Exposure to toxins during early stages of pregnancy is more likely to cause birth defects than exposure in late pregnancy because 1
essential organs form during early development
2.
the uterus provides more protection in late pregnancy
3.
the placenta forms during late pregnancy
4
meiosis occurs rapidly during early development
Submit Answer

1. Essential organs form during early development

Explanation:

Harmful chemicals (toxins) cause the most disease when they are present during fetal development, because organ systems are being developed and the rate of growth is very fast.

cells use diffusion to get substances in and out of themselves. that diffusion will occur across the cell membrane or the outer covering of the cell. because we are talking about the surface of the cell, surface area and volume are  important factors here. as a cell increases in size, its surface area and volume increase as well.  we call that the surface area to volume ratio (sa: vol).  but the catch is that  volume increases at a greater rate than surface  area. in other words, as a cell gets bigger, the sa: vol gets smaller. so a really small cell like bacteria is mostly cell membrane (surface) with very little contents (volume). a really big cell like an egg, is mostly insides with a super thin membrane. so what ends up happening is that the cell cannot efficiently diffuse all of the stuff it needs in/out to survive. therefore cell size is limited to about 100mm. so how do we make organisms bigger than 100mm? cells divide! by dividing and becoming multicellular, organisms are able to grow!   check out the diagrams i attached to see the effect of sa: vol. i hope this ! good luck!