Unit 2 Review Questions

Question 1

What are cell walls made of? Describe how plant cells synthesize cell walls.

Question 2

What are meristems (and meristematic cells), why are they important and where are they located?

Question 3

How do meristematic cells persist?

Question 4

Compare/Contrast the structure, function, and location of parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma cells.

Question 5

What are the three partially derived primary meristems that result from the division of the apical meristems and what tissues they form?

Question 6

Describe the structure and function of ground tissue, dermal tissues, and vascular tissue in plants, including the representation of different cell types in these tissues.

Question 7

Plants grow by adding parts rather than increasing the size of the parts. What are the 4 consequences we discussed in class of this form of growth?

Question 8

Label the cross sections of a leaf, stem, and root, including tissue and cell types. Think structure and function in each organ. Think differences in monocots vs dicots for each.

Question 9

Describe the difference in the roles of cell division and cell enlargement in plant growth, and why both are necessary.

Question 10

How do differences in the orientation of cell division produce differences in plant shape?

Question 11

Define primary and secondary growth. How do you differentiate between them?

Question 12

How does cell wall structure limit the future development of a plant cell?(hint: think about cellulose microfibrils)

Question 13

Explain the differences between periclinal cell divisions and anticlinal cell divisions and the patterns of these two types of cell division that you would expect to observe during primary and secondary growth.

Question 14

Define vascular cambium and explain its function. Where and when does the vascular cambium appear during plant development? How is it able to give rise to two different plant tissues?

Question 15

Define cork cambium and explain its function. Where and when does the cork cambium appear during plant development? What tissues does it give rise to?

Question 16

How specifically do tree rings form?

Question 17

Give 2 examples of what you can learn about a tree by studying its tree ring pattern.

Question 18

What is the periderm and what is its function?

Question 19

Write a balanced overall equation for photosynthesis.

Question 20

What does the positive carbon balance mean? What are the two processes that go into defining carbon balance?

Question 21

What are the inputs and outputs of the light reactions?

Question 22

What are the inputs and outputs of the dark reactions?

Question 23

Do the dark reactions (Calvin cycle) usually happen in the dark? Why or why not?

Question 24

Where within leaves and chloroplasts do the light and dark reactions of photosynthesis occur? Make sure you can define thylakoid, grana, stroma as you answer this question and explain the role of each of these parts of the chloroplast in photosynthesis.

Question 25

How is light absorbed in photosynthesis? Be specific about pigment molecules, and how the photons impact electrons.

Question 26

Why does the specific wavelength of light matter for photosynthesis? And, why is green light not very effective?

Question 27

What is the different between antenna complex pigments and reaction center pigments?

Question 28

How does photosystem 1 differ from photosystem 2?

Question 29

What is cyclic photophosphorylation? How is it different from non-cyclic photophosphorylation? Why is it important to have both functioning simultaneously?

Question 30

What processes regulate the gradient of H+ between the stroma and the thylakoid lumen, and why is this important?

Question 31

How is NADPH produced in light reactions?

Question 32

What are the three phases of the dark reactions, and what happens in each? Which phases require ATP and NADPH, and in what ratio?

Question 33

Where does the energy come from to drive the Calvin-Benson cycle?

Question 34

How many CO2 molecules need to be fixed to produce 1 glucose molecule?

Question 35

What is photorespiration and why is it inefficient for plants (think in terms of both carbon and energy)? Under what environmental conditions does photorespiration increase?

Question 36

In measuring photosynthesis in crop species you find that two species respond differently to a decrease in the concentration of O2 in the gas surrounding the leaf. One species (A) maintains a constant rate of photosynthesis in both high and low O2. The other species (B) increases the rate of photosynthesis when O2 concentration is low. What does this tell you about the photosynthetic pathway for A and B?

Question 37

Why did RUBISCO evolve with both carboxylase and oxygenase activity?

Question 38

What is Krantz anatomy in C4 leaves and why is the structure crucial to explaining photosynthesis in C4 plants?

Question 39

What are 3 benefits of C4 photosynthesis over C3 photosynthesis?

Question 40

Why are C4 plants able to outcompete C3 plants in hot, dry, and high light environment?

Question 41

What are the costs of C4 photosynthesis over C3 photosynthesis?

Question 42

Compare and contrast C4 and CAM photosynthesis in terms of
a.) the first product formed
b.) what enzyme is used to fix CO2 from the atmosphere
c.) when this occurs
d.) where this occurs

Question 43

In what areas of the U.S. and globe would you expect to find more C4 plants and why?

Question 44

Be able to draw a typical light response curve for a C3 plant (how photosynthetic rate changes with light availability) and label:
a.) dark respiration rate
b.) light compensation point
c.) light saturated photosynthetic rate
d.) light saturation point
on the graph and give a definition for each one.

Question 45

How does the curve and specifically where you draw the points a-d change for a C4 plant? Why are these points different?