Campbell Biology 11th Edition by Lisa Urry,Michael Cain,Steven Wasserman,Peter Minorsky,Jane Reece

Exercise 10

This bombardier beetle is spraying a boiling hot liquid that contains irritating chemicals, used as a defense mechanism against its enemies. The beetle stores two sets of chemicals separately in its glands. Using what you learned about chemistry in this chapter, propose a possible explanation for why the beetle is not harmed by the chemicals it stores and what causes the explosive discharge.