Deep-Sea Survival

Question 1

Scientists discovered a new deep‑sea crab that lives at a depth of 9,200 m (about 920 atm). Which explanation best describes how its body avoids being crushed by the enormous water pressure?

Accepted Answer

It lacks air‑filled chambers such as a swim bladder, and its structural proteins are unusually flexible, allowing tissues to deform slightly without breaking.

Answer

Its internal cavities are filled with a gel‑like substance that does not compress, and its cellular proteins are unusually rigid, keeping shape unchanged.

Answer

It has a very thick, calcified shell that works like armor, and its blood contains extra iron to make it denser.

Answer

It stores large amounts of oil in its body cavity, which is incompressible, and its muscles stay constantly contracted to brace against pressure.

Question 2

The icefish (genus Chionodraco) lives in Antarctic waters that can reach –2.3 °C, colder than the normal freezing point of its blood. Which statement best explains how the antifreeze glycoproteins in its blood keep the fish alive?

Accepted Answer

The glycoproteins attach to the surface of tiny ice crystals that begin to form, stopping them from growing larger, so the blood stays liquid even below 0 °C.

Answer

The glycoproteins increase the salt concentration of the blood, lowering its freezing point the same way road salt works.

Answer

The glycoproteins raise the fish’s body temperature by generating extra metabolic heat, keeping the blood above its freezing point.

Answer

The glycoproteins cause the fish to move to deeper, slightly warmer water whenever surface temperatures approach freezing.

Question 3

A marine biologist discovers a new species of deep‑sea isopod living at a depth of about 5,400 m (≈540 atm). Which statement best explains how this animal avoids being crushed by the immense water pressure?

Accepted Answer

It has no gas‑filled spaces and its tissues contain flexible proteins that can compress under pressure.

Answer

It builds a thick, mineralized shell that acts like a rigid armor to resist the pressure.

Answer

It inflates internal cavities with water to match the surrounding pressure, keeping its body shape constant.

Answer

It accumulates large amounts of salt in its cells, raising its internal osmotic pressure to counteract the external pressure.

Try three questions

Scientists discovered a new deep‑sea crab that lives at a depth of 9,200 m (about 920 atm). Which explanation best describes how its body avoids being crushed by the enormous water pressure?

The icefish (genus Chionodraco) lives in Antarctic waters that can reach –2.3 °C, colder than the normal freezing point of its blood. Which statement best explains how the antifreeze glycoproteins in its blood keep the fish alive?

A marine biologist discovers a new species of deep‑sea isopod living at a depth of about 5,400 m (≈540 atm). Which statement best explains how this animal avoids being crushed by the immense water pressure?

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