Question

What are some examples of surface area to volume ratio?

Answer 1

Hint: When the surface area of an object is divided by its volume then it termes as the surface area to volume ratio. Thus the ratio differs in various organisms based on their shape and size. It helps in explaining the process of the exchange of materials in the cell.

Complete answer:
The areas of all the faces of the three-dimensional object when summed up all together will constitute a surface area while the total amount of the space which is occupied by an individual is called its volume. Both the quantities differ according to the size of the organisms. The surface area to volume ratio tends to decrease when the cells become large. Thus if the area of the cell enlarges the number of nutrients will not be able to reach it quickly through the membranes and it will become difficult to maintain the larger cellular volume.
Examples include the animals that produce heat internally according to their volume. The more the volume, the more heat is produced. Thus both the volume and the amount of heat are directly proportional to each other. While the loss of the heat is proportional to the surface area, the more the surface area the more will be the loss of heat. In the case of the elephants they have a larger surface area than the hamsters, thus they tend to lose heat faster than the hamsters.
Another example is the diffusion of various gases that includes the oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc along with the water and other nutrients and waste products in the cell is also dependent upon the surface area to volume ratio. Thus it is observed that the blogger the organism gets the longer it will take for the nutrients to each inside the body. So, the growth must be limited for getting the proper nutrition.

Note:
The cells that are smaller will have more surface area to volume ratio making the diffusion of nutrients in the cell easier while in the case of the larger cell the surface area to volume will decrease. Thus in the case of the elephant and a mouse, the elephant has a lower surface area to volume ratio than in the case of the mouse.