The ampullae of Lorenzini are jelly-filled pores that allow fish to sense electromagnetic currents. What is an important property of the jelly in these organs?
A. It secretes pheromones for conspecifics.
B. It is a good electrical conductor.
C. It contains gustatory receptors.
D. It is an electrical insulator.
Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?
Gather Content
What do you already know about electroreception? What other information is related to the question?
Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
B. It is a good electrical conductor.
Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
· What is the function of jelly in the ampullae of Lorenzini?
What type of thinking is required?
o This is an analyze question because you have to make a link between the characteristics of the ampullae of Lorenzini and the function of detecting electromagnetic currents.
Gather Content
What do you already know about electroreception? What other information is related to the question?
· You already know that some animals, like sharks, can detect electrical fields like those produced by muscle contraction in prey fish. You also may know that sharks have specialized electroreceptors called ampullae of Lorenzini that are located in sacs that open through jelly- filled canals to pores on the body surface. The jelly is highly conductive, so is an excellent material for the transmission of electrical signals.
Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
· The jelly in the ampullae of Lorenzini does not secrete pheromones (smell), contain gustatory (taste) receptors, or act as an electrical insulator. Instead it acts as a good electrical conductor which aids in the detection of electromagnetic currents.
Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
o Answering this question correctly depended not only on knowing that the ampullae of Lorenzini detects electromagnetic currents and not chemical molecules for taste or smell, but also understanding that their jelly-filled pores have the property of being highly conductive. If you selected an incorrect answer, did you think that the jelly might be a good insulator that would help trap the electrical signal in the pore? Did you get confused with the definitions of “pheromones”and “gustatory”?
You might also like to view...
The morphological approach to speciation is prone to misinterpretation. Which of the following is not
an example?
a. male birds with strikingly different plumage than females b. a chihuahua and a great dane that do not look alike c. snails that resemble each other, but cannot mate d. snails of quite varied appearance that can all interbreed e. snails of quite similar appearance that are shown to be different species via reproductive isolation
The evidence that one species of finch migrated to a Galàpagos island, and evolved into two species now found on the same island, feeding on different food sources, is an example of speciation.
A. postzygotic B. prezygotic C. parapatric D. allopatric E. sympatric
Increased carbon dioxide concentrations may contribute to
a. ozone depletion. b. global warming. c. eutrophication. d. groundwater contamination. e. biomagnification.
Bile is produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. The function of bile is to
A) prevent regurgitation of food into the esophagus and activate stomach acids. B) lower the pH of the stomach. C) dissolve salts and detoxify poisons in food. D) raise the pH of chyme as it enters the small intestine. E) disperse fats into smaller particles.