Question 1

Which of the following statements best explains why protists are no longer classified as a single kingdom?

Accepted Answer

Some protists are more closely related to plants, fungi, or animals than to other protists.

Question 2

Which organelle is evidence of endosymbiosis in eukaryotic evolution and is found in nearly all eukaryotic cells?

Accepted Answer

Mitochondrion

Question 3

A scientist discovers a unicellular organism with two equal-sized nuclei, multiple flagella, and reduced mitochondria called mitosomes. Which group does this organism most likely belong to?

Accepted Answer

Diplomonads

Question 4

Which process describes the origin of plastids in eukaryotes?

Accepted Answer

Primary endosymbiosis of a cyanobacterium by a heterotrophic eukaryote

Question 5

Which of the following is a mixotrophic protist that can switch between autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition depending on environmental conditions?

Accepted Answer

Euglenid

Question 6

A protist with a spiral or crystalline rod inside its flagella is most likely a member of which clade?

Accepted Answer

Euglenozoa

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the alternation of generations in brown algae?

Accepted Answer

Both haploid and diploid stages are multicellular.

Question 8

A marine protist with a two-part, glass-like wall of silicon dioxide that withstands high pressure is most likely a:

Accepted Answer

Diatom

Question 9

Which of the following is a key ecological role of photosynthetic protists in aquatic environments?

Accepted Answer

They are primary producers converting CO2 to organic compounds.

Question 10

Which supergroup includes animals, fungi, and some protists with lobe- or tube-shaped pseudopodia?

Accepted Answer

Unikonta

Question 11

A protist that causes sleeping sickness in humans and evades the immune system by changing its surface proteins belongs to which group?

Accepted Answer

Kinetoplastids

Question 12

Which of the following statements about red algae is correct?

Accepted Answer

Red algae have an accessory pigment called phycoerythrin that masks the green of chlorophyll.

Question 13

Which protist group is characterized by threadlike pseudopodia and includes radiolarians and forams?

Accepted Answer

Rhizarians

Question 14

Which of the following is true about the cell walls of oomycetes compared to fungi?

Accepted Answer

Oomycete cell walls are made of cellulose, while fungal cell walls are made of chitin.

Question 15

Which of the following best describes conjugation in ciliates?

Accepted Answer

It produces genetic variation without reproduction through the exchange of micronuclei.

Question 16

A scientist is studying a protist that forms a large feeding mass called a plasmodium, which contains many diploid nuclei undivided by plasma membranes. This organism is most likely a:

Accepted Answer

Plasmodial slime mold

Question 17

Which of the following is a real-world consequence of declining populations of photosynthetic protists due to increasing sea surface temperature?

Accepted Answer

Disruption of the global carbon cycle

Question 18

Which equation best represents the photosynthetic process carried out by protists?

Accepted Answer

$$6CO_2 + 6H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6$ + 6O_2$$

Question 19

Which of the following is a plausible explanation for why not all Dictyostelium discoideum cells 'cheat' during fruiting body formation?

Accepted Answer

Cheating cells lack a specific surface protein recognized by noncheaters, so noncheaters avoid aggregating with them.

Question 20

Which of the following protist groups is most closely related to plants?

Accepted Answer

Charophytes

Protists: Diversity, Evolution, and Ecological Roles

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