Chapter 4: Supporting Details
Lab Activity 18: Outlining Major and Minor Details
 
Objective
To outline the major and minor details supporting a main idea.

arrow.gifStep 2: Read the following selections from a college biology textbook, and then select the best outline of each selection.


      9.      One way to classify the thermal characteristics of animals is to emphasize the major source of body heat. An ectotherm warms its body mainly by absorbing heat from its surroundings. The amount of heat it derives from its own metabolism is usually negligible. Most invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, and reptiles are ectotherms. In contrast, an endotherm derives most or all of its body heat from its own metabolism. Mammals, birds, some fishes, and numerous insects are endotherms. Many endotherms maintain a virtually constant internal temperature even as the temperature of their surroundings fluctuates. However, a constant body temperature does not distinguish endotherms from ectotherms. For example, many ectothermic marine fishes and invertebrates inhabit water with such stable temperatures that their body temperature varies less than that of humans and other endotherms. Also, the terms cold-blooded and warm-blooded are misleading. When sitting in the sun, many lizards, which are ectotherms, have higher body temperatures than mammals.

—Campbell, Reece, and Mitchell, Biology, 5th ed., p. 866

Indicate the best outline for this selection. 

 
 
 
 
      10.      The mammalian ear can be divided into three regions. The outer ear consists of the external pinna and the auditory canal, which collect sound waves and channel them to the tympanic membrane (eardrum) separating the outer ear from the middle ear. Within the middle ear, vibrations are conducted through three ossicles (small bones)—the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup)—to the inner ear, passing through the oval window, a membrane beneath the stapes. The middle ear also opens into the Eustachian tube, which connects with the pharynx and equalizes pressure between the middle ear and the atmosphere, enabling you to "pop" your ears when changing altitude, for example. The inner ear consists of a labyrinth of channels within a skull bone (the temporal bone). These channels are lined by a membrane and contain fluid that moves in response to sound or movement of the head.

—Campbell, Reece, and Mitchell, Biology, 5th ed., p. 1002

Indicate the best outline for this selection. 

 
 
 
 





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