Question 1

In monocots, the shoot tip is protected by__________ , which eventually degenerate(s) once exposed to air.

Accepted Answer

The coleoptile is a sheath protecting the shoot tip in monocots, which degenerates once it breaks through the soil and is exposed to air.

Question 2

In dicots, the shoot tip is protected by

Accepted Answer

The hypocotyl hook is a structure in dicot seedlings that protects the shoot tip as it pushes through the soil. It is a curvature in the hypocotyl (the stem of a germinating seedling) that ensures the delicate shoot tip is protected from damage.

Question 3

While walking along a riverbank after a swim, you step on a sharp fruit. When you pick it up, you notice that it rattles, which indicates there is an air pocket around the seeds. How is this fruit most likely dispersed?

Accepted Answer

The presence of an air pocket suggests buoyancy, which is an adaptation for water dispersal.

Question 4

In many dicots, the first pair of leaves to emerge from the soil after seed germination is completely unlike all the rest of the leaves that form on that plant. In such plants, these leaves are

Accepted Answer

Cotyledons, which are the first leaves to emerge after seed germination in many dicots, serve as the initial food source for the plant and often look different from the true leaves that develop later.

Question 5

Endosperm has allowed the angiosperms to become the most numerous and diverse plant group. What is the role of the endosperm?

Accepted Answer

Endosperm is a tissue produced inside the seeds of most of the flowering plants following fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain oils and protein. This nutritional support from the endosperm is crucial for the growth and development of the embryo, leading to higher survival rates of seedlings, which has contributed significantly to the success and diversity of angiosperms.

Question 6

What are the results of double fertilization?

Accepted Answer

Double fertilization in plants results in the formation of a triploid endosperm, which provides nutrition to the developing embryo, and a diploid zygote, which eventually develops into the embryo.

Question 7

Yucca flowers are pollinated only by yucca moths, which lay their eggs in the flowerʹs ovary. This interaction ensures that the plant has seed for the next plant generation and that the moth larvae have a food source to develop. What is a potential disadvantage or vulnerability of this very specialized plant-animal interaction?

Accepted Answer

If the moths are exterminated, the specialized interaction ceases, preventing pollination and reproduction of the plant.

Question 8

The first leaves produced by an embryo while still inside the seed are

Accepted Answer

Cotyledons are the first leaves produced by an embryo and serve as a source of nutrients for the seedling as it grows.

Question 9

A fruit is a mature

Accepted Answer

A fruit is the mature ovary of a flower, which typically contains the seeds. After fertilization, the ovary grows into the fruit while the seeds develop from the ovules inside the ovary.

Question 10

The immature angiosperm pollen grain consists of a tube cell and a generative cell that will divide to produce__________ sperm cells.

Accepted Answer

The generative cell in an immature angiosperm pollen grain divides to produce two sperm cells.

Question 11

Some very showy desert flowers avoid desiccation of delicate floral tissues by blooming at night. They are pollinated by

Accepted Answer

Many showy desert flowers that bloom at night adapt to avoid desiccation by being pollinated by nocturnal animals, such as bats. Bats are active at night and are attracted to these flowers, facilitating their pollination.

Question 12

You have some freshly produced seeds that refuse to germinate when placed in moist soil. What can you do to break dormancy and encourage the seeds to germinate?

Accepted Answer

Freezing seeds and then exposing them to warmth and moisture can break dormancy by mimicking the natural winter conditions some seeds require before they will germinate. This process is known as stratification.

Question 13

When wheat is processed to make white, all -purpose flour, the wheat is passed through rollers that pop off the embryo and the ovary wall. Some people add ʺwheat germʺ to the white flour used to make baked goods in order to increase the protein content of these products. What is wheat germ?

Accepted Answer

Wheat germ is the embryo part of the wheat kernel, which is removed during the processing of whole wheat grains into white flour. It is rich in protein and often added back to foods for nutritional enhancement.

Question 14

Cotyledons, or ʺseed leaves,ʺ absorb food molecules stored in the

Accepted Answer

Cotyledons absorb food molecules stored in the endosperm, which is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants following fertilization. It provides nutrition to the developing embryo.

Question 15

Plants that grow in__________ areas most likely do not require drying or exposure to cold to break dormancy were it to occur.

Accepted Answer

Plants in subtropical or tropical regions typically do not require drying or exposure to cold to break dormancy, as these areas do not experience the extreme seasonal changes found in desert, arctic, or northern temperate climates. These regions have relatively consistent temperatures and moisture levels year-round, reducing the need for plants to develop such dormancy-breaking mechanisms.

Question 16

Desert plants often have__________ in their seed coats that keep them dormant until there is enough rain to complete their life cycle.

Accepted Answer

Desert plants often have water-soluble chemicals in their seed coats that keep them dormant until there is enough rain to dissolve these chemicals, signaling that conditions are favorable for the seed to germinate and complete its life cycle.

Question 17

The seed coat develops from the

Accepted Answer

The seed coat develops from the integuments of the ovule, which are the outer layers that surround and protect the ovule.

Question 18

Cotyledons and endosperm both provide nutrition. What is the difference between them?

Accepted Answer

Endosperm provides nutrition for the developing embryo within the seed, while cotyledons, which are the seed leaves, provide nutrition to the young seedling after germination.

Question 19

All of the following are true of the relationship between the yucca and the yucca moth EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

The yucca moth is specifically adapted to pollinate the yucca plant, and it does not lay its eggs in several kinds of flowers; this relationship is exclusive.

Question 20

Which of the following pollinators would likely visit a flower that is relatively simple in design and smells like rotting carrion?

Accepted Answer

Beetles are attracted to flowers that emit strong, often unpleasant odors such as that of rotting carrion. These scents mimic the smell of decaying organic matter, which beetles are naturally drawn to for feeding and laying eggs.

Quiz 45: Plant Reproduction and Development