18Solids.ppt

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * How Scaling Affects Living Organisms The big ears of elephants are not for better hearing, but for better cooling. An animal generates heat proportional to its mass (or volume), but the heat that it can dissipate is proportional to its surface area. If an elephant did not have large ears, it would not have enough surface area to cool its huge mass. 18.5 Scaling The African elephant has less surface area compared with its weight than other animals. Its large ears significantly increase the surface area through which heat is dissipated, and promote cooling. 18.5 Scaling A cell obtains nourishment by diffusion through its surface. As it grows, its surface area enlarges, but not fast enough to keep up with the cell’s volume. This puts a limit on the growth of a living cell. 18.5 Scaling Air resistance depends on the surface area of the moving object. If you fell off a cliff, even with air resistance, your speed would increase at the rate of very nearly 1 g—unless you wore a parachute. Small animals need no parachute. They have plenty of surface area relative to their small weights. An insect can fall from the top of a tree without harm. 18.5 Scaling The rate of heartbeat in a mammal is related to size. The heart of a tiny shrew beats about 20 times as fast as the heart of an elephant. In general, small mammals live fast and die young; larger animals live at a leisurely pace and live longer. 18.5 Scaling If the linear dimensions of an object double, by how much will the volume grow? 18.5 Scaling The crystals that make up minerals are composed of atoms with a definite geometrical arrangement. molecules that perpetually move. X-ray patterns. three-dimensional chessboards. Assessment Questions The crystals that make up minerals are composed of atoms with a definite geometrical arrangement. molecules that perpetually move. X-ray patter