Practice question · Numerical answer
A myelinated axon conducts at 100 m/s while an unmyelinated one of similar diameter conducts at 1 m/s. How many times faster is the myelinated fibre?
Hints
- Divide the myelinated speed by the unmyelinated speed.
- Compute 100 divided by 1.
Show the answer
100 (answers within ±1 count)
Why
100 times faster at similar diameter. Reaching that speed by thickening the axon instead would require an enormous fibre, which is exactly the route the squid took, and why its giant axon is a millimetre across.
Practise Muscle and Nervous Tissue
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