Deck 28: Green Algae and Land Plants

Question 1

What is characteristic of tracheid cells that are mature?

A) They contain cytoplasm at maturity.
B) They have both primary and secondary walls.
C) They have only secondary walls made of lignin.
D) They have only primary walls made of cellulose.
E) All of these answers apply.

Answer 1

They have both primary and secondary walls.

Question 2

Why have biologists hypothesized that the first land plants had a low, sprawling growth habit?

A) Only fossilized plants exhibit this habit.
B) The ancestors of land plants, green algae, lack the structural support to stand erect in air.
C) At the time of the first land plants, the atmosphere had oxygen mainly close to the ground.
D) Land animals of that period consumed erect plants.
E) Land animals of that period were small, so they needed short plants to eat.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What two major novelties allowed for the first colonization of terrestrial habitats by plants?

A) cuticle and pores
B) roots and true leaves
C) roots and vascular tissue
D) tracheids and vessel elements
E) All of these answers apply.

Answer 3

cuticle and pores

Question 4

Which of these activities is not a part of development of crop plants from wild relatives?

A) people eating products from only the plants with desired characteristics
B) people developing several varieties of crops from a wild relative
C) people making observations of desired plant characteristics
D) people planting seeds of the plants with the characteristic wanted

Question 5

Molecular phylogenies show all land plants are a monophyletic group. This suggests that

A) wind- pollinated plants arose first.
B) there was a single transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats.
C) land plants have undergone a diversification since they first colonized terrestrial habitats.
D) there were many different transitions from aquatic to terrestrial habitats.

Question 6

What do the fuels wood, peat, coal, and ethanol have in common?

A) They are derived from fossilized animals.
B) They are formed under pressure deep in the Earth.
C) They are formed from living or fossilized plants.
D) All of these answers apply.

Question 7

Which of the following have biologists used in an attempt to understand the phylogenetic relationships among organisms?

A) examined similarities and differences in DNA sequences of homologous genes
B) compared morphological features
C) examined the fossil record
D) all of the above

Question 8

Most moss leaves do not have a cuticle, are one to two cells thick, and have no veins. What does this imply about moss leaves and their structure?

A) They do not have vascular tissue.
B) They can easily lose water to, and absorb water from, the atmosphere.
C) They do not have stomata for gas exchange regulation.
D) All of the above answers apply.

Question 9

Which set contains the most closely related terms?

A) microsporangium, microspore, carpel, ovary
B) microsporangium, microspore, egg, ovary
C) megasporangium, megaspore, pollen, ovule
D) megasporangium, megaspore, egg, ovule

Question 10

Which of these time intervals, based on plant fossils, came last most recently)?

A) rise and diversification of angiosperms
B) Silurian- Devonian explosion with fossils of plant lineages that contain most of the major morphological innovations
C) carboniferous swamps with giant horsetails and lycophytes
D) colonization of land by early liverworts and mosses
E) extensive growth of gymnosperm forests

Question 11

Bioprospectors and ethnobotanists search for plants and plant products used for medicines by native cultures. The major function of the medicinal compounds in plants is to

A) defend the plant against herbivores and microbes.
B) attract insects and birds to spread seeds and fruits.
C) attract pollinators for seed dispersal.
D) All of these answers apply.

Question 12

The most direct ancestors of land plants were probably

A) photosynthesizing prokaryotes cyanobacteria).
B) any of the green algae that live in water.
C) certain groups of algae.
D) liverworts and mosses.

Question 13

Over human history, which process has been most important in improving the features of plants long used by humans as staple foods?

A) artificial selection
B) pesticide and herbicide application
C) natural selection
D) sexual selection
E) genetic engineering

Question 14

You find a green organism in a pond near your house and believe it is a plant, not an alga. The mystery organism is most likely a plant and not an alga if it

A) contains chloroplasts.
B) has cell walls that are comprised largely of cellulose.
C) is surrounded by a cuticle.
D) does not contain vascular tissue.
E) is multicellular.

Question 15

The major function of medicinal compounds in plants is to

A) defend the plant against herbivores.
B) attract insects and birds to spread seeds and fruits.
C) defend the plant against microbes.
D) quicken healing in the organism producing the medicinal compound.
E) attract pollinators for seed dispersal.

