4/8/24 - Lecture 6: Scaling Laws

Question 1

Which increases faster, mass or surface area? Why?

Answer 1

Mass increases faster. The simple reason is that mass is roughly calculated cubically, whereas surface area is calculated squared

Question 2

What are some advantages that small organisms have?

Answer 2

They can molt or adhere to surfaces, which wouldn’t be possible if they weighed too much

Question 3

Isometric scaling

Answer 3

All dimensions increase the same amount as the size of an organism changes

Question 4

Allometric scaling

Answer 4

Disproportionate growth of a part of parts of an organism as the size of the organism changes

Question 5

Metabolic rate

Answer 5

The amount of energy expended daily at rest

Question 6

How do the metabolic rates of small and large animals compare?

Answer 6

Relative to mass, the metabolic rate of small animals is higher than that of large animals

Question 7

Body length in terms of mass

Answer 7

L^3 = M
or
M^(1/3) = L