A spherical cell has radius . A second spherical cell has radius . How does the surface-area-to-volume ratio of the larger cell compare with the smaller cell?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. It is half as large

  1. Step 1: For a sphere, surface area and volume , so the ratio is .
  2. Step 2: Doubling the radius halves the ratio ( to per m).
Answer
It is half as large.
Why not the others: It is twice as large: inverts the comparison. It is the same: the ratio changes with size. It is a quarter as large: uses the square of the radius ratio.

Practise more Cells.

Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test) mock tests.