Question 1

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 that the fruit is adapted to float, making water the most likely method of dispersal.

Question 2

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 areas typically do not require drying or exposure to cold to break dormancy, as these regions have relatively stable, warm climates without extreme cold or dry seasons.

Question 3

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 "wheat germ" 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 of the wheat kernel, which is removed during the processing of white flour.

Question 4

Yucca flowers are pollinated only by yucca moths, which lay their eggs in the flower's 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 by insecticides, the plant-animal interaction ceases and the plant will no longer be pollinated or reproduce, highlighting the vulnerability of this specialized relationship.

Question 5

What are the results of double fertilization?

Accepted Answer

Double fertilization in flowering plants results in the formation of a diploid zygote and a triploid endosperm. The zygote develops into the embryo, while the endosperm provides nourishment.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

The coleoptile is a protective sheath covering the emerging shoot in monocots, which degenerates once the shoot is exposed to air.

Question 7

A fruit is a mature

Accepted Answer

A fruit is a mature ovary that develops after fertilization in flowering plants.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

The yucca moth is specialized to lay its eggs only in yucca flowers, and the yucca plant is dependent on the moth for pollination, making the relationship mutualistic and specific.

Question 9

Cotyledons, or "seed leaves," absorb food molecules stored in the

Accepted Answer

Cotyledons absorb food molecules stored in the endosperm, which provides nourishment to the developing seedling.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

Cotyledons are the first leaves produced by an embryo within the seed, serving as initial food sources for the seedling.

Question 11

In dicots, the shoot tip is protected by

Accepted Answer

In dicots, the shoot tip is protected by the hypocotyl hook, which is a curved structure that helps push through the soil during germination.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

The immature angiosperm pollen grain consists of a tube cell and a generative cell that will divide into two sperm cells. Therefore, there are two cells in the immature angiosperm pollen grain.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

Night-blooming desert flowers are often pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats, which are active at night and can navigate to the flowers using their keen sense of smell and echolocation.

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

Endosperm provides nutrition to the developing embryo within the seed, while cotyledons often provide nutrition to the young seedling after germination.

Question 15

The seed coat develops from the

Accepted Answer

The seed coat develops from the integuments of the ovule, which are the protective layers surrounding the ovule.

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 have water-soluble chemicals in their seed coats that dissolve when there is enough rain, allowing the seeds to germinate and complete their life cycle.

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

The endosperm provides nutrition to the developing embryo, which increases the survival rates of seeds and contributes to the success of angiosperms.

Question 18

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 smell like rotting carrion, as they are often drawn to decaying organic matter.

Question 19

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 followed by warmth and moisture can mimic natural winter conditions, breaking dormancy and encouraging germination.

Question 20

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 are the first leaves that emerge during germination in dicots. They often look different from the true leaves that develop later and are involved in photosynthesis after turning green.

Quiz 45: Plant Reproduction and Development