Locomotion (W5) Flashcards

1
Q

Locomotion?

A

= movement from point A to point B through a fluid.

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2
Q

The 4 forces that are involved with locomotion?

A

• Drag.
• Gravity.
• Thrust.
• Lift.

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3
Q

Drag?

A

= forces that hold animals back & go against gravity (—>).

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4
Q

Gravity?

A

= acceleration towards the Earth (down arrow).

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5
Q

Thrust?

A

= a propulsive force (<—).

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6
Q

Lift?

A

= acceleration away from gravity (up arrow).

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7
Q

Forces a locomotory animal must overcome? (2)

A

• Drag.
• Gravity.

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8
Q

To overcome drag & gravity, what type of forces must vertebrates generate? (2)

A

• Thrust.
• Lift.

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9
Q

Locomotion types? (4)

A

• Aquatic.
• Terrestrial.
• Arboreal.
• Aerial.

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10
Q

Terrestrial locomotion attributes in terms of drag, lift, gravity & thrust? (4)

A

• Low drag.
• Moderate lift.
• Moderate gravity.
• Moderate thrust (with small vertical component).

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11
Q

Impact of different terrestrial limbs?

A

It changes lever arm length, which in turn changes the speed and strength of the organism.

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12
Q

Types of terrestrial limbs? (3)

A

• Plantigrade.
• Digitigrade.
• Unguligrade.

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13
Q

Plantigrade animals?

A

= animals that walk on their whole foot.

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14
Q

Digitigrade animals?

A

= animals that walk on their metatarsals.

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15
Q

Unguligrade animals?

A

= animals that walk on their toes.

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16
Q

Egs of plantigrades? (2)

A

• Bears.
• Humans.

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17
Q

Egs of digitigrades? (2)

A

• Cats.
• You on your tiptoes.

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18
Q

Egs of unguligrades? (2)

A

• Horses.
• Deer.

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19
Q

Oscillatory movement?

A

= up & down (dorsoventral) movements that produce thrust.

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20
Q

Pro of plantigrade?

A

Stability & weight-bearing ability.

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21
Q

Con of plantigrade?

A

Reduced speed when moving.

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22
Q

Undulatory locomotion?

A

= side to side (lateral) movements that produce thrust.

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23
Q

Pro of digitigrade?

A

Enables quick & quiet movements.

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24
Q

Con of digitigrade?

A

Less stability.

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25
Q

Pro of Unguligrade?

A

Quickest movement/Most speed.

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26
Q

Con of Unguligrade?

A

High instability.

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27
Q

Plantigrade in terms of levers? (3)

A

• High MA.
• Low velocity.
• Short out-lever.

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28
Q

Digitigrade in terms of levers? (3)

A

• Moderate MA.
• Moderate velocity.
• Medium length out-lever.

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29
Q

Unguligrade in terms of levers? (3)

A

• Low MA.
• High velocity.
• Long out-lever.

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30
Q

Wing loading formula?

A

Wing loading = Mass / Wing area

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31
Q

Wing aspect ratio formula?

A

Aspect ratio = Wing length² / Wing area

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32
Q

Arboreal locomotion AKA?

A

Fossorial locomotion.

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33
Q

Brachiation?

A

= specialized form of locomotion where the suspended body swings by the arms from one hold to another.

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34
Q

Aerial locomotion attributes in terms of drag, lift, gravity & thrust? (4)

A

• High drag.
• High gravity.
• High lift.
• High thrust.

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35
Q

Aerial locomotion forms? (3)

A

• Parachuting.
• Gliding.
• Powered flight.

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36
Q

Impact of Parachuting?

A

It increases drag on the body in the opposite direction of gravity, resulting in a slower fall.

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37
Q

Parachuting?

A

= simplest form of aerial locomotion where no lift is generated.

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38
Q

Gliding?

A

= where an organism (vertebrates & invertebrates) generates a bit of lift with a wing-like structure.

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39
Q

Gliding attributes? (2)

A

• Uses the Air-foil method.
• Common aerial locomotion form among animals.

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40
Q

Egs of gliding animals? (3)

A

• Flying snakes.
• Flying fish.
• Flying squirrels.

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41
Q

Explain the Airfoil method? (2)

A

● The animal shapes their body in a way that resembles a round top and flat bottom & thrusts it against drag.

