Campbell’s Biology, 9e (Reece et al.)
Chapter 29 Plant Diversity I: How Plants Colonized Land
Higher-order thought questions become more frequent in the later concepts of this chapter, and they are
associated with experimental data. A new set of scenario questions pertains to the survival of spike moss
in a most arid part of North America, Big Bend National Park in the United States.
Multiple-Choice Questions
1) The structural integrity of bacteria is to peptidoglycan as the structural integrity of plant spores is to
A) lignin.
B) cellulose.
C) secondary compounds.
D) sporopollenin.
2) All of the following are common to both charophytes and land plants except
A) sporopollenin.
B) lignin.
C) chlorophyll a.
D) cellulose.
E) chlorophyll b.
3) In animal cells and in the meristem cells of land plants, the nuclear envelope disintegrates during
mitosis. This disintegration does not occur in the cells of most protists and fungi. According to our
current knowledge of plant evolution, which group of organisms should feature mitosis most similar to
that of land plants?
A) unicellular green algae
B) cyanobacteria
C) charophytes
D) red algae
E) multicellular green algae
4) On a field trip, a student in a marine biology class collects an organism that has differentiated organs,
cell walls of cellulose, and chloroplasts with chlorophyll a. Based on this description, the organism
could be a brown alga, a red alga, a green alga, a charophyte recently washed into the ocean from a
freshwater or brackish water source, or a land plant washed into the ocean. The presence of which of the
following features would definitively identify this organism as a land plant?
A) alternation of generations
B) sporopollenin
C) rings of cellulose-synthesizing complexes
D) flagellated sperm
E) embryos
5) Some green algae exhibit alternation of generations. All land plants exhibit alternation of generations.
No charophytes exhibit alternation of generations. Keeping in mind the recent evidence from molecular
systematics, the correct interpretation of these observations is that
A) charophytes are not related to either green algae or land plants.
B) plants evolved alternation of generations independently of green algae.
C) alternation of generations cannot be beneficial to charophytes.
D) land plants evolved directly from the green algae that perform alternation of generations.
E) scientists have no evidence to indicate whether or not land plants evolved from any kind of alga.
6) Which taxon is essentially equivalent to the “embryophytes”?
A) Viridiplantae
B) Plantae
C) Pterophyta
D) Bryophyta
E) Charophycea
7) A student encounters a pondweed which, judging from its appearance, seems to be a charophyte. She
brings a sample back to her biology lab. Using only a compound light microscope to study the sample,
which of the following features should help her to determine whether the sample comes from a
charophyte or from some other type of green alga?
1. molecular structure of enzymes inside peroxisomes
2. structure of sperm cells
3. presence of phragmoplasts
4. rings of cellulose-synthesizing complexes
A) 1 and 3
B) 1 and 4
C) 2 and 3
D) 1, 3, and 4
E) 2, 3, and 4
8) Given its composition and location, the phragmoplast should be directly involved in the
A) segregation of daughter chromosomes during anaphase.
B) poleward migration of centrosomes during prophase.
C) synthesis of sporopollenin during G1 and G2 phases.
D) construction of the cell plate during cytokinesis.
E) reinforcement of the nuclear envelope during S phase.
9) Structurally, phragmoplasts should be most similar to
A) the nuclear lamina.
B) the myofilaments of muscle cells.
C) the internal support structures of microvilli.
D) the cytoskeletal elements that produce cytoplasmic streaming and amoeboid motion.
E) spindle fibers.
10) What is true of charophytes?
A) They are the ancestors of green algae.
B) They are examples of seedless vascular plants.
C) They are the closest living algal relatives of land plants.
D) They share some features in common with land plants, namely spores surrounded by sporopollenin
and alternation of generations.
11) The functional role of sporopollenin is primarily to
A) comprise spore surface structures that catch the wind and assist in spore dispersal.
B) reduce dehydration.
C) make spores less dense and able to disperse more readily.
D) repel toxic chemicals.
E) provide nutrients to spores.
12) If the kingdom Plantae is someday expanded to include the charophytes, then the shared derived
characteristics of the kingdom will include
1. rings of cellulose-synthesizing complexes.
2. chlorophylls a and b.
3. alternation of generations.
4. cell walls of cellulose.
5. ability to synthesize sporopollenin.
A) 1 and 5
B) 1, 2, and 3
C) 1, 3, and 5
D) 1, 4, and 5
E) 1, 2, 4, and 5
13) Which of the following were probably factors that permitted early plants to successfully colonize
land?
1. the relative number of potential predators (herbivores)
2. the relative number of competitors
3. the relative availability of symbiotic partners
4. air’s relative lack of support, compared to water’s support
A) 1 and 2
B) 2 and 3
C) 3 and 4
D) 1, 2, and 3
E) 1, 2, and 4
14) Which of the following was not a challenge for survival of the first land plants?