Question 16

According to the fossil record, plants colonized terrestrial habitats

A) in conjunction with insects that pollinated them.
B) from marine habitats.
C) only about 150 million years ago.
D) in conjunction with fungi that helped provide them with nutrients from the soil.

Question 17

About 450 million years ago, the terrestrial landscape on Earth would have

A) had nonvascular green plants similar to liverworts forming green mats on rock.
B) been completely bare rock, with little pools that contained bacteria and cyanobacteria.
C) looked very similar to that of today, with flowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees.
D) been covered with tall forests in swamps that became today's coal.

Question 18

Which of these is a major trend in land plant evolution?

A) the trend toward larger gametophytes
B) the trend toward a sporophyte- dominated life cycle
C) the trend toward a gametophyte- dominated life cycle
D) the trend toward smaller size

Question 19

What evidence do paleobotanists look for that indicates the movement of plants from water to land?

A) vascular tissue to conduct water and sugars
B) remnants of chloroplasts from photosynthesizing cells
C) sporopollenin to inhibit evaporation from leaves
D) loss of structures that produce spores
E) waxy cuticle to increase evaporation from leaves

Question 20

To colonize, land plants had to overcome a number of difficulties. However, once this occurred, they were able to exploit more abundant resources. Which of the following resources are more plentiful on land than in water?

A) nitrogen
B) carbon dioxide
C) water
D) light

Question 21

Which of the following innovations is not associated with angiosperm diversification?

A) leaves
B) vessel elements
C) fruits
D) flowers
E) All of the above were associated with angiosperm diversification.

Question 22

How are the bryophytes and seedless vascular plants alike?

A) The dominant generation in both groups is the sporophyte.
B) Plants in both groups have vascular tissue.
C) Plants in both groups have true roots, stems, and leaves.
D) In both groups, sperm swim from antheridia to archegonia.
E) All of these answers apply.

Question 23

If humans had been present to build log structures during the Carboniferous period though they were not!), which plant types would have been suitable sources of logs?

A) lycophytes and bryophytes
B) ferns, horsetails, and lycophytes
C) horsetails and bryophytes
D) charophytes stoneworts), bryophytes, and gymnosperms
E) whisk ferns and epiphytes

Question 24

Spores and seeds have basically the same function, dispersal, but are vastly different because

A) spores are unicellular; seeds are not.
B) spores have stored nutrition; seeds do not.
C) spores have an embryo; seeds do not.
D) spores depend primarily on animals for dispersal; seeds do not.
E) spores have a protective outer covering; seeds do not.

Question 25

What is true about the genus Sphagnum?

A) It is used by gardeners as a fertilizer.
B) It grows in extensive mats in grassland areas.
C) It is an important carbon sink, reducing atmospheric CO₂.
D) It accumulates to form coal and is burned as a fuel.
E) It is an economically important liverwort.

Question 26

The vast number and variety of flowers is probably related to various kinds of

A) herbivores.
B) pollinators.
C) seed dispersal agents.
D) climatic conditions.
E) All of these answers apply.

Question 27

Which of these are structures in a gametophyte generation?

A) antheridium, embryo, seed, spores, flower
B) leaves, stems, roots, flowers, cones
C) spores, egg, sperm, pollen, archegonium
D) egg, sperm, zygote, embryo, seedling

Question 28

Which of these processes does not result in the formation of a different generation in a plant's sexual life cycle?

A) mitosis
B) fertilization
C) meiosis

Question 29

How are gymnosperms and angiosperms similar?

A) Plants in both groups lack vascular tissue.
B) Plants in both groups produce seeds and pollen.
C) Plants in both groups have flowers and fruits.
D) Plants in both groups have cones that produce pollen and seeds.

Question 30

An important fossil fuel is coal, much of which was formed when

A) extensive forests of seedless vascular plants were buried and compressed.
B) ancient angiosperms got buried under volcanic ash.
C) northern- latitude bogs accumulated peat.
D) huge gymnosperms were flooded by an inland sea.
E) All of these answers apply.

Question 31

Plant systematists working with angiosperm DNA have determined that

A) monocots are not really angiosperms.
B) dicots are not really angiosperms.
C) monocots appear to have developed from more than one ancestor.
D) dicots appear to have developed from more than one ancestor.

Question 32

Liverworts, hornworts, and mosses are grouped together as the Bryophytes. Besides not having vascular tissue, what do they all have in common?

