Textbook - Chapter 6: Plant Adaptations

Question 1

Aerenchyma

Answer 1

Interconnected gas-filled chambers in the roots of aquatic plants

Question 2

Bundle sheath cells

Answer 2

Cells surrounding small vascular bundles in the leaves of vascular plants

Question 3

Boundary Layer

Answer 3

A layer of still air to or at the surface of an object

Question 4

Carbon balance

Answer 4

Balance between uptake of CO2 in photosynthesis and its loss through the process of transpiration

Question 5

CAM pathway (crassulacean acid metabolism)

Answer 5

Photosynthetic pathway that separates the processes of carbon dioxite uptake and fixation when growing under arid conditions; it takes up gaseous carbon dioxide at night, when stomata are open, and converts it into simple sugars during the day, when stomata are closed.

Question 6

C4 Photosynthetic pathway

Answer 6

Photosynthetic pathway involving two distinct types of photosynthetic cells: the mesophyll cells and th bundle sheath cells. CO2 intially reacts with PEP to form 4-carbon compounds in the mesophyll cells. These compounds are then transported into CO2 and undergo the C3 photosynthetic pathway (Calvin cycle)

Question 7

C3 plant

Answer 7

Any plant that produces as its first step in photosynthesis the three-carbon compound phosphoglyceric acid.

Question 8

Halophyte

Answer 8

Terrestrial plant adapted morphologically or physiologically to grow in salt-rich soil.

Question 9

Light saturation point

Answer 9

Amount of light at which plants achieve the maximum rate of photosynthesis

Question 10

Leaf area ratio (LAR)

Answer 10

Total area of leaves per total plant weight

Question 11

Leaf weight ration (LWR)

Answer 11

The total weight of leaves expressed as a proportion of total plant weight

Question 12

Light compensation point

Answer 12

Depth of water or level of light at which photosynthesis and respiration balance each other

Question 13

Micronutrient

Answer 13

Essential nutrient needed in very small quantities by plants and animals

Question 14

Mesophyll

Answer 14

Specialized tissue located between the epidermal layers of a leaf

Question 15

Matric potential

Answer 15

Tendency of water to adhere to surfaces

Question 16

Macronutrients

Answer 16

Essential nutrients plats and animals need in large amounts

Question 17

Net photosynthesis

Answer 17

Difference between the rate of carbon uptake in photosynthesis and carbon loss in respiration

Question 18

Net assimilation rate (NAR)

Answer 18

Assimilation of new plant tissue per unit leaf area per unit time

Question 19

Osmotic potential

Answer 19

The attraction of water across a membrane. The more concentrated a solution, the lower is its osmotic potential

Question 20

Pneumatophore

Answer 20

An erect respiratory root that protrudes above waterlogged soils; typical of bald cypress and mangroves

Question 21

Photosynthesis

Answer 21

Use of light energy by plants to convert carbon dioxide and water into simple sugars

Question 22

Photoinhibition

Answer 22

The slowing or stopping of a plant process by light

Question 23

Pep carboxylase

Answer 23

The enzyme that catalyzes the fixation of CO2 into four-carbon acids, malate and aspartate

Question 24

Rubisco

Answer 24

Enzyme in photosynthesis that catalyzes the initial transformation of CO2 into sugar

Question 25

Relative growth rate

Answer 25

Weight gained during a specified period time

Question 26

Specific leaf area

Answer 26

The area of leaf per gram of leaf weigth (cm2/g)

Question 27

Shade tolerant

Answer 27

Able to grow and reproduce under low light conditions

Question 28

Shade-intolerant

Answer 28

Growing and reproducing best under high light conditions; growing poorly and failing to reproduce under low light conditions

Question 29

Stomata

Answer 29

Pores in the leaf of stem of a plant that allows gaseous exchange between the internal tissues and the atmosphere

Question 30

Target of selection

Answer 30

The phenotypic trait that natural selection acts directly upon

Question 31

Turgor pressure

Answer 31

The state in a plant cell in which the protoplast is exerting pressure on the cell wall due to intake of water by osmosis

Question 32

Transpiration

Answer 32

Loss of water vapor from a plant to the outside atmosphere

Question 33

Water-use efficiency

Answer 33

Ratio of net primary production to transpiration of water by a plant