145 practice questions covering Tissues in Action, organised into 2 topics.
145 questions include a written explanation.
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Which statement correctly contrasts the way a plant grows with the way a young mammal grows?
ANeither a plant nor a mammal makes any new cells once it has been formed
BA plant adds new cells all over its body, while a mammal grows only at the tips of its limbs
CA plant adds new cells mainly at a few special growing regions, while a mammal adds cells all over its body
DBoth a plant and a mammal add new cells only at the tips of their bodies
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C - A plant adds new cells mainly at a few special growing regions, while a mammal adds cells all over its body
Plant growth is limited to regions of dividing cells, such as the tips of roots and shoots, while a growing mammal makes new cells throughout its body. Reversing this would give the plant uniform growth, which is not what happens. A mammal does not grow only at the tips of its limbs. Both plants and animals keep making new cells, for growth and for repair.
Q2
medium
In a carrot plant, sugar made in the green leaves above the ground ends up stored in the thick orange root below it. Which tissue must have carried that sugar down to the root?
AXylem
BCollenchyma
CPhloem
DEpidermis
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C - Phloem
Phloem is the only tissue that moves food from where it is made to where it is stored or used, including downwards into a storage root. Xylem carries water and minerals up from the root and cannot move sugar down into it. Collenchyma gives flexible support. The epidermis simply covers and protects the outer surface.
Q3
medium
The stalk of a leaf can be bent into a loop and springs back straight without snapping. Which tissue, lying in strands just below the epidermis of the stalk, gives it this property?
AParenchyma
BCollenchyma
CSclerenchyma
DPhloem
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B - Collenchyma
Strands of collenchyma under the epidermis combine strength with flexibility, so the stalk bends and recovers. Sclerenchyma is rigid and would make the stalk snap rather than spring back. Parenchyma is too thin-walled to give the stalk any springiness. Phloem is a food-carrying tissue and is not there to resist bending.
Q4
medium
Food is pushed along the food pipe by waves of contraction passing down its wall, and a person cannot start or stop these waves however hard she tries. Which muscle produces them?
ASmooth muscle
BSkeletal muscle
CCiliated epithelium
DCardiac muscle
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle in the wall of the food pipe contracts in waves without any conscious command, which is exactly what the description says. Skeletal muscle would be under her control, so she could stop the waves. Cardiac muscle is present only in the heart. Ciliated epithelium sweeps mucus along but cannot contract to squeeze a tube.
Q5
hard
A lawn cut down to $3\ \text{cm}$ is green and full again within a week, but a rose bush whose shoots are cut back takes far longer to regain its height. Which is the best reason for the difference?
AThe rose has no meristem anywhere in its body, while the grass has one
BGrass grows upward from its roots, while a rose grows only from its leaves
CThe rose loses the apical meristem at its shoot tips when it is cut, while the grass keeps its dividing region below the cut
DThe rose grows only in girth and never in length, so it cannot regain height
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C - The rose loses the apical meristem at its shoot tips when it is cut, while the grass keeps its dividing region below the cut
Cutting a rose shoot takes away the growing tip that adds length, so the plant has to start fresh shoots from buds lower down, which is slow. Grass keeps its dividing cells near the base, below the blade of the mower, so it starts lengthening again at once. A rose certainly has meristems, including the tips that were cut. Grass does not lengthen from its roots, and a rose does lengthen at its shoot tips.
Q6
hard
How does the movement allowed at a pivot joint differ from the movement allowed at a hinge joint?
ABoth allow rotation, and a pivot joint is simply the stronger of the two
BA pivot joint lets one bone rotate around another, while a hinge joint lets a bone swing back and forth in one plane
CA pivot joint allows movement in every direction, while a hinge joint allows no movement at all
DA pivot joint lets a bone swing back and forth in one plane, while a hinge joint lets one bone rotate around another
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B - A pivot joint lets one bone rotate around another, while a hinge joint lets a bone swing back and forth in one plane
Rotation about another bone is the mark of a pivot joint, as when the head turns, while a hinge such as the knee only swings in one plane. Reversing the two descriptions swaps the neck movement for the knee movement. Movement in every direction belongs to a ball and socket joint, and a hinge certainly does move. A hinge joint does not rotate.
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