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

Cytotaxonomy and chemotaxonomy are modern aids that use, respectively:

Accepted Answer

Cytological information (e.g. chromosome number/behaviour) and chemical constituents. Cytotaxonomy uses chromosome data; chemotaxonomy uses chemical constituents to resolve confusions.

Question 14

Bentham and Hooker's classification, though natural, is criticised because it placed gymnosperms:

Accepted Answer

Between dicots and monocots (an unnatural position). In Bentham & Hooker's scheme gymnosperms were placed between dicotyledons and monocotyledons, now considered incorrect.

Question 15

Which pairing of alga and its stored food/pigment is CORRECT?

Accepted Answer

Fucus (Phaeophyceae) — laminarin, fucoxanthin. Fucus is a brown alga storing laminarin with fucoxanthin; the other pairs are mismatched.

Question 16

Red algae can grow at greater ocean depths than green or brown algae because phycoerythrin:

Accepted Answer

Efficiently absorbs the blue light that penetrates deep water. Phycoerythrin absorbs the blue-green wavelengths that reach depth, letting red algae photosynthesise deeper.

Question 17

The sporophyte of a moss (e.g. Funaria) consists of:

Accepted Answer

Foot, seta and capsule. The moss sporophyte is differentiated into foot, seta and capsule; spores form within the capsule.

Question 18

Which statement about the ecological/economic role of bryophytes is CORRECT?

Accepted Answer

Sphagnum (peat moss) provides fuel and is used as packing material; mosses reduce soil erosion. Sphagnum yields peat (fuel) and has water-holding value; mosses form dense mats checking soil erosion.

Question 19

The four classes of pteridophytes — Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Sphenopsida, Pteropsida — are represented respectively by:

Accepted Answer

Psilotum, Selaginella/Lycopodium, Equisetum, Dryopteris/Pteris. These are the standard NCERT type genera of the four pteridophyte classes.

Question 20

The significance of heterospory in pteridophytes lies in that the megaspore:

Accepted Answer

Retains and germinates within it, foreshadowing the seed habit of higher plants. In heterosporous forms the female gametophyte is retained on the parent — a precursor to the seed habit of gymnosperms/angiosperms.

Plant Kingdom — NEET Biology MCQs with Solutions

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