Final answer:
After strenuous exercise, a muscle cell is less likely to contain high levels of glucose since it would have been used for energy production. Carbon dioxide, lactic acid, and water are byproducts of exercise and would be present in higher amounts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Muscle Cell Responses to Exercise
Following a period of strenuous exercise, a muscle cell is likely to show several specific biochemical changes due to the high demand for energy. Glucose would be consumed to generate ATP, the cell's energy currency, during both aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of aerobic respiration and would therefore increase after exercise. Lactic acid forms as a result of anaerobic respiration when oxygen levels are not sufficient for the energy needs of the muscle. Water is produced as a metabolic byproduct of aerobic respiration.
Therefore, the compound least likely to be found in increased quantities in a muscle cell after strenuous exercise would be glucose. This is because glucose is the primary fuel that would have been consumed during the activity to produce energy.
Concerning other topics related to muscle cell physiology, aerobic metabolism is critical for the function of cardiac muscle cells, and if they are prevented from undergoing aerobic metabolism, they would stop contracting eventually because aerobic respiration is necessary for sustained ATP production in these cells.
In the case of a marathon runner, one would expect to find a high number of mitochondria in their leg muscles since these are the organelles that produce ATP through aerobic respiration, which is essential for endurance activities like marathon running.