Question

Upon surveying the material properties of all animals in a coral reef, you find that many materials that organisms use to build their structures are relatively strong, but not necessarily stiff. (a) Describe how a material can be strong, but not stiff. (b) What advantages might an animal gain by having structures whose proper functioning depends on their being adequately strong more than adequately stiff?

Answer 1

A material can be either strong or stiff, Strong resists both deformation and failure while Stiff resists deformation.Example- Steel is strong but Alumina is very stiff. A material is said strong when we pressure it slowly but steadily can hold a bit of force without breaking it. And stiffness means the tendency of a material to return to its original form in response to an applied force. Stong is considered as higher Ultimate Tensile strength.

Cellulose fibres have high strength, and the more it is closely packed, the more density and higher strength. Bones are made up of short and soft collagen fibres. These fibres are inorganic calcium carbonate fibres dispersed in a mineral matrix called apatite. Animal skeletons are the basic structural frameworks that can prevent from any static and dynamic loads. Tooth, a bone consisting of a flexible core and the hard enamel surface varies in their thickness.

Sharp claws is also one of the advantage eg. many herbivores use the sharp claws for getting food, roots, and herbs or burrowing for shelter. They also use their claws for killing their prey or tearing meat.  Also, claws can be used to run faster eg. cheetah.  The most important feature of the arthropods in their exoskeleton, which is a complex rigid covering that gives the muscles something to pull against. So, arthropods gain great advantages from their exoskeletons i.e protection against enemies. Arthropods are very strong for their size.