Plant KingdomNEET MCQs with solutions

Not quite — the answer is D.

NCERT states algal cell walls are mainly cellulosic. Chitin is the fungal cell wall component; peptidoglycan is bacterial; suberin is found in cork cells — all strong distractors.

Not quite — the answer is B.

NCERT defines anisogamy as fusion of gametes that are motile but morphologically dissimilar in size. Option C describes oogamy — the top distractor — where the female gamete is specifically non-motile.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Bryophytes are defined as embryophytes — they retain the embryo within the archegonium after fertilization. Algae do not form an embryo at all. Option D is the trap: archegonia are a bryophyte feature, not an algal one — the student may confuse which group has them.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Chlamydomonas is a unicellular, flagellated green alga cited in NCERT. Spirogyra and Ulothrix are filamentous; Ulva is a multicellular sheet-like thallus.

Not quite — the answer is C.

NCERT states pyrenoids are proteinaceous bodies in chloroplasts that are centres of starch synthesis. They are surrounded by starch granules. Option B is the trap — pyrenoids are proteinaceous but not involved in flagella assembly.

Not quite — the answer is B.

In most green algae the dominant free-living plant body is haploid (gametophyte). The zygote is the only diploid stage and undergoes meiosis on germination — this is the haplontic pattern. Option C (haplodiplontic) describes bryophytes and is the main trap.

Not quite — the answer is A.

NCERT states Phaeophyceae possess chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, and fucoxanthin (with other carotenoids). Chlorophyll b is the Chlorophyceae marker; phycoerythrin belongs to Rhodophyceae — both are designed traps.

Not quite — the answer is A.

Laminaria (and Kelp) represents the most complex thallus organisation among Phaeophyceae — differentiated into holdfast, stipe, and frond with internal tissue differentiation. Ectocarpus is the simplest (filamentous). Sargassum does have a holdfast when attached — Option D contains a factual trap.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Option C integrates all NCERT-stated Phaeophyceae features: pigments (chl a, c + fucoxanthin), reserve food (laminarin + mannitol), cell wall (cellulose + algin), flagella (heterokont), and habitat (marine). Options A and B describe Chlorophyceae and Rhodophyceae respectively. Option D mixes Rhodophyceae storage (floridean starch) with Phaeophyceae pigments — an ELITE-level hybrid trap.

Not quite — the answer is D.

NCERT lists Polysiphonia as a marine red alga (Rhodophyceae). All three wrong options are correctly identified as members of other algal classes — cross-division identification traps requiring the student to know both the correct answer and the distractors' classifications.

Not quite — the answer is A.

NCERT mentions Porphyra (along with Laminaria and Sargassum) as algae used as food by coastal populations. Porphyra (nori) is specifically consumed in Asian countries. Iodine extraction and space research are Phaeophyceae/Chlorophyceae uses — cross-class economic traps.

Not quite — the answer is B.

The carposporophyte develops from the zygote (diploid, 2n) and remains attached to and dependent on the female gametophyte — it is not free-living. It produces diploid carpospores by mitosis, which germinate into the free-living tetrasporophyte. Option C is the trap — students confuse carposporophyte with tetrasporophyte.

Not quite — the answer is C.

The archegonium is the flask-shaped female sex organ in bryophytes containing the egg cell. The antheridium is the male sex organ producing antherozoids. Both are multicellular and jacketed with sterile cells — distinguishing bryophytes from algae.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Both bryophytes and pteridophytes have flagellated antherozoids that require water for fertilisation. They diverge in dominance (gametophyte in bryophytes; sporophyte in pteridophytes) and sporophyte independence. Neither group forms seeds.

Not quite — the answer is C.

In mosses, spore germination produces the protonema — a creeping, filamentous, chlorophyllous structure resembling green algae. Buds on the protonema develop into leafy gametophores. Prothallus is the equivalent stage in pteridophytes; sporogonium is the entire sporophyte body.

Not quite — the answer is D.

The prothallus is the pteridophyte gametophyte — typically heart-shaped, green, photosynthetic, and free-living. Despite being inconspicuous, it is fully independent and bears both antheridia and archegonia. This independence of the gametophyte distinguishes pteridophytes from bryophytes where the sporophyte depends on the gametophyte.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Homosporous pteridophytes (e.g., Dryopteris, Adiantum) produce a single type of spore — all morphologically identical. Each spore germinates into a bisexual prothallus bearing both antheridia and archegonia. This contrasts with heterospory where two distinct spore types produce unisexual gametophytes.

Not quite — the answer is B.

Inside the pteridophyte sporangium, diploid spore mother cells (2n) — also called sporocytes — undergo meiosