Consider the energy budgets for a human, an elephant, a penguin a mouse, and a snake. The _______ would have the highest total annual energy expenditure and the ______ would have the highest energy expenditure per unit mass.

 

possible answers: elephant, penguin , snake ,human ,mouse.

 

Highest total annual energy expenditure----------elephant

Highest energy expenditure per unit mass-------------mouse

The elephant needs a high total annual expenditure because it uses a lot of energy for the essential processes of life like basal metabolic rate and digestion energy and energy for physical activities. On the other hand, the mouse has a large surface area to volume ratio, meaning it has high energy expenditure per unit mass.