Topic
Whether pterosaurs being capable of powered flight
Instruction
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.
Content
The passage claims that the pterosaurs were not able to perform powered flight, while the lecturer disputes this idea.
First, the author points out that fly cost a lot of energy and the ancient cold-blood reptiles, such as pterosaurs, were not likely able to supply enough energy for flying. That lecturer disagrees the point based on some researches that discovered the fossil of the pterosaurs actually having some hair-like covering, which is the feature of warm blood animal to maintain their body temperature in cold winter. This means that pterosaurs were able to produce enough energy to fly.
Second, the author suggests that the pterosaurs were too heavy and too larg to fly. However, the lecturer claims that the hollow bone the pterosaurs makes their weight low enough to fly, despite their large body frame.
Finally, the author mentions that the leg mucles of pterosaurs were too small, making them not able to take off by either running fast or jumping. In contrast, the lecturer points out that they can use four legs simutaneously to jump or run, with four legs using together, pterosaurs were able to produce enough force to launch themselves into the air.
In conclusion, the lecturer casts doubt on the fly ability of pterosaurs by emphasizing that their energy supply, body size and ability to take off were all not enough to fly. Conversely, the lecturer believes that the pterosaurs were able to fly based on the evidences discovered from the fossil, that implies they were more like warm-blood animal and able to produce enough energy to fly. Also, they were strong and light enough to fly.
Revision
Chatgpt
The passage claims that Pterosaurs were not able to perform powered flight, while the lecturer disputes this idea.
First, the author points out that powered flight costs a lot of energy, and the ancient cold-blooded reptiles, such as Pterosaurs, were not likely able to supply enough energy for flying. The lecturer disagrees with this point based on some research that discovered fossils of Pterosaurs actually having hair-like structures, a feature of warm-blooded animals that helps maintain their body temperature in cold weather. This implies that Pterosaurs were able to produce enough energy to fly.
Second, the author suggests that Pterosaurs were too heavy and too large to fly. However, the lecturer claims that the hollow bones of Pterosaurs make their weight low enough to fly, despite their large body size.
Finally, the author mentions that the leg muscles of Pterosaurs were too small, making them unable to take off by either running fast or jumping. In contrast, the lecturer points out that they can use all four legs simultaneously to jump or run, and with all four legs working together, Pterosaurs were able to produce enough force to launch themselves into the air.
In conclusion, the lecturer casts doubt on the flying ability of Pterosaurs by emphasizing that their energy supply, body size, and ability to take off were all not enough for flight. Conversely, the lecturer believes that Pterosaurs were able to fly based on the evidence discovered from fossils, implying they were more like warm-blooded animals and able to produce enough energy to fly. Also, they were strong and light enough to fly.