Answer 1:
That depends on how active the goldfish is,
just as your oxygen intake depends on how active
you are. I don't know what typical numbers
are, but if you're not afraid of math, here's
how you can estimate it: Metabolic rate
(the rate at which an animal uses energy) scales
approximately with the 3/4 power of the weight
of the animal, assuming the animals have
comparable metabolism. You can weigh yourself,
and then weigh the goldfish, and then calculate
the ratio of your weight to the goldfish's
weight. You should know approximately how
many calories you eat in a day. If your energy
output is very different from that, you'll
either be gaining or losing weight rapidly and
you won't be healthy, so assuming you are
healthy that will also be your energy output.
Sugar - which is the fuel you are burning once
you break down your food - yields about 4.1
calories per gram. Using simple chemistry, you
need 192 grams of oxygen to burn 190 grams of
sugar. So, once you calculate how much sugar you
burn each day from the number of calories you
eat, and from that how much oxygen you need per
day. Divide the day up into minutes, and that's
your oxygen intake per minute. Take the
ratio of the goldfish's weight to your weight,
and raise that to the 3/4 power. This number
should be a fraction, but a larger fraction than
the original number. Multiply this result by the
oxygen you burn in a minute, and that's how much
the goldfish would use if it had the same
metabolism as you do (i.e. warm-blooded and
growing rapidly because you're a teenager). Warm-
blooded animals take about five times as much
energy as cold-blooded animals, and goldfish are
cold-blooded, so divide by five. Goldfish do
grow pretty fast, so this final result is
roughly the amount of oxygen the goldfish
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