● Lift is then created from the difference in the pressure between the top surface (low pressure) & the bottom surface (high pressure).

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42
Q

Aquatic locomotion attributes in terms of drag, lift, gravity & thrust? (4)

A

• High drag.
• High thrust.
• Low lift (more buoyancy).
• Low gravity.

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43
Q

Explain gliding graph?

A

Shows that as the acceleration due to gravity increases, speed increases, drag increases and thus lift increases as well.

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44
Q

Powered flight?

A

= the ability of an organism to use muscular power to generate lift to maintain steady, level flight.

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45
Q

Benefit of powered flight?

A

It generates thrust & lift.

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46
Q

Egs of animals that use powered flight? (3)

A

• Birds.
• Bats.
• Pterosaurs.

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47
Q

Egs of locomotion? (2)

A

• Submarine (good at moving through a dense fluid).
• Spaceship (good at moving through a thin fluid).

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48
Q

Eg of a dense fluid?

A

Water.

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49
Q

Egs of thin fluids? (2)

A

• Air.
• Space.

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50
Q

What force “replaces” lift in aquatic locomotion but not entirely?

A

Buoyancy.

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51
Q

Dominant force you need to overcome in water?

A

Drag.

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52
Q

Why is drag high in water?

A

It’s because water is dense.

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53
Q

Movements in aquatic locomotion? (2)

A

• Undulatory movement.
• Oscillatory movement.

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54
Q

Impact of undulatory movement?

A

It generates thrust (lateral thrust).

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55
Q

Egs of organisms using undulation? (2)

A

• Fish.
• Crocodiles.

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56
Q

Secondary mammalian swimmers?

A

= organisms with an evolutionary history of life on land that “return” to the water.

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57
Q

Eg of organisms using oscillation?

A

Secondary mammalian swimmers.

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58
Q

Egs of secondary mammalian swimmers? (2)

A

• Dolphins.
• Whales.

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59
Q

Terrestrial locomotion?

A

= form of locomotion such as walking, running, jumping, etc.

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60
Q

Why is Drag low in terrestrial locomotion?

A

There is less resistance in air as it’s a thin medium.

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61
Q

How are humans able to resist gravity? (2)

A

• We have a rigid skeleton.
• We have compliant muscles & tendons.

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62
Q

Means of terrestrial locomotion?

A

Walking.

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63
Q

Gait cycle?

A

= the time interval between two successive occurrence of one of the repetitive events of walking.

64
Q

Phases of gait cycle? (2)

A

• Stance phase.
• Swinging phase.

65
Q

Stance phase?

A

= when the foot is on the ground & provides thrust.

66
Q

Stance phase AKA?

A

Propulsive phase.

67
Q

Why is walking considered stable?

A

It’s because both feet are on the ground for most of the gait.

68
Q

Swing phase?

A

= when the foot is off the ground & strides forward.

69
Q

Gait cycle components? (2)

A

• 60% Stance phase.
• 40% Swing phase.

70
Q

Running tradeoff?

A

Stability (you end up having an unstable gait).

71
Q

What does running result in?

A

Increase in stride length & thus making you go faster.

72
Q

Gaits of quadrupedals? (2)

A

• Canter gait.
• Gallop gait.

73
Q

Canter gait?

A

= where one foot is on the ground for a portion of the gait.

74
Q

Gallop gait?

A

= where all four feet are off the ground for a portion of the gait.

75
Q

Eg of organism with canter gait?

A

Bison.

76
Q

Eg of organism with Gallop gait?

A

Horse.

77
Q

What enables thrust through powered flight?

A

The forelimbs of powered flyers.

78
Q

2 Main feather types of a bird’s wing?

A

• Primaries.
• Secondaries.

79
Q

Primaries function?

A

To provide most of the thrust at the distal part of the wing.

80
Q

Secondaries function?

A

To provide most of the lift at the proximal part of the wing.

81
Q

Explain how the powered flight stroke in birds creates thrust? (2)

A

• Created by powered flyers using alternating extension & flexion of the forelimb COMBINED WITH

• Dorsoventral abduction & adduction.

82
Q

Explain wing shapes & functions?

A

Different wing shapes have different functions.

83
Q

Egs of how different wing shapes have different functions? (3)

A

• Crow = Maneuverability.
• Falcon = Fast pursuit.
• Vulture = Low-speed gliding.

84
Q

Wing loading?