A) ability to desiccate and rehydrate with no ill effects
B) low, sprawling growth habit
C) antheridia and archegonia for gamete production
D) swimming sperm for reproduction
E) All of these answers apply.

Question 33

The retaining of the zygote on the living gametophyte of land plants

A) allows it to be nourished by the parent plant.
B) helps in dispersal of the zygote.
C) is found only in seed plants.
D) protects the zygote from herbivores.

Question 34

Which of these are spore- producing structures?

A) antheridium of a moss or fern
B) archegonium of a moss or fern
C) sporophyte capsule) of a moss
D) All of these answers apply.

Question 35

Which of the following is true of stomata?

A) Stomata open to increase both water absorption and gas exchange.
B) Stomata occur in all land plants and are the same as pores.
C) Stomata open to allow gas exchange and close to decrease water loss.
D) Stomata occur in all land plants and define them as a monophyletic group.

Question 36

Which of the following is a correct element of alternation of generations?

A) The sporophyte is diploid and produces spores.
B) The sporophyte is haploid and produces gametes.
C) The gametophyte is haploid and produces spores.
D) Two spores unite to form a zygote.
E) The gametophyte is diploid and produces gametes.

Question 37

Seed plants are heterosporous. This means that

A) they produce two types of sperm.
B) they produce two types of pollen.
C) they produce two types of eggs.
D) they produce two types of spores.

Question 38

As you stroll through a moist forest, you are most likely to see a

A) zygote of a green alga.
B) sporophyte of a liverwort.
C) gametophyte of a fern.
D) gametophyte of a moss.

Question 39

A botanist discovers a new species of plant in a tropical rain forest. After observing its anatomy and life cycle, he notes the following characteristics: flagellated sperm, xylem with tracheids, separate gametophyte and sporophyte generations with the sporophyte dominant, and no seeds. This plant is probably most closely related to

A) gymnosperms.
B) ferns.
C) mosses.
D) charophytes stoneworts).
E) flowering plants.

Question 40

The closest relatives of the familiar pine and spruce trees are

A) hornworts, liverworts, and mosses.
B) gnetophytes, cycads, and ginkgoes.
C) ferns, horsetails, lycophytes, and club mosses.
D) elms, maples, and aspens.

Question 41

Which of the following features of how seedless land plants get sperm to egg are the same as for some of their algal ancestors?

A) Conjugation tubes are formed between sperm and egg cells.
B) Packets of sperm are delivered by wind to the eggs.
C) Flagellated sperm meet flagellated eggs in a water drop.
D) Flagellated sperm swim to the eggs in a water drop.
E) Aquatic invertebrates carry sperm to eggs.

Question 42

Some plants changed their flowers to lighter colours, and some retained the same darker colour all season. Which plants do you expect produced more fruit?

A) those that changed their colour to a lighter shade
B) those that stayed darker
C) They probably produced the same numbers of fruit.

Question 43

Use the following information when answering the corresponding questions).
Scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata) usually has red flowers in an inflorescence of up to 250 flowers. In certain populations in the Arizona mountains, however, the flowers range from red to pink to white. In early summer, most of the flowers were red. Six to eight weeks later, the same individual plants were still present; the flowers ranged from pink to white, and few red flowers were present. The major pollinators early in the season were two species of hummingbirds active during the day; they emigrated to lower elevations, and the major pollinator later in the season was a hawk moth a type of moth). The hawk moth was most active at sunset and later, and it preferred light pink to white flowers after dark. When hummingbirds were present, more red flowers than white flowers produced fruit. When only hawk moths were present, more white flowers produced fruit K. N. Paige and T. G. Whitham. 1985. Individual and population shifts in flower colour by scarlet gilia: A mechanism for pollinator tracking. Science 227:315- 17).
Late in the season, when only hawk moths were present, researchers painted the red flowers white. What would you expect?

A) Red and white flowers would produce the same numbers of fruits.
B) Red flowers painted white would produce more fruits than red flowers would.
C) Unpainted red flowers would produce more fruits than white flowers would.

Question 44

The most basal lineages of land plants include

A) Lycophyta, Psilotophyta, and Pteridophyta.
B) Cycadophyta, Ginkophyta, and Gnetophyta.
C) Hepaticophyta, Anthocerophyta, and Bryophyta.
D) Spenophyta, Charaphyaceae, and Bryophyta.

