Final answer:
The maximum force delivered to the tendon when muscle fibers are oriented at an angle of 15 degrees is calculated using the force area times the cosine of the angle. However, maximum velocity cannot be determined without additional data. Muscle force depends on the activation of myofibers and the frequency of action potentials.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the maximum force delivered to the tendon when the muscle fibers are oriented at a certain angle relative to the tendon axis, and the maximum velocity associated with this configuration. Considering a muscle with a volume of 20 cm3, the maximum force delivered would be different than when the fibers are aligned with the tendon. According to the cosine of the angle (cos(θ)), the force projected along the tendon direction will be reduced. Here, θ is 15 degrees, so the force delivered to the tendon would be the product of the maximum force (20 N/cm2) times the cross-sectional area times the cosine of the angle between the fibers and the tendon.
The projection of force along the tendon would be calculated as follows: Ftendon = Fmax * A * cos(θ), where A is the cross-sectional area, which can be derived from the muscle volume and fiber length: A = Volume / Length. The velocity cannot be determined without additional information, such as the time elapsed or the distance covered by the point of the force application.
Maximum force and muscle function are related to the number of myofibers activated and the frequency of action potentials as well. Each myofiber responds fully if stimulated, meaning the total force can be modulated by the number of signals per second transmitted by the motor cortex.