A

= the ratio of weight to wing area.

85
Q

Wing aspect ratio?

A

= the ratio of wingspan to the mean of its chord.

86
Q

Wing loading SI unit?

A

kg/m².

87
Q

Relationship between wing (surface) area & wing loading?

A

More wing (surface) area, Low wing loading.

88
Q

Why do wings generate lift?

A

Due to the flow of air over the wing surface.

89
Q

Explain how wing loading works?

A

Because larger wings move more air, birds with low wing loading (large wing area relative to its mass) will have more lift at any give speed.

90
Q

Wing aspect ratio SI unit?

A

Unitless.

91
Q

Relationship between wing (surface) area & wing aspect ratio?

A

More wing (surface) area, Low wing aspect ratio.

92
Q

High WAR attributes? (2)

A

• Give plane or bird more stability.
• Birds have less induced drag.

93
Q

High WAR tradeoff?

A

Low maneuverability.

94
Q

Low WAR attributes? (2)

A

• More maneuverability.
• Birds have more induced drag (high fuel consumption).

95
Q

Low WAR tradeoff?

A

Less stability in wing area.

96
Q

Pro of high WAR?

A

Enables a sustained, endurance flight.

97
Q

Con of high WAR?

A

Less maneuverability.

98
Q

Pro of low WAR?

A

Swift maneuverability.

99
Q

Con of low WAR?

A

Instability in wing area.

100
Q

Soaring types? (2)

A

• Static soaring.
• Dynamic soaring.

101
Q

Static soaring?

A

= where birds maintain a height in the air without having to flap their wings.

102
Q

Dynamic soaring?

A

= when birds use the difference in wing speed around to increase their kinetic energy & generate lift.

103
Q

Eg of static soarer?

A

Vultures.

104
Q

Eg of dynamic soarer?

A

Wandering albatross.

105
Q

Fossorial locomotion attributes in terms of drag, lift, thrust & gravity? (4)

A

• High drag.
• No lift.
• No gravity.
• High thrust.

106
Q

Pro of fossorial locomotion?

A

Have complete resistance against gravity.

107
Q

How are fossorials able to dig through dirt, a more viscous medium than water?

A

By having skeletal adaptations (levers) to enable better digging & high thrust such as a robust forelimb & a blunt, triangular skull.

108
Q

Explain the mystery question:

How does the sand fish move in sand quickly?

A

The sandfish undulates its body at the proper frequency (3Hz) to make the sand behave like a liquid. This, in turn, creates pore spaces to enable the sandfish to “swim” through the sand.

109
Q

Costs of locomotion types? (2)

A

• Aerobic respiration.
• Anaerobic respiration.

110
Q

Aerobic respiration?

A

= respiration that occurs when oxygen is used in the reaction.

111
Q

Anaerobic respiration?

A

= respiration that occurs when there is insufficient oxygen available for the complete oxidation of the glucose.

112
Q

Aerobic respiration equation?

A

Glucose + O2 —> CO2 + H20

113
Q

Anaerobic respiration equation?

A

Glucose —> Lactic acid

114
Q

Why is there oxygen debt after exercise?

A

It’s because the lactic acid has built up & caused an extra need for O2.

115
Q

How do we measure the metabolic costs of aerobic locomotion?

A

By measuring O2 use which allows us to calculate how many kJ of energy we’re using when we move.

116
Q

Which respiration type releases more energy?

A

Aerobic respiration.

117
Q

Lactic acid?

A

= chemical produced by the incomplete oxidation of glucose (anaerobic respiration).

118
Q

Joule?

A

= enough energy to lift a tomato 1m.

119
Q

Kilojoule?

A

= enough energy to lift a tomato to 1km.

120
Q

Why do we measure O2 use?

A

It enables us to calculate how many kJ of energy we are using when we move.

121
Q

Metabolic cost of transport SI unit?

A

Joules per kg meter (J/kg.m).

122
Q

What do we have to consider for metabolic cost of transport to be measured in joules per kg meter? (3)

A

• Body mass of organism.
• Gait of organism.

123
Q

Method of measuring O2 consumption in animals? (2)

A

● Keep animal stationary.

● For walking/running, animal is on a moving belt (desired speeds).

124
Q

Different gaits mean…?

A

Different energy consumptions.

125
Q

Relationship between metabolic cost of transport & body mass?

A

The larger you get, the cheaper it gets (metabolically) to move your body.

