Chapter Questions
Distinguish among a hydrostatic skeleton, an exoskeleton, and an endoskeleton. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of skeleton? Give an example of an animal with each type.
Explain the observation that animals with exoskeletons and endoskeletons are better represented in the fossil record than are animals with hydrostatic skeletons. How might this difference alter scientific interpretations of the fossil record?
What are the components of the axial and appendicular skeletons?
What role does cartilage play in the vertebrate skeletal system?
What are the differences between spongy bone and compact bone?
What are the two major components of bone matrix? How do they work together to give bone its characteristics?
Describe the events of bone development from embryo through adulthood.
Would an overactive parathyroid prevent osteoporosis or contribute to it? Explain your answer.
How do antagonistic muscle pairs move bones? Give an example of such a pair.
Describe four muscle proteins and their functions.
What is the role of tetanus when you lift a heavy box with your arms?
How do the effects of exercise (or lack thereof) illustrate homeostasis in bones and muscles?
How does the muscular system interact with the nervous system? The skeletal system? The respiratory system? The circulatory system?
What roles does fluid play in hydrostatic skeletons, cartilage, and synovial joints?
Search the Internet for disorders of the skeletal or muscular system. Choose one such illness to research in more detail. Describe how the disorder interferes with bone or muscle function. What causes the disorder? Is a treatment or cure available?
What is the role of calcium in bones? In muscle contraction?
The following table shows recent men's world-record times for various running events. Graph the distance traveled against the average running speed, in meters per second. How does the use of ATP by muscles over time explain the graph?