Answer questions 12-16 about fungi, diabetes, housefly classification, thermoregulation, and bean plant classification.

Here are the answers to your questions:

12. Two characteristics of fungi are:

• They are heterotrophic, obtaining nutrients by absorption.
• Their cell walls are made of chitin.

13. To determine if a urine sample was obtained from a person suffering from diabetes mellitus, you would carry out a Benedict's test.

• Test: Benedict's test for reducing sugars (glucose).
• Procedure: Add Benedict's reagent to the urine sample and heat it gently.
• Result for diabetes mellitus: A color change from blue to green, yellow, orange, or brick-red precipitate indicates the presence of glucose, which is characteristic of diabetes mellitus.

14. Classification of a housefly:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Class: Insecta

15. During thermoregulation, the changes that occur in arterioles in the human skin are:

• Vasodilation: When the body is hot, arterioles widen to increase blood flow to the skin surface, allowing more heat to be lost by radiation and convection.
• Vasoconstriction: When the body is cold, arterioles narrow to reduce blood flow to the skin surface, thereby conserving heat.

16. Giving a reason in each case, the class to which each of the following organisms belong:

• Bean plant -
  • Class: Dicotyledoneae (or Magnoliopsida)
  • Reason: It has two cotyledons in its seed, net-veined leaves, and a taproot system.
• Bat -
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Reason: It possesses mammary glands (produces milk), has hair or fur, is warm-blooded, and gives live birth.