Question

2.1 measurements with small freshwater sponges such as grantia have documented water flow rates around 3 - 4 ml/minute. assuming that a sponge has a constant flow rate over the course of a day, how many ml of water could a single sponge such as grantia filter in a 24 - hour period? 2.2 how many liters of water would this represent?

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate total mL in 24 - hour

There are 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. The flow - rate is 3 - 4 mL/minute. First, find the number of minutes in 24 hours: $60\times24 = 1440$ minutes. Then, for the lower - bound flow rate of 3 mL/minute, the total volume $V_{1}=3\times1440 = 4320$ mL. For the upper - bound flow rate of 4 mL/minute, the total volume $V_{2}=4\times1440 = 5760$ mL.

Step2: Convert mL to L

We know that 1 L = 1000 mL. For the lower - bound volume in liters, $L_{1}=\frac{4320}{1000}=4.32$ L. For the upper - bound volume in liters, $L_{2}=\frac{5760}{1000}=5.76$ L.

Answer:

2.1: A single sponge could filter between 4320 mL and 5760 mL of water in a 24 - hour period.
2.2: This represents between 4.32 L and 5.76 L of water.