Answer 1:
This is a really big question because there
are so many invertebrates. There may be well
over a million species. There are a few big
ideas that help in explaining this, though.
First, if something is small and surrounded
by water, some wastes can just leave the body by
a process called diffusion. Diffusion means
that things tend to move from where there’s a
high concentration to an area where there’s a
low concentration. This happens just because
molecules are always moving, so they sort of
wander away from where they start.
When you put food coloring or lemonade powder
into a glass of water, it spreads out by
diffusion. Eventually, the coloring or powder
will spread out over the whole glass, but if you
don’t stir, it will take a long time.
Diffusion is very slow, so it only works if
there’s not far to go. If an animal is very
small, or very flat, this works because no cell
is very far from the outside. Animals that are
bigger need a way to move things faster. They
have liquid that moves around in their bodies,
picking up waste. They may have some way to
pump this liquid, or it may just get squished
around as they move. The fluid may move in
tubes, like blood vessels, or just be in the
open spaces in the body. They usually have an
opening to allow the liquid out. Bigger
invertebrates are more likely to have pumps
(hearts) and tubes (arteries and veins) for
moving the fluid. They are also more likely to
have organs to process the liquid waste
(kidneys) and tubes to carry the waste out of
the body.
For solid waste, most animals have an opening
at the end of their gut to let the waste out.
But there are other animals, like sea anemones
who have one opening that acts as a mouth for
food to go in, and an anus for waste to go
out.
Some invertebrates are huge. The giant squid
has an eye as large as a dinner plate. The
invertebrates that live on land don’t get very
big. Can you think of any reasons why? Hint:
Invertebrates don’t have bones. What do they
have?
Thanks for asking,
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