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Quiz about An Anatomy of the Earthworm
Quiz about An Anatomy of the Earthworm

An Anatomy of the Earthworm Trivia Quiz


Friendly? Creepy? Biologically efficient? You decide with this quiz dissecting the anatomy of the most humble of worms.

A photo quiz by trident. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
trident
Time
5 mins
Type
Photo Quiz
Quiz #
370,992
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
478
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 155 (9/10), Guest 147 (7/10), Guest 104 (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. To sustain themselves, earthworms must guide their way through the soil using their powerful muscles. They gather nutrients by ingesting the soil and absorbing what they need into their bodies.

True or False: The two ends of the earthworm are both mouths which can equally ingest soil.


Question 2 of 10
2. Earthworms have "furrows" or small folds that demarcate different smaller sections of their body. This has led to earthworms being classified as what type of worm? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Externally, earthworms have "setae", which are small hair-like bristles, though they are not composed of the same material as human hair. The setae help the earthworm anchor itself while feeding or mating. Found also in many insect wings/exoskeletons, what biological matter forms these structures? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. When removed, what organ (contained within the red circle in the image here) would likely result in the earthworm's inability to control its direction and cause it to move continuously? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The earthworm has a closed circulatory system, with blood vessels that run along the body and a series of aortic arches that act as hearts. In this image, which of the following would be the blood vessels? (This might be a good time to click the image and get a closer look.) Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. These earthworms are mating and they don't have to worry about attracting the opposite sex since earthworms are hermaphroditic. As you can see in the picture, the thickened, bulging section of the worm is important for reproduction as it secretes a mucus that keeps the worms attached during copulation. It also secretes a sac that serves as a cocoon for the worm's eggs. What is this bulging section called? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This aged image shows the alimentary canal of the earthworm, which is basically a fancy way of saying the digestive tract. Which of the following pictured organs is responsible for grinding the earthworm's food (which serves the same purpose in many other animals as well)? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. If you were to guess that this image is an oddly intricate illustration of worm feces, you would be right, drawn by none other than Charles Darwin. What are worm feces called? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. This worm looks ready to dive back into the ground where it is more comfortable instead of sticking around in all this daylight. Yet, the worm has no eyes to see the light. How does the worm know to get out of the light? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. This bird is working hard to eat this worm, but this worm is also working very hard to keep this from happening by contracting its powerful anterior muscles and digging in its setae into the soil. If this bird only manages to eat the very end of the earthworm, will the worm be able to regenerate its missing body?



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 155: 9/10
Mar 13 2024 : Guest 147: 7/10
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Feb 22 2024 : Guest 185: 5/10
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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. To sustain themselves, earthworms must guide their way through the soil using their powerful muscles. They gather nutrients by ingesting the soil and absorbing what they need into their bodies. True or False: The two ends of the earthworm are both mouths which can equally ingest soil.

Answer: False

Earthworms have two openings: the mouth and the anus. Only through the mouth can the earthworm take in soil, and only through the anus can the waste products exit. In this sense, it is ideal that the earthworm propels itself forward to ingest the soil and to defecate it out the back.
2. Earthworms have "furrows" or small folds that demarcate different smaller sections of their body. This has led to earthworms being classified as what type of worm?

Answer: segmented worm

Segmented worms have "segments" separated by small furrows. These types of worms are often known as annelids, which also includes leaches. Each segment has muscles that allow the worm to propel itself forward. Earthworms are generally born with the same amount of segments that they will live their entire lives with.
3. Externally, earthworms have "setae", which are small hair-like bristles, though they are not composed of the same material as human hair. The setae help the earthworm anchor itself while feeding or mating. Found also in many insect wings/exoskeletons, what biological matter forms these structures?

Answer: chitin

Chitin is biologically similar to keratin; however, keratin is found in mammals, which makes up hair and nails. Epithelial cells are a certain type of skin cells. Collagen is a material that is plentiful throughout the human body. It helps make up our skin, ligaments, tendons, and even our bones.
4. When removed, what organ (contained within the red circle in the image here) would likely result in the earthworm's inability to control its direction and cause it to move continuously?

