A young snake eats and digests a mouse. The increase in the snake’s mass equals(1 point)

Question

Responses

the mass of the mouse plus the original mass of the snake.

the mass of the mouse minus the mass of waste produced by the snake.

the mass of the mouse plus the mass of waste produced by the snake.

only the mass of the mouse

Answer 1

The correct response is:

the mass of the mouse minus the mass of waste produced by the snake.

When a snake (or any animal) consumes food, it takes in the mass of that food, but not all of that mass is converted into body mass. Some of it is used for energy, metabolism, and eventually excreted as waste. Therefore, the increase in mass would be the mass of the mouse minus the mass of waste produced.