Introduction to Botany Flashcards
CH1
How old is the earth?
4.6 billion years old
How old are Earth’s earliest known fossils?
Found in rocks of Western Australia and are 33.4 billion years old.
What type of organism is the oldest fossil?
Prokaryotic, simple microorganisms resembling bacteria
How are the oldest fossils similar to modern photosynthetic plants?
They are very similar to our cyanobacteria
Which type of organisms are responsible with changing Earth’s atmospheric conditions in ways that ever since has supported almost all life?
Autotrophes produced an ozone layer, changing Earth’s atmospheric conditions.
What is the equation for photosynthesis?
6H2O + 6CO2→ C6 H12O6 + 6O2
What is the name of the enzyme for photosynthesis?
RuBISCO
Is oxygen needed for life?
No, only water. Oxygen came later.
WHich kingdoms are capable of photosynthesis?
- Protista
- plants
- cyanobacteria
Why does your book emphasize the hypothesis that life began in the oceans instead of on land or in fresh water?
Water is required for life, and life began in the oceans where water was easily accessed rather than on land where organisms need vascular systems or ways to move far distances to reach water.
If proto-plants (algae and cyanobacteria) evolved in the oceans, what features were necessary to acquire to be able to live out of the salt water on land?
A way to store or control water used to prevent drying out. The stoma open and close in response to maintain water (and carbon dioxide or oxygen) requirements.
When is it projected that early plants colonized land (rocky coasts, tidal zones)?
How is the environment different on land than water, in ways that would drive early plants to acquire the features you associate with modern plants?
Why are ecosystems and biomes concepts important to understand when studying plants?
Different ecosystems and biomes have different amounts of moisture, thus controlling what plants are able to survive there.
What is the implication of a birch tree being a member of the temperate deciduous forest biome? Could you find birch species in northern Europe, what about Russia or Siberia, or Northern China?