A) sources of water
B) sperm transfer
C) desiccation
D) animal predation
E) absorbing enough light
15) The following are all adaptations to life on land except
A) rings of cellulose-synthesizing complexes.
B) cuticles.
C) tracheids.
D) reduced gametophyte generation.
E) seeds.
16) Mitotic activity by the apical meristem of a root makes which of the following more possible?
A) increase of the aboveground stem.
B) decreased absorption of mineral nutrients.
C) increased absorption of CO2.
D) increased number of chloroplasts in roots.
E) effective lateral growth of the stem.
17) Which event during the evolution of land plants probably made the synthesis of secondary
compounds most beneficial?
A) the greenhouse effect present throughout the Devonian period
B) the reverse-greenhouse effect during the Carboniferous period
C) the association of the roots of land plants with fungi
D) the rise of herbivory
E) the rise of wind pollination
18) Which of the following statements is true of archegonia?
A) They are the sites where male gametes are produced.
B) They may temporarily contain sporophyte embryos.
C) They are the same as sporangia.
D) They are the ancestral versions of animal gonads.
E) They are asexual reproductive structures.
19) Which of the following is a true statement about plant reproduction?
A) Embryophytes are small because they are in an early developmental stage.
B) Both male and female bryophytes produce gametangia.
C) Gametangia protect gametes from excess water.
D) Eggs and sperm of bryophytes swim toward one another.
E) Bryophytes are limited to asexual reproduction.
20) Assuming that they all belong to the same plant, arrange the following structures from largest to
smallest.
1. antheridia
2. gametes
3. gametophytes
4. gametangia
A) 1, 4, 3, 2
B) 3, 1, 2, 4
C) 3, 4, 2, 1
D) 3, 4, 1, 2
E) 4, 3, 1, 2
21) The leaflike appendages of moss gametophytes may be one to two cell layers thick. Consequently,
which of the following is least likely to be found associated with such appendages?
A) cuticle
B) rings of cellulose-synthesizing complexes
C) stomata
D) peroxisomes
E) phenolics
22) Considering that the mature sporophytes of true mosses get their nutrition from the gametophytes on
which they grow, and considering these generations as individual plants, what is true of the relationship
between true moss sporophytes and gametophytes?
A) Sporophytes are endosymbionts of gametophytes.
B) Sporophytes are mutualists of gametophytes.
C) Sporophytes are commensalists of gametophytes.
D) Sporophytes are parasites of gametophytes.
23) As is true of the gametophytes of all land plants, the gametophytes of true mosses lack stomata. Yet,
the feather moss Pleurozium harbors nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. Which of the following is a feature
of moss gametophytes that is most important for the continued survival of these cyanobacteria in the
tissues of the feather moss gametophyte?
A) lack of cuticle
B) lack of vascular tissues
C) lack of true leaves or roots
D) lack of an independent sporophyte
E) lack of multiple cell layers in “leaves” of “buds”
24) Which of the following is true of the life cycle of mosses?
A) The haploid generation grows on the sporophyte generation.
B) Spores are primarily distributed by water currents.
C) Antheridia and archegonia are produced by gametophytes.
D) The sporophyte generation is dominant.
E) The growing embryo gives rise to the gametophyte.
25) Beginning with the germination of a moss spore, what is the sequence of structures that develop
after germination?
1. embryo
2. gametes
3. sporophyte
4. protonema
5. gametophore
A) 4 →1 → 3 → 5 → 2
B) 4 → 3 → 5 → 2 → 1
C) 4 → 5 → 2 → 1 → 3
D) 3 → 4 → 5 → 2 → 1
E) 3 → 1 → 4 → 5 → 2
26) At some time during their existence, bryophytes may feature
A) microphylls.
B) true roots.
C) true leaves.
D) sporangia.
E) umbilical cells.
27) Two small, poorly drained lakes lie close to each other in a northern forest. The basins of both lakes
are composed of the same geologic substratum. One lake is surrounded by a dense Sphagnum mat; the
other is not. Compared to the pond with Sphagnum, the pond lacking the moss mat should have
A) lower numbers of bacteria.
B) reduced rates of decomposition.
C) reduced oxygen content.
D) less-acidic water.
28) If you are looking for structures that transfer water and nutrients from a bryophyte gametophyte to a
bryophyte sporophyte, then on which part of the sporophyte should you focus your attention?
A) spores
B) seta
C) foot
D) sporangium
E) peristome
29) In which of the following taxa does the mature sporophyte depend completely on the gametophyte
for nutrition?
