Module 16 (vocabulary is on Biology ipad app)

Question 1

State the five characteristics that set reptile apart form other vertebrates.

Answer 1

• Covered with tough, dry scales
• Ectothermic
• Breathe with lungs throughout their lives
• Three-chambered heart with a ventricle that is partially divided
• Produce amniotic eggs covered with leathery shell, most oviparous, some ovoviviparous

Question 2

In the module, we studied reptiles, birds, and mammals. For each class, indicate whether they are ectothermic or endothermic.

Answer 2

Reptiles are ectothermic, while birds and mammals are endothermic.

Question 3

See question #4 on page 529

Answer 3

a. amniotic fluid
b. embryo
c. amnion
d. allantois
e. chorion
f. yolk sac
g. yolk
h. albumen
i. shell

Question 4

State the functions of the yolk, the allantois, and the albumen.

Answer 4

The yolk serves as nourishment for the developing embryo. The allantois allows the embryo to breathe, and the albumen destroys pathogens that can enter the egg as well as supplying water and amino acids to the embryo.

Question 5

Reptiles have a growth-related characteristic in common with arthropods. What is it?

Answer 5

They must both molt because their body covering is not living.

Question 6

What are the two most important functions of reptile scales?

Answer 6

Reptile scales prevent water loss and insulate the reptile’s body.

Question 7

There are the reptile orders that contain currently living reptiles: Rhynchocephalia, Squamata, Crocodilia, Testudines
Place the following types of reptiles into their appropriate order:
a. snakes
b. tuataras
c. lizards
d. tortoises
e. alligators
f. turtles

Answer 7

a. Squamata
b. Rhynchocephalia
c. Squamata
d. Testudines
e. Crocodilia
f. Testudines

Question 8

State the six characteristics that set birds apart from other vertebrates.

Answer 8

• Endothermic
• Heart with four chambers
• Toothless bill
• Oviparous, laying an amniotic egg that is covered in a lime-containing shell
• Covered with feathers
• Skeleton composed of porous, lightweight bones (not a characteristic for all birds)

Question 9

Do all birds fly?

Answer 9

no

Question 10

A blood sample comes from the ventricle of an animal that is ether an amphibian or a bird. How can you tell which?

Answer 10

If the blood sample has a mixture of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood, it comes from an amphibian. If it has only one or the other, it comes from a bird.

Question 11

Which has a harder shell: the egg of a reptile or the egg of a bird?

Answer 11

A bird egg’s shell is harder

Question 12

You see some barbs from a feather. You have no idea whether they came from a down feather or a contour feather. Looking at the barbs under the microscope, however, you see that there are no hooked barbules. What kind of feather is it?

Answer 12

Down feathers

Question 13

What type of feather (down or contour) is used for flight? What kind is used for insulation?

Answer 13

Contour feathers are used for flight, while down feathers are used for insulation.

Question 14

What is a bird actually doing what it is preening?

Answer 14

When preening, a bird is actually oiling its feathers.

Question 15

What is unique about a bird’s method of molting?

Answer 15

A bird’s feathers molt in pairs

Question 16

What three things (at least) did flight engineers have to learn from birds to make practical flight possible?

Answer 16

Flight engineers learned the proper structure of a wing from birds. They also learned how to make strong, hollow tubes from studying bird bones. Finally, they learned how to reduce wing turbulence from birds.

Question 17

Which is heavier, a bird’s bone or the same size bone from an amphibian?

Answer 17

The amphibian’s bone is heavier.

Question 18

State the five characteristics that set mammals apart form other vertebrates.

Answer 18

• Hair covering the skin
• Reproduce with internal fertilization and usually viviparous
• Nourish their young with milk secreted from specialized glands
• Four-chambered heart
• Endothermic

Question 19

What is the principal function of underhair?

Answer 19

Underhair’s main job is insulation

Question 20

What do we usually see when we look at a mammal, underhair or guard hair?

Answer 20

We usually see the mammal’s guard hair

Question 21

Name a nonplacental mammal.

Answer 21

any one of the following: duck-billed platypuses, spiny anteaters, kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, opossums

Question 22

What is the main difference between offspring born after a long gestation period and offspring born after a short gestation period?

Answer 22

Offspring born after a long gestation period are more developed than those born after a short gestation period.