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Question

The ideas attributed to T. H. Huxley in the passage suggest that he would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

A

An animal's brain size has little bearing on its ability to master complex behaviors.

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B

An animal's appearance is often influenced by environmental requirements and physical capabilities.

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C

Animals within a given family group are unlikely to change their appearance dramatically over a period of time.

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D

The origin of flight in vertebrates was an accidental development rather than the outcome of specialization or adaptation.

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Solution

The correct option is B

An animal's appearance is often influenced by environmental requirements and physical capabilities.


The author has mentioned in the fourth paragraph that although scales typically cover reptiles, the pterosaurs probably had hairy coats. Huxley speculated that a coat of hair would insulate against loss of body heat and might streamline the body to reduce drag in flight. Thus, we can logically conclude that an animal’s appearance is often influenced by environmental requirements and physical capabilities. Hence, it is evident that answer option (b) is the correct answer choice.


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Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.

Until recently, many biologists believed that invertebrate “schools” were actually transient assemblages, brought together by wind, currents, waves, or common food sources. Jellyfish groupings, for example, cannot be described as schools—cohesive social units whose members are evenly spaced and face the same way. However, recent research has found numerous cases in which crustaceans and other invertebrates form schools as fish do. Schooling crustaceans such as krill regularly collect in such massive numbers that they provide abundant food for fish, seabirds, and whales. Like schooling fish, invertebrates with sufficient mobility to school will swim in positions that are consistent relative to fellow school members, and are neither directly above nor directly below a neighbor. The internal structure of such a school changes little with external physical disruption but dramatically with the advent of a predator. Since schooling is an active behavior, researchers assume that it must bring important benefits. True, schooling would appear to make animals more visible and attractive to predators. However, schooling leaves vast tracts of empty water, thereby reducing a predator’s chances of picking up the school’s trail. A large group maintains surveillance better than an individual can, and may discourage predation by appearing to be one massive animal.

According to the passage, what are the advantages of schooling for invertebrates?


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