Skip to main content
Pearson+ LogoPearson+ Logo
Ch. 30 - Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants
Campbell - Campbell Biology 12th Edition
Urry12th EditionCampbell BiologyISBN: 9785794169850Not the one you use?Change textbook
All textbooksUrry 12th EditionCh. 30 - Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed PlantsProblem 4
Chapter 30, Problem 4

Which of the following is a characteristic that distinguishes gymnosperms and angiosperms from other plants?
a. Alternation of generations
b. Independent gametophytes
c. Vascular tissue
d. Ovules

Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand the key characteristics of gymnosperms and angiosperms. Both are seed-producing plants, which is a major distinguishing feature.
Recognize that alternation of generations is a common feature in all plants, including non-seed plants like mosses and ferns, so it does not distinguish gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Independent gametophytes are found in non-seed plants like mosses and ferns, where the gametophyte is a separate, free-living organism. In seed plants, the gametophyte is dependent on the sporophyte.
Vascular tissue is present in both seed and non-seed plants, including ferns and club mosses, so it is not unique to gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Ovules are a characteristic feature of seed plants, including gymnosperms and angiosperms. They develop into seeds after fertilization, distinguishing these groups from non-seed plants.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Video duration:
1m
Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Alternation of Generations

Alternation of generations is a life cycle found in plants where there is a regular alternation between two distinct forms: the haploid gametophyte and the diploid sporophyte. This cycle is common in all plants, including gymnosperms and angiosperms, but does not distinguish them from other plant groups.
Recommended video:
Guided course
04:09
Laminaria Life Cycle: Alternation of Generations

Vascular Tissue

Vascular tissue consists of xylem and phloem, which are responsible for transporting water, nutrients, and food throughout the plant. While vascular tissue is a characteristic of gymnosperms and angiosperms, it is also present in other plant groups like ferns, making it not unique to these two groups.
Recommended video:
Guided course
06:58
Vascular Tissue

Ovules

Ovules are structures within seed plants where the female gametophytes develop and, after fertilization, become seeds. This characteristic is unique to gymnosperms and angiosperms, distinguishing them from non-seed plants like ferns and mosses, which do not produce seeds.
Recommended video:
Guided course
06:26
Seed Plants - 1
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Where in an angiosperm would you find a megasporangium?

a. In the style of a flower

b. Enclosed in the stigma of a flower

c. Within an ovule contained within an ovary of a flower

d. Packed into pollen sacs within the anthers found on a stamen

Textbook Question

Which of the following is a key feature of seed plants facilitating life on land?

a. Homospory

b. Pollen

c. Reduced sporophytes

d. Spores

Textbook Question

Which of the following are present in angiosperms but not in gymnosperms?


A. seeds

B. pollen

C. ovaries

D. ovules


Textbook Question

Use the letters a–d to label where on the phylogenetic tree each of the following derived characters appears.

a. Flowers

b. Embryos

c. Seeds

d. Vascular tissue

Textbook Question

The history of life has been punctuated by several mass extinctions. For example, the impact of a meteorite may have wiped out most of the dinosaurs and many forms of marine life at the end of the Cretaceous period. Fossils indicate that plants were less severely affected by this mass extinction. What adaptations may have enabled plants to withstand this disaster better than animals?