unit is made up of:
- A.A sarcomere and its filaments
- B.A spindle and its sensory nerve
- C.One muscle and its tendons
- D.One motor neuron and its fibers
Answer: D. A motor unit is a single motor neuron plus every muscle fiber it supplies. Recruiting more motor units raises force.
Practice all 32 basic & applied sciences and nutrition questions, and the rest of the 200-question bank, in the free NASM CPT training sets. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.
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