Allometry: Dinosaurs The study of size and shape is called “allometry,” and many allomet...

Allometry: Dinosaurs The study of size and shape is called “allometry,” and many allometric relationships involve exponents that are fractions or decimals. For example, the body measurements of most four-legged animals, from mice to elephants, obey ( approximately) the following power law:

where body thickness is measured vertically and all measurements are in feet. Assuming that this same relationship held for dinosaurs, find the average body thickness of the following dinosaurs, whose hip-toshoulder length can be measured from their skeletons:

Diplodocus, whose hip-to-shoulder length was 16 feet.