Platypus have a "sixth-sense" that allows them to hunt underwater: electroreception. To find meals in the mud, it uses its bill to detect movements and subtle electric fields produced by its prey. Receptors on the bill detect changes in pressure and motion. Two types of receptors track the electrical signals produced by small prey when they contract their muscles. The platypus moves its head side-to-side to determine the direction and distance of its next meal by collecting and processing this sensory information. The platypus has about 40,000 of these special receptors.

Based on the passage, how would the platypus MOST LIKELY respond if two electrical signals were being produced in different intensities?

In the 1960s and 70s, Konrad Lorenz studied the animal response of imprinting. Imprinting allows animals to find their mothers and follow her. It is common in animals like chicks or geese since baby birds don’t know who their mother is when they hatch. They typically imprint on the first moving object they see, which in most cases, is their mother, but sometimes is not - resulting in an incorrect imprint. This survival skill allows babies to stay safe and close to their mothers.

Suppose a duck’s egg hatched while the mother was away gathering food, and a child walked by the nest. According to the text, what would the baby duck’s response be in this situation?

Some species of moths drop to the ground when they hear a bat's echolocation chirp. If you go outside at night with a flashlight, the moths will flock to the light. You can shake a set of keys and observe many of the moths falling to the ground. This defense is to get out of the path of the bat, so they are not eaten.

What is this adaptation an example of?

If you’ve ever visited a beach, you may have seen an area of sand staked off with caution tape and a warning about disrupting sea turtle nests. We often don’t see sea turtle hatchlings in action because they usually hatch at night. When the hatchlings emerge, they work their way across the sandy beaches to the ocean, using the moon as their guide. Sometimes, other light sources can disorient the sea turtles, harming their chances of survival.

Suppose a nest of sea turtles began to hatch on an area of beach near a hotel. What would the hatchlings’ responses MOST LIKELY be if the hotel had lights shining toward the shore?

Platypus have a "sixth-sense" that allows them to hunt underwater: electroreception. To find meals in the mud, it uses its bill to detect movements and subtle electric fields produced by its prey. Receptors on the bill detect changes in pressure and motion. Two types of receptors track the electrical signals produced by small prey when they contract their muscles. The platypus moves its head side-to-side to determine the direction and distance of its next meal by collecting and processing this sensory information. The platypus has about 40,000 of these special receptors.

How does the platypus respond to the information it receives based on the passage?

Wolves have an incredible sense of smell used for hunting, marking territories, social relationships, and more. Wolves are territorial animals that mark the areas in which their pack resides. Every 100 yards or so, the dominant wolves will mark their territory to make other packs aware they are present. A wolf can smell another animal from up to almost two miles downwind. When wolves smell each other, scientists think they can tell the gender, age, and even if the other animal is sick. A wolves' sense of smell is said to be 100 times greater than that of a human. Once all this information is collected and processed, a wolf must respond to what it smells.

In what way might wolves respond if it smells the scent of a rival pack?

How do animals use their perceptions and memories to make decisions?

Animals are not able to use their perceptions and memories to respond to situations.

Meerkats are animals that live in “clans” or “mobs” with a range of 20 to 50 members. They are great at digging and can have as many as five burrows for their clans to live and sleep in. Each clan has a sentry, or guard, who watches for predators while other meerkats search for food. Their excellent eyesight allows them to see very clearly to avoid both ground and aerial attacks. When the sentry becomes aware of an impending attack, it uses a series of whistles or barks to inform the mob of the threat’s urgency.

Based on the passage, if a sentry were to spot an eagle overhead, which of the following would MOST LIKELY be its response?

The sentry’s response to danger by a bark or whistle is intended for which of the following?