Question 1

Artificial systems of classification were based mainly on:

Accepted Answer

One or a few vegetative/floral characters (e.g. Linnaeus used stamens). Artificial systems used one or a few easily observed characters and gave equal weight to vegetative and sexual features.

Question 2

Phylogenetic classification systems are based on:

Accepted Answer

Evolutionary relationships among organisms. Phylogenetic systems assume organisms of the same taxon share a common ancestor.

Question 3

The reserve food material in Chlorophyceae (green algae) is:

Accepted Answer

Starch. Green algae store starch; their major pigments are chlorophyll a and b.

Question 4

The red colour of Rhodophyceae is due to the pigment:

Accepted Answer

r-phycoerythrin. Red algae owe their colour to the predominance of the red pigment r-phycoerythrin.

Question 5

Bryophytes are often called the "______ of the plant kingdom":

Accepted Answer

Amphibians. Bryophytes live on land but need water for sexual reproduction — hence "amphibians of the plant kingdom".

Question 6

In bryophytes, the dominant, photosynthetic, independent phase is the:

Accepted Answer

Gametophyte (haploid). The main plant body of a bryophyte is the haploid gametophyte; the sporophyte is dependent on it.

Question 7

Pteridophytes are the first plants to possess:

Accepted Answer

True vascular tissues (xylem and phloem). Pteridophytes (ferns and allies) are the first terrestrial plants with well-differentiated vascular tissue.

Question 8

In the life cycle of a fern, the dominant phase is the:

Accepted Answer

Sporophyte. Unlike bryophytes, in pteridophytes the diploid sporophyte is the main, dominant plant.

Question 9

Gymnosperms are plants in which the ovules/seeds are:

Accepted Answer

Naked (not enclosed in an ovary). In gymnosperms the ovules are not enclosed by an ovary wall and remain exposed (naked) before and after fertilisation.

Question 10

Which of the following is a gymnosperm?

Accepted Answer

Cycas / Pinus. Cycas, Pinus, Cedrus, Ginkgo are gymnosperms; the others are pteridophytes/bryophytes.

Question 11

Angiosperms are distinguished by having their seeds enclosed within a:

Accepted Answer

Fruit (developed from the ovary). In angiosperms (flowering plants) ovules are enclosed in an ovary that ripens into a fruit.

Question 12

The two classes of angiosperms are:

Accepted Answer

Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons. Angiosperms are divided into dicots (two cotyledons) and monocots (one cotyledon).

Question 13

Which classification is best described as artificial because it grouped plants mainly by the number and arrangement of stamens?

Accepted Answer

The sexual system of Linnaeus. Linnaeus's sexual system is the classic artificial classification because it relied largely on a single character — the stamens — placing unrelated plants together.

Question 14

The largest classification of seed plants based on a natural system, published in Genera Plantarum, was proposed by:

Accepted Answer

Bentham and Hooker. Bentham and Hooker gave the most comprehensive natural system in Genera Plantarum; it is still followed in many herbaria.

Question 15

Two morphologically similar plants that differ in their chromosome number are most reliably distinguished by:

Accepted Answer

Cytotaxonomy. Cytotaxonomy uses cytological information such as chromosome number, structure and behaviour, so it separates species that look alike but differ in chromosome number.

Question 16

Assertion (A): Phylogenetic systems of classification developed only after the mid-nineteenth century. Reason (R): They aim to reflect the evolutionary relationships among plants.

Accepted Answer

Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. Phylogenetic classifications arose after Darwin's theory of evolution precisely because their goal is to depict evolutionary (phylogenetic) relationships, so R correctly explains A.

Question 17

The flagella of the motile cells of brown algae (Phaeophyceae) are typically:

Accepted Answer

Two, unequal in length and laterally attached. Phaeophyceae bear two unequal flagella attached laterally; equal apical flagella (2–8) are typical of green algae, while red algae lack flagella altogether.

Question 18

Which of the following is a brown alga (Phaeophyceae)?

Accepted Answer

Sargassum. Sargassum is a brown alga; Spirogyra and Chara are green algae and Polysiphonia is a red alga.

Question 19

The stonewort Chara is placed in which class of algae?

Accepted Answer

Chlorophyceae (green algae). Chara, a stonewort, is a green alga belonging to Chlorophyceae, with chlorophyll a and b and starch as reserve food.

Question 20

The cell wall of red algae (Rhodophyceae) is composed of:

Accepted Answer

Cellulose, pectin and polysulphate esters. Red algal walls contain cellulose, pectin and polysulphate esters; algin is characteristic of brown algal walls, while chitin is not found in algae.

Plant Kingdom — NEET Biology MCQs with Solutions

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