Question 45

In general, liverworts have a cuticle and pores. However, some species do not have pores. What would you predict concerning the cuticle of these species and why?

A) The cuticle would be thicker than in those species with pores.
B) The cuticle would be the same as in those species with pores.
C) The cuticle would be thinner than in those species with pores.
D) There is not enough information to make a prediction.

Question 46

Which of the following possess stomata?

A) Charaphyaceae
B) Anthocerophyta
C) Hepaticophyta
D) Ulvophyceae
E) All of these answers apply.

Question 47

Arrange the following in the correct sequence, from earliest to most recent, in which these plant traits originated.
1) sporophyte dominance, gametophyte independence
2) sporophyte dominance, gametophyte dependence
3) gametophyte dominance, sporophyte dependence

A) 3 -2 -1
B) 3 -1 -2
C) 2 -3 -1
D) 2 -1 -3
E) 1 -2 -3

Question 48

Why do hummingbirds emigrate from this population of scarlet gilia?

A) The flowers change from red to white, and the hummingbirds can't see them.
B) It gets darker on the mountainside, and the hummingbirds migrate to lower elevations where it stays light longer.
C) The flowers probably change their nectar production.
D) There is not enough information presented to answer this question.

Question 49

Which is the most diverse group of land plants?

A) gymnosperms
B) pines
C) ferns
D) angiosperms

Question 50

Why have seed banks been established?

A) to serve as a store of seeds for the next growing seasons
B) to serve as a store of genetic diversity of crop plants
C) to serve as a store of seeds before they are sold at market
D) All of these answers apply.

Question 51

Immature seed cones of conifers are usually green before pollination, and flowers of grasses are inconspicuously coloured. What does this indicate about their pollination?

A) They self- fertilize and do not need pollen carried from one plant to another.
B) They probably attract pollinators using strong fragrances.
C) They are wind pollinated.
D) Their pollinating insects are colour blind.

Question 52

Conifers and pines both have needlelike leaves. Why might their leaves be of this type?

A) to decrease surface area for water loss
B) to decease surface area for gas exchange
C) to increase surface area for gas exchange
D) to increase surface area for photosynthesis

Question 53

Use the following information when answering the corresponding questions).
Scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata) usually has red flowers in an inflorescence of up to 250 flowers. In certain populations in the Arizona mountains, however, the flowers range from red to pink to white. In early summer, most of the flowers were red. Six to eight weeks later, the same individual plants were still present; the flowers ranged from pink to white, and few red flowers were present. The major pollinators early in the season were two species of hummingbirds active during the day; they emigrated to lower elevations, and the major pollinator later in the season was a hawk moth a type of moth). The hawk moth was most active at sunset and later, and it preferred light pink to white flowers after dark. When hummingbirds were present, more red flowers than white flowers produced fruit. When only hawk moths were present, more white flowers produced fruit K. N. Paige and T. G. Whitham. 1985. Individual and population shifts in flower colour by scarlet gilia: A mechanism for pollinator tracking. Science 227:315- 17).
What is the significance of measuring fruit production?

A) It is easier than counting flowers.
B) It is a measure of pollination success.
C) It is an indication of predation on the seeds of the plants.
D) It is a measure of seed dispersal success.

Question 54

Use the following information when answering the corresponding questions).
Scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata) usually has red flowers in an inflorescence of up to 250 flowers. In certain populations in the Arizona mountains, however, the flowers range from red to pink to white. In early summer, most of the flowers were red. Six to eight weeks later, the same individual plants were still present; the flowers ranged from pink to white, and few red flowers were present. The major pollinators early in the season were two species of hummingbirds active during the day; they emigrated to lower elevations, and the major pollinator later in the season was a hawk moth a type of moth). The hawk moth was most active at sunset and later, and it preferred light pink to white flowers after dark. When hummingbirds were present, more red flowers than white flowers produced fruit. When only hawk moths were present, more white flowers produced fruit K. N. Paige and T. G. Whitham. 1985. Individual and population shifts in flower colour by scarlet gilia: A mechanism for pollinator tracking. Science 227:315- 17).

-To perform this study, the researchers needed to count

A) the number of pink and white flowers.
B) the number of hummingbirds.
C) the number of red flowers.
D) the number of hawk moths.
E) All of these answers apply.