AP Biology : Plant Biology

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Biology

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Example Questions

Example Question #81 : Plant Biology

Perishable fruit is often picked before it is ripe. This hard, unripe fruit is easier to transport as it is less likely to bruise or spoil while in transit. Once fruit reaches its destination, it can be sprayed with a plant hormone that will promote its rapid ripening. What hormone is most likely used for this function?

Possible Answers:

Cytokinins

Abscisic acid (ABA)

Ethylene

Gibberellins

Correct answer:

Ethylene

Explanation:

Ethylene gas promotes fruit ripening; in a classic example of a positive feedback loop, ripe fruit causes the production of more ethylene gas, which promotes more fruit ripening (this is the origin of the phrase "one bad apple spoils the bunch!")

Cytokinins stimulate cell division and cytokinesis, and they can delay senescence (deterioration due to age, as in the case of cells). Gibberellins promote cell growth, and also promote stem and leaf elongation. Abscisic acid (ABA) promotes seed dormancy, inhibits plant growth, and closes plant stomata during water shortages. 

Example Question #82 : Plant Biology

Which of the following is not true of auxins, a class of plant hormones?

Possible Answers:

Indoleacetic acid (IAA) is a natural auxin

They promote fruit ripening, which triggers the production of more auxins

They enhance apical dominance, which promotes plants' upward growth, as opposed to lateral growth

They are responsible for phototropism—plants' tendency to grow toward light sources

Correct answer:

They promote fruit ripening, which triggers the production of more auxins

Explanation:

Auxins play a number of crucial roles in plant growth, behavior, and development. They were the first major class of plant hormone to be discovered and are present in all parts of a plant in varying concentrations. Some of their more notable functions include causing phototropism, enhancing apical dominance, and softening the cell wall to stimulate cell elongation and growth. Indoleacetic acid (IAA) is a naturally occurring auxin, though some synthetic auxins are used as weed killers.

Ethylene gas is a plant hormone that promotes fruit ripening in a positive feedback loop. Ripe fruit produces more ethylene gas, which promotes more fruit ripening, and so on. It is not a kind of auxin.

Example Question #1 : Understanding Plant Macrostructures

What is the function of lateral meristems?

Possible Answers:

Stimulate root hair growth

Provide nutrients to apical meristems

Provide secondary growth in woody plants

Maintain water homeostasis

Correct answer:

Provide secondary growth in woody plants

Explanation:

In addition to growing in height, woody plants also grow in thickness. This is the function of lateral meristems. Lateral meristems are comprised of the vascular cambrium, and by cork cambrium that form vascular cylinders. The vascular cambrium adds layers of secondary xylem and phloem (wood), whereas the cork cambrium replaces the outer epidermis with a thicker and tougher layer called periderm.

Example Question #3 : Understanding Plant Microstructures

What is the main structural component of a plant cell wall?

Possible Answers:

Chitin

Collagen

Peptidoglycan

Cellulose

Actin and myosin

Correct answer:

Cellulose

Explanation:

Cellulose, a polymer of glucose, is the main component of plant cell walls. 

Collagen is found in the connective tissues of animals. Chitin is found in the cell walls of fungi. Actin and myosin are the proteins responsible for contraction in muscle cells; actin is also a microfilament in the cytoskeleton. Peptidoglycan is found in the cell walls of bacteria.

Example Question #11 : Cellular Structures

What is not one of the functions of the plant cell wall?

Possible Answers:

Allows for the passage of  and 

Offers structural support

Maintains fixed cell shape

Prevents permeability

Correct answer:

Prevents permeability

Explanation:

The plant cell wall is made of cellulose, which makes it rigid. The cell wall offers structural support and protection to the cell and it’s rigid nature maintains the regular shape of the cell. The cell wall is also permeable and allows small molecules, proteins, and nutrients to pass, including water and carbon dioxide.

Example Question #12 : Cellular Structures

What is the role of the vacuole in plant cells?

Possible Answers:

Stores water and waste only

Stores waste only

Stores water only

Maintains turgidity only

Stores water and wastes, and maintains turgidity

Correct answer:

Stores water and wastes, and maintains turgidity

Explanation:

Plant cells contain one very large vacuole that occupies a large percentage of the cell space. The central function of this vacuole is to maintain the turgor pressure of the cell through the continual transport of water and ions in and out of the cell, as needed. Vacuoles store and transport water, waste, and ions too.

Example Question #13 : Cellular Structures

Which of the following structures can be found in a plant cell?

Possible Answers:

Chloroplast only

Endoplasmic reticulum, chloroplast, Golgi apparatus, and cell membrane

Endoplasmic reticulum only

Golgi apparatus only

Correct answer:

Endoplasmic reticulum, chloroplast, Golgi apparatus, and cell membrane

Explanation:

Plant cells contain most of the membrane-bound organelles that animal cells do; they do not have cilia, and only some plant cells contain centrioles. Plant cells have additional organelles that animal cells do not, namely chloroplasts and cell walls, for photosynthesis and support, respectively. Virtually all cells have cell membranes.

Example Question #14 : Cellular Structures

Which of the following best describes the function of stomata?

Possible Answers:

They allow carbon dioxide into the leaf only

They allow oxygen to be released from the leaf only

They allow for the uptake of water on the leaves

They allow carbon dioxide in and oxygen out of the leaves

Correct answer:

They allow carbon dioxide in and oxygen out of the leaves

Explanation:

Stomata are the microscopic pores on the surface of leaves. Their function is to allow carbon dioxide into the plant while also allowing oxygen to leave the plant.

Example Question #15 : Cellular Structures

Plant and animal cells mostly differ in which way?

Possible Answers:

Only plant cells have a flagella

Only plant cells have ribosomes attached to the endoplasmic reticulum

Only plant cells have plasma membranes with cholesterol

Only plant cells have cell walls

Only plant cells have plasma membranes with cholesterol

Correct answer:

Only plant cells have cell walls

Explanation:

The correct answer to this question is Only plant cells have cell walls

Animals notably do not have cell walls. Animal cells, not plant cells, have plasma membranes that contain cholesterol. Both animals and plants have cells with mitochondria and have ribosomes attached to the endoplasmic reticulum. Also only animal cells contain flagella and plant cells do not contain flagella at all.

Example Question #81 : Plant Biology

Where does the Calvin Cycle take place?

Possible Answers:

Mitochondrial lumen

Thylakoid membrane

Cytoplasm

Chloroplast outer membrane

Stroma

Correct answer:

Stroma

Explanation:

The Calvin Cycle (dark reactions) take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts, which is the aqueous space inside the organelle. 

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