Question

The blood mass of a mammal is proportional to its body mass. A rhinoceros with body mass 3000 kilograms has blood mass of 150 kilograms. Find a formula for the blood mass, M, of a mammal as a function of the body mass, B, and estimate the blood mass of a human with body mass 80 kilograms.

Answer 1

Answer:

The equation which equates the two is M  = $\frac{B}{20} = 0.05B$

A human with a body mass of 80 kilograms will have a blood mass of 4 kilograms.

Step-by-step explanation:

It is said that the blood mass is proportional to the body mass.

We can say that the blood mass of a mammal is M, and that the body mass of a mammal is B.

Since the two are proportional we can write

M  ∝ B   , or M = kB    where k is the constant of proportionality.

Using the given values for a rhinoceros we can write

150 = k × 3000

Therefore k = $\frac{150}{3000} = \frac{1}{20} = 0.05$

Therefore the equation which equates the two is M  = $\frac{B}{20} = 0.05B$

A human with a body mass of 80 kilograms will have a blood mass of

= $\frac{80}{20} = 4 kilograms$