Plant Evolution & Phylogeny
This group of green organisms shares a common ancestor with land plants.
What are charophytes?
This structure in a plant later develops into a seed after fertilization.
What is an ovule?
This structure is the mature ovary of a flower.
What is a fruit?
This type of reproduction produces offspring genetically identical to the parent.
What is asexual reproduction?
Maintaining internal stability despite external change is called this.
What is homeostasis?
This structural molecule strengthens plant cell walls for life on land.
What is cellulose?
In flowering plants, this structure surrounds ovules and later becomes fruit.
What is the ovary?
Passing through an animal digestive tract can improve germination through this process.
What is scarification?
Producing offspring from an unfertilized egg is known as this.
What is parthenogenesis?
In a temperature feedback loop, the structure acting as the body’s “thermostat” is this brain region.
What is the hypothalamus?
These nonvascular plants lack transport tissue and therefore remain relatively small.
What are bryophytes?
This event produces both a diploid embryo and a triploid nutritive tissue.
What is double fertilization?
Seeds are considered an evolutionary improvement over spores for which reasons. Name two.
Dormancy, internal food supply, protection, longer-distance dispersal.
Sexual reproduction is favored evolutionarily because it increases this.
What is genetic variation?
The four parts of a negative feedback system.
What are variable, control center, receptor, effector?
Complex conducting system that transports water, nutrients, and sugars throughout the plant.
What is vascular tissue (xylem and phloem)?
During alternation of generations, which stage undergoes meiosis and what does it produce?
The sporophyte produces haploid spores.
In mammals, this reproductive method is most common and protects developing embryos from drying out.
What is internal fertilization?
Larger animals cannot rely solely on diffusion for exchange of substances because...
Low surface-area-to-volume ratio, diffusion becomes inefficient, need organ systems.
The difference between ectotherms and endotherms in terms of heat source and energy cost
Ectotherms rely on environment, lower energy cost, variable temperature.
Endotherms use metabolism, high energy cost, stable temperature.
Three major evolutionary innovations that separate seed plants from earlier plant groups.
What are seeds, pollen, reduced dependence on water for fertilization, embryo protection, food supply?
Trace male gametophyte development from diploid tissue to functional pollen.
Microsporangium (2n) → meiosis → microspore (n) → mitosis → pollen grain (male gametophyte)
Compare identical, fraternal, and semi-identical twins in terms of fertilization events.
Identical: one egg + one sperm, embryo splits
Fraternal: two eggs + two sperm
Semi-identical: two sperm fertilize one egg
Areproductive strategy where sperm and eggs fuse outside the parents' bodies, typically in aquatic or moist environments.
The two major systems involved in coordinating and controlling responses to stimuli in animals.