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TASBiologyQuick questions
Unit 2: Cells and Multicellular Organisms
Quick questions on Surface Area to Volume Ratio - TCE Biology (Tasmania)
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What are scaling up to whole organisms?Show answer
The same principle applies to entire organisms. A single-celled organism can exchange gases across its whole surface, but a large multicellular animal cannot rely on its outer surface alone, because its surface area to volume ratio is too low. Large organisms therefore evolve specialised exchange surfaces with very large areas, such as lungs, gills, and the network of capillaries, and transport systems to carry materials to and from every cell. These adaptations are explored in the gas exchange and transport notes.
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