What animal has the largest surface area to volume ratio AND is matched correctly with its metabolic rate elephant or mouse?

Answer 1

an elephant because the surface is the skin and it's bigger that all of them. the volume is the inside....it is WAY bigger than the mouse or zebra...btw isn't that form sci-triv game? i got all of them right.. :P You are right it is from sci triv. Do you go to trinity academy?

I left the original answer, here is why I believe it is wrong:

The question isn't which has the biggets surface area, or which has the biggest volume, but rather the ratio of SA to Volume. Of course the elephant has the biggest SA as well as the biggest Volume, BUT if you compare SA/Vol, the mouse has the biggest ratio:

Mouse (approximating w/ a 1" radius sphere) = 12.56 sq inches / 4.19 cubic inches = 3

Rat (approximating w/ a 2" radius sphere) = 50.26/33.5 cubic inches = 1.5

Zebra (approximating w/ a 2.5' radius sphere) = 377.00 sq inches / 113,097.24 cubic inches = 0.003

Elephant (approximating w/ a 6' radius sphere) = 904.78 sq inches / 1,563,456.25 cubic inches = 0.0006

This is why mice and rats (and other small animals) are largely nocturnal - they do not have enough volume to not overheat in the hot sun compared to their vast amount of surface area for the sun to strike...

Answer 2

The animal with the largest surface area to volume ratio is a mouse, not an elephant. This is because the mouse is much smaller in size, which results in a higher surface area relative to its volume. As a result, mice have a higher metabolic rate compared to elephants, to maintain their body temperature due to the increased heat loss through their body surface.

Answer 3

elephant

Answer 4

Mouse.