Question 1

Which of the following best describes the main evolutionary challenge faced by the first land plants?

Accepted Answer

Preventing water loss in a dry environment

Question 2

Which adaptation is primarily responsible for minimizing water loss in land plants?

Accepted Answer

Presence of a cuticle and stomata

Question 3

The first group of land plants is called bryophytes. Which two adaptations do they lack compared to later plant groups?

Accepted Answer

Vascular tissue and seeds

Question 4

Which of the following plant groups originated about 360 million years ago, produce seeds not enclosed in specialized chambers, and were abundant during the age of dinosaurs?

Accepted Answer

Gymnosperms

Question 5

True or false: Plants have alternation of generations that include diploid and haploid stages.

Accepted Answer

True

Question 6

In plants, haploid gametes are produced by mitosis rather than meiosis. Why is this possible?

Accepted Answer

Because the gametophyte is already haploid, so mitosis produces more haploid cells

Question 7

Which of the following statements about alternation of generations in plants is INCORRECT?

Accepted Answer

The dominant plant structure in a fern is the gametophyte.

Question 8

The burning of fossil fuels has essentially reversed the trend set by the great Carboniferous forests. Why?

Accepted Answer

It releases CO$$_2$$ that was removed from the atmosphere by ancient plants, increasing atmospheric CO$$_2.$$

Question 9

Which of the following best describes the difference between pollination and fertilization in seed plants?

Accepted Answer

Pollination is the transfer of pollen to the stigma; fertilization is the fusion of sperm and egg.

Question 10

You remove the stamen from a flowering plant. What have you created?

Accepted Answer

A plant that cannot produce pollen

Question 11

Which adaptation of angiosperms helps disperse seeds?

Accepted Answer

Fruit

Question 12

All members of the kingdom Fungi are ______ that acquire organic molecules through ______.

Accepted Answer

Heterotrophs; absorption

Question 13

Which fungal structure is correctly matched with its description?

Accepted Answer

Mycelium: a large mass of hyphae

Question 14

What crucial role do fungi play in terrestrial environments apart from mycorrhizae?

Accepted Answer

Decomposition of organic matter

Question 15

Lichens are a symbiotic association of ______ and ______.

Accepted Answer

Fungi; algae or cyanobacteria

Question 16

A plant has a mutation that prevents invasion by glomeromycete hyphae. Which nutrient is it most likely to be deficient in?

Accepted Answer

Phosphorus

Question 17

Which piece of evidence suggests an ancient relationship between fungi and plants?

Accepted Answer

Fossils showing early land plants with fungal associations

Question 18

Which segment of the general plant life cycle is an adult animal (such as a human) most like?

Accepted Answer

Sporophyte, because it is diploid and multicellular

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a valuable good or service provided by fungi?

Accepted Answer

Nitrogen fixation in soil

Question 20

Which of the following is a lesson from the loss of English elm trees due to genetic uniformity?

Accepted Answer

Genetic diversity is crucial for resistance to disease

Guided Study: Plant and Fungal Evolution, Adaptations, and Life Cycles

Study Guide - Practice Questions

Study Guide - Flashcards