A) Pterophyta
B) Bryophyta
C) horsetail (Equisetum)
D) Pterophyta, Bryophyta, and horsetail (Equisetum)
E) Pterophyta and Bryophyta
30) You are hiking in a forest and happen upon a plant featuring a central stemlike structure from which
sprout many, tiny, leaflike structures. Which of the following would be the most certain means of
distinguishing whether it was a true moss or a club moss?
A) its color
B) its height
C) if seeds are present
D) if conducting tissues are present
E) the appearance of its spore-producing structures
31) Which of the following characteristics helped seedless plants better adapt to life on land?
A) a dominant gametophyte
B) photosystem II
C) a chitinous cuticle
D) stomata on leaves
E) an unbranched sporophyte
32) 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) mosses.
B) charophytes.
C) ferns.
D) gymnosperms.
E) flowering plants.
33) You are hiking in a forest and come upon a mysterious plant, which you determine is either a
lycophyte sporophyte or a pterophyte sporophyte. Which of the following would be most helpful in
determining the correct classification of the plant?
A) whether or not it has true leaves
B) whether it has microphylls or megaphylls
C) whether or not it has seeds
D) its height
E) whether or not it has chlorophyll a
34) Sporophylls can be found in which of the following?
A) mosses
B) liverworts
C) hornworts
D) pterophytes
E) charophytes
35) If a fern gametophyte is a hermaphrodite (that is, has both male and female gametangia on the same
plant), then it
A) belongs to a species that is homosporous.
B) must be diploid.
C) has lost the need for a sporophyte generation.
D) has antheridia and archegonia combined into a single sex organ.
E) is actually not a fern, because fern gametophytes are always either male or female.
36) Assuming that they all belong to the same plant, arrange the following structures from largest to
smallest (or from most inclusive to least inclusive).
1. spores
2. sporophylls
3. sporophytes
4. sporangia
A) 2, 4, 3, 1
B) 2, 3, 4, 1
C) 3, 1, 4, 2
D) 3, 4, 2, 1
E) 3, 2, 4, 1
37) If humans had been present to build log structures during the Carboniferous period (they weren’t),
which plant types would have been suitable sources of logs?
A) whisk ferns and epiphytes
B) horsetails and bryophytes
C) lycophytes and bryophytes
D) ferns, horsetails, and lycophytes
E) charophytes, bryophytes, and gymnosperms
38) Which of the following is true of seedless vascular plants?
A) Extant seedless vascular plants are larger than the extinct varieties.
B) Whole forests were dominated by large, seedless vascular plants during the Carboniferous period.
C) They produce many spores, which are really the same as seeds.
D) The gametophyte is the dominant generation.
E) Sphagnum is an economically and ecologically important example.
39) Which of the following are land plants that use the same means of getting sperm to egg that algae
use?
A) true mosses, hornworts, and liverworts
B) ferns, whisk ferns, and horsetails
C) all land plants
D) Two of the responses above are correct.
40) Arrange the following terms from most inclusive to least inclusive.
1. embryophytes
2. green plants
3. seedless vascular plants
4. ferns
5. tracheophytes
A) 1, 2, 5, 3, 4
B) 2, 1, 5, 3, 4
C) 2, 5, 1, 3, 4
D) 1, 4, 2, 5, 3
E) 2, 1, 5, 4, 3
41) Evidence indicates that plants increase the number of stomata in their leaves as atmospheric CO2
levels decline. Increasing the number of stomata per unit surface area should have the effect of doing
which of the following?
1. increasing dehydration of leaf tissues
2. decreasing dehydration of leaf tissues
3. countering the effect of declining CO2 on photosynthesis
4. reinforcing the effect of declining CO2 on photosynthesis
5. decreasing the O2 content of air next to the leaves lower than it would otherwise be
6. increasing the O2 content of air next to the leaves higher than it would otherwise be
A) 1, 3, and 5
B) 1, 3, and 6
C) 1, 4, and 5
D) 2, 3, and 6
E) 2, 4, and 5
42) Increasing the number of stomata per unit surface area of a leaf when atmospheric CO2 levels
decline is most analogous to a human
A) breathing faster as atmospheric CO2 levels increase.
B) putting more red blood corpuscles (RBCs) into circulation when atmospheric O2 levels decline.
C) removing RBCs from circulation when atmospheric O2 levels increase.
D) breathing more slowly as atmospheric O2 levels increase.
43) Which of the following should have had gene sequences most similar to the charophyte that was the
common ancestor of the land plants?
A) early angiosperms
B) early bryophytes
C) early gymnosperms
D) early lycophytes
E) early pterophytes
44) Of the following list, flagellated (swimming) sperm are generally present in which groups?
1. Lycophyta
2. Bryophyta
3. Angiosperms
4. Chlorophyta
5. Pterophyta
A) 1, 2, and 3
B) 1, 2, 4, and 5
C) 1, 3, 4, and 5
D) 2, 3, and 5
E) 2, 3, 4, and 5