Ask a New Question
Menu

Which explains why the size of an organism with an exoskeleton is limited?(1 point)

Responses

When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton increases by eight times.
When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton increases by eight times.

When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton also doubles.
When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton also doubles.

When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton increases by three times.
When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton increases by three times.

When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton increases by four times.

1 answer

The correct response is:

When the size of the exoskeleton doubles, the weight of the exoskeleton increases by eight times.

This principle is based on the geometry of living organisms. As the size of an organism increases, its volume (and thus its weight) increases with the cube of the size factor (in this case, if size doubles, volume increases by \(2^3 = 8\)). However, the surface area, which dictates the strength of the exoskeleton, increases with the square of the size factor (\(2^2 = 4\)). This discrepancy between weight and supportive structure limits how large an organism with an exoskeleton can grow.