Pterosaurs were an ancient group of winged reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs. Many pterosaurs were very large, some as large as a giraffe and with a wingspan of over 12 meters. Paleontologists have long wondered whether large pterosaurs were capable of powered flight (flying by flapping their wings) or whether they were able only to glide. Several arguments have been made against powered flight.
Doubters point out that since modern reptiles are cold-blooded, ancient reptiles such as pterosaurs were probably cold-blooded as well. Cold-blooded animals typically have a slow metabolism and are unable to produce a lot of energy. Powered flight is an activity requiring a lot of energy, which is why all modern vertebrates that fly are warm-blooded, not cold-blooded. It seemed unlikely that pterosaurs would have been able to generate the energy needed to fly.
Second, there is a limit to the weight of animals that can be kept airborne by powered flight. Pterosaurs that were as large as a giraffe were probably so heavy that they would not have been able to flap their wings fast enough to stay aloft for any length of time.
Third, all animals with powered flight are able to take off from the ground. For example, birds take off by jumping from their legs or running to gain speed and then jumping. But these methods would not have worked for large pterosaurs. Large pterosaurs would have needed big, powerful muscles in their back legs to launch themselves into the air, and we know from fossilized bones that their back leg muscles were too small and weak to allow the pterosaurs to run fast enough or jump high enough to launch themselves into the air.
Recent research has revealed the pterosaurs may in fact have been capable of powered flight.
First, the issue of pterosaur metabolism. Some recently discovered pterosaur fossils indicate that pterosaurs had a dense, hair-like covering, somewhat similar to fur. Hair or fur covering is typical of warm-blooded animals because those animals need to maintain a high body temperature when external conditions are cold. So if the metabolism of pterosaurs was more like that of warm-blooded animals and so faster than the reading suggests, then it would have supplied them with the energy needed for powered flight.
Second, the idea that large pterosaurs couldn't use powered flight because they were too heavy. We now know that pterosaurs had anatomical features that made them unusually light for their size. For example, the bones of pterosaurs were hollow instead of solid. Hollow, light-weight bones would have kept the pterosaurs weight low despite their large body frames. The pterosaurs' weight was probably low enough to allow them to keep themselves airborne by flapping their wings.
Third, takeoff would indeed be a problem for pterosaurs if they took off the way birds do. But there are important differences between birds and pterosaurs. Birds only use their hind limbs, their legs, for walking on the ground. So they only have two limbs to push off from when they launch. But pterosaurs walked on all four limbs while on the ground. There are modern flying animals that walk on all four limbs. Bats, for example. And they use all four limbs to push off the ground, not just the back ones. Studies indicate that even the largest pterosaurs would have had no trouble using all four limbs to run fast enough or jump high enough to launch themselves into the air.
The reading passage casts several doubt on the idea of capability ancient Petrosaurs to possess the power of flighting. However the professor refutes all that reasons and states that they might have the ability of flying and provide serious counterarguments against the reading passage by providing three aspects as listed below.
First, she explains that researchers by obserbing the remind of fossils found out that the Pterosaurs' body was covered by high dense hair as a covering. This caracteristic can be found only in warm blood animals, which want to maintain their body temperature at a constant level. Consequently, Pterosaurs were liky warm animals rather than cold blood animals. It means they could produce a lot of energy, which is in contradiction with the reading indicated.
Second, the professor states that it is true that Pterosaurs had masive bones structure, However, the new research indicates that these bone have unusall light weight because of the hollowness. Their bones are hollow and empty insides, which help to fly conveniently. This point refutes the view stated in the reading passage.
Finally, the lecturer points out that the presence of two powerful back legs enable birds to take off and run on the grounds. However, new research shows that Pterosaurs were able to use four legs to run and take off on any types of ground. For example bats in present day can use their legs and wing to walk on the surfaces and use them as a muscle to take off. In this trend Pterosaurs would have no truble for walking and running and evetually started to fly from the ground. This is another point where the lecturer opposes the passage.
| Post date | Users | Rates | Link to Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-12-06 | marii.r67 | 80 | view |
| 2019-11-13 | shirley5001 | 80 | view |
| 2019-11-13 | shirley5001 | 80 | view |
| 2019-11-03 | Seema Modak | 78 | view |
| 2019-11-03 | Seema Modak | 78 | view |
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Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 121, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: However,
...aurs to possess the power of flighting. However the professor refutes all that reasons ...
^^^^^^^
Line 2, column 51, Rule ID: A_INFINITVE[1]
Message: Probably a wrong construction: a/the + infinitive
... explains that researchers by obserbing the remind of fossils found out that the Pterosaur...
^^^^^^^^^^
Line 3, column 155, Rule ID: LIGHT_WEIGHT[1]
Message: Did you mean 'lightweight'?
Suggestion: lightweight
... indicates that these bone have unusall light weight because of the hollowness. Their bones ...
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 4, column 90, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...e of two powerful back legs enable birds to take off and run on the grounds. Howe...
^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
consequently, finally, first, however, second, so, for example, it is true
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 8.0 10.4613686534 76% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 5.0 5.04856512141 99% => OK
Conjunction : 9.0 7.30242825607 123% => OK
Relative clauses : 13.0 12.0772626932 108% => OK
Pronoun: 23.0 22.412803532 103% => OK
Preposition: 39.0 30.3222958057 129% => OK
Nominalization: 2.0 5.01324503311 40% => More nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1384.0 1373.03311258 101% => OK
No of words: 279.0 270.72406181 103% => OK
Chars per words: 4.9605734767 5.08290768461 98% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.08696624509 4.04702891845 101% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.59166305895 2.5805825403 100% => OK
Unique words: 165.0 145.348785872 114% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.591397849462 0.540411800872 109% => OK
syllable_count: 420.3 419.366225166 100% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.55342163355 97% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 6.0 3.25607064018 184% => OK
Article: 4.0 8.23620309051 49% => OK
Subordination: 0.0 1.25165562914 0% => More adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 0.0 1.51434878587 0% => OK
Preposition: 1.0 2.5761589404 39% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 14.0 13.0662251656 107% => OK
Sentence length: 19.0 21.2450331126 89% => OK
Sentence length SD: 43.1073647763 49.2860985944 87% => OK
Chars per sentence: 98.8571428571 110.228320801 90% => OK
Words per sentence: 19.9285714286 21.698381199 92% => OK
Discourse Markers: 5.28571428571 7.06452816374 75% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 4.09492273731 98% => OK
Language errors: 4.0 4.19205298013 95% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 7.0 4.33554083885 161% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 2.0 4.45695364238 45% => More negative sentences wanted.
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 5.0 4.27373068433 117% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.124732877767 0.272083759551 46% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0410155380526 0.0996497079465 41% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0495926601764 0.0662205650399 75% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0653346826825 0.162205337803 40% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0309441674597 0.0443174109184 70% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 11.9 13.3589403974 89% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 60.65 53.8541721854 113% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 5.55761589404 56% => Smog_index is low.
flesch_kincaid_grade: 9.5 11.0289183223 86% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 11.49 12.2367328918 94% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.31 8.42419426049 99% => OK
difficult_words: 66.0 63.6247240618 104% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 14.0 10.7273730684 131% => OK
gunning_fog: 9.6 10.498013245 91% => OK
text_standard: 10.0 11.2008830022 89% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Rates: 80.0 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 24.0 Out of 30
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.