Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Biology

Chapter

Organisms and Populations

Question:

Read the given paragraph and answer the given question.

Nearly all plants cannot maintain a constant internal environment. Their body temperature changes with the ambient temperature. In aquatic animals, the osmotic concentration of the body fluids change with that of the ambient air, water osmotic concentration. These animals and plants are simply conformers. Considering the benefits of a constant internal environment to the organism, we must ask why these conformers had not evolved to become regulators. Recall the human analogy we used above; much as they like, how many people can really afford an air conditioner ? Many simply 'sweat it out' and resign themselves to suboptimal performance in hot summer months. Very small animals are rarely found in polar regions. During the course of evolution, the costs and benefits of maintaining a constant internal environment are taken into consideration. Some species have evolved the ability to regulate, but only over a limited range of environmental conditions, beyond which they simply conform.

If the stressful external conditions are localised or remain only for a short duration, the organism has other alternatives for survival.

Very small animals are rarely found in polar regions because they:

Options:

Cannot tolerate very low temperature.

Lose body heat very fast because of a larger surface area relative to their volume.

Lose body heat slowly because of a larger surface area relative to their volume.

Lose body heat very fast because of a smaller surface area relative to their volume.

Correct Answer:

Lose body heat very fast because of a larger surface area relative to their volume.

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (2) → Lose body heat very fast because of a larger surface area relative to their volume.