Answer: brain

According to the textbook "Animals Without Backbones", the earthworm's brain seems to have inhibitory effects, so removing it causes the worm to move continuously. In another scientific study, when the earthworm's brain was removed, it continued to move forward into a wall, without realizing it was being blocked, like a normal earthworm would.

However, removing the brain would not generally kill an earthworm!
5. The earthworm has a closed circulatory system, with blood vessels that run along the body and a series of aortic arches that act as hearts. In this image, which of the following would be the blood vessels? (This might be a good time to click the image and get a closer look.)

Answer: A - red; tube-like and near the center

The thin, red tubes were indeed the blood vessels which typically encircle the digestive tract. The large, brown cavernous tube was just that: the digestive tract/intestine. The black tubes that ring the outside of the worm are ganglia, which are part of the nervous system. Finally, the green, coiled string is the metanephridium, which is part of the excretory system and serves as the worm's kidney, removing metabolic waste.
6. These earthworms are mating and they don't have to worry about attracting the opposite sex since earthworms are hermaphroditic. As you can see in the picture, the thickened, bulging section of the worm is important for reproduction as it secretes a mucus that keeps the worms attached during copulation. It also secretes a sac that serves as a cocoon for the worm's eggs. What is this bulging section called?

Answer: clitellum

Earthworm reproduction typically involves two separate organisms, which inseminate each other. The clitellum releases mucus in two separate instances: as the worms copulate to keep themselves attached to each other (though the setae also help) and also once more to create a mucus ring. The worm then slowly backs out of the ring and injects its eggs and the opposite worm's sperm into the mucus material. Then a cocoon forms, from which baby worms will hatch.

The incorrect options are all parts of an animal cell.
7. This aged image shows the alimentary canal of the earthworm, which is basically a fancy way of saying the digestive tract. Which of the following pictured organs is responsible for grinding the earthworm's food (which serves the same purpose in many other animals as well)?

Answer: gizzard

In earthworms, the gizzard utilizes small stones that the worm has consumed along with the soil to break down its food. The pharynx helps push the food down the tract; while passing through the esophagus, the food passes by calciferous glands that help remove excess calcium from the worm's body; the crop stores the food for a bit before passing to the gizzard for breaking down the food.

After that, it is off to the intestine to soak up the nutrients.
8. If you were to guess that this image is an oddly intricate illustration of worm feces, you would be right, drawn by none other than Charles Darwin. What are worm feces called?

Answer: castings

Castings (casts) are actually very helpful for the environment; worms eat decaying matter and convert it into a form that plants can metabolize. It is common to use worm castings as a natural way to help fertilize gardens. While Darwin was studying worm anatomy and biology, he felt it necessary to draw several examples of these worm castings in great detail in his famous work "The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms". Anything in the name of science, I suppose!
9. This worm looks ready to dive back into the ground where it is more comfortable instead of sticking around in all this daylight. Yet, the worm has no eyes to see the light. How does the worm know to get out of the light?

Answer: It has photoreceptors.

The photoreceptors that earthworms possess allow them to sense light (though not "see" it in the traditional sense). These sensors are positioned mostly on the prostomium, which is the very first segment of an earthworm that overhangs its mouth like a lip.

The sensors tell earthworms that they are in the daylight and need to get to safety; one of the earthworm's greatest dangers is drying out and the sun can be vicious to the little creatures.
10. This bird is working hard to eat this worm, but this worm is also working very hard to keep this from happening by contracting its powerful anterior muscles and digging in its setae into the soil. If this bird only manages to eat the very end of the earthworm, will the worm be able to regenerate its missing body?

Answer: Yes

Earthworms have the ability to regenerate body tissues. While it is much easier to regenerate the posterior sections, some earthworms have been known to regenerate their anterior (frontward) sections as well. Worms certainly don't make becoming a meal easy, and if you have ever gone fishing, you might know that pulling worms from their soil can be quite troublesome!
Source: Author trident

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