126
Q

If it’s so much cheaper to move around if you’re big, then why isn’t everything big? (3)

A

• Rate of food intake per kg of body mass scales with negative allometry.

• Metabolic rate per kg of body mass scales with negative allometry (Kleiber’s law).

• The cost of locomotion scales with negative allometry.

127
Q

Explain point 1?

A

The bigger you get, the more food you consume, less food resources available in the long run.

128
Q

Explain point 2?

A

The bigger you get, the lower your metabolic rate.

129
Q

Explain point 3?

A

The bigger you get, the more it costs to move (gradual increase).

130
Q

Why do animals switch gaits?

A

To optimize energy.

131
Q

Explain gait graph?

A

As humans walk faster & faster, they consume more energy. Therefore, to optimize energy they switch to running which consumes less energy.

132
Q

What is the goal in Metabolic costs of locomotion?

A

To use less energy as possible.

133
Q

Explain the graph of Cost of transport: Horse walking/running?

A

Shows that in order to maximize efficiency in locomotion horses tend to switch from walking to a trot at about 3m/s & then swift to a gallop at about 6m/s. Most efficient “gear” is to trot than to walk or gallop.

134
Q

Explain the graph of Cost of transport: Human walking/running?

A

Shows that in order for humans to increase locomotion efficiency they switch from walking gaits (~2m/s) to a running gait at a maximum of 2.5m/s. The running gait is not more efficient than walking gaits however.

135
Q

Bipedal locomotion analogy?

A

Inverted pendulum model.

136
Q

Bipedal locomotion analogy components? (3)

A

• Center of mass = Our hips.
• Pivot = Our foot.
• Rod = Our legs.

137
Q

Potential energy?

A

= the energy stored in an object due to its position.

138
Q

Kinetic energy?

A

= the energy of an object due to its movement (motion).

139
Q

Why is the Pendulum slightly efficient?

A

It’s because of its ceaseless transition between KE & PE (little energy is lost).

140
Q

Pendulum components? (3)

A

• Center of mass.
• Pivot.
• Rod.

141
Q

Explain pendular biomechanics? (2)

A

• At the start/end of a pendular arc, the system has high PE & low KE.

• At the midpoint of the arc, the system has low PE & high KE.

142
Q

Explain the inverted pendulum model of walking? (3)

A

• We put energy in only to accelerate our mass against gravity.

• We then use gravity to accelerate our mass downwards.

• This therefore saves energy.

143
Q

Another eg similar to inverted Pendulum?

A

Dutch sport called, Fierljeppen.

144
Q

Which form of locomotion is similar to pendulum model?

A

Brachiation.

145
Q

Why is brachiation so efficient?

A

It’s because it uses the same mechanics as a pendulum where losses of KE are replaced by gains in PE.

146
Q

Running analogy?

A

Spring model.

147
Q

Explain elastic model of running? (5)

A

● During swing phase, the leg is like a loose spring.

● As stance phase begins, that leg begins to compress.

● In mid-stance phase, the leg is like a fully compressed spring, where the tendons & ligaments (esp. Achilles tendon) store energy.

● They then return their energy at the end of stance phase.

● Whole process repeats itself.

148
Q

Explain spring model in quadrupeds?

A

Axial column serves to store energy like a spring while moving it in an oscillatory manner thus explaining why secondary swimmers have oscillatory modes of locomotion.

149
Q

Type of terrestrial locomotion?

A

Saltatory locomotion.

150
Q

Saltatory locomotion?

A

= locomotion where an organism habitually jumps.

151
Q

Egs of saltators? (2)

A

• Kangaroos.
• Jerboa.

152
Q

Why/How is saltatory locomotion efficient?

A

It is efficient by saltators storing up to 70% of their energy from hopping in their elastic tendons in their legs which enables them to not need additional energy to move faster.

153
Q

Explain mystery question:

What is the most efficient means of locomotion? (2)

A

• It is achieved through a velomobile which is a bicycle (or tricycle) with a plastic, Al or fabric skin to reduce drag.

• It is estimated that to travel to CT and back one can spend R475 by simply powering the velomobile by eating 25 cheeseburgers.

154
Q

Velomobile?

A

= a bicycle (or tricycle) with a plastic, aluminium or fabric skin to reduce drag.

155
Q

Velomobile AKA?

A

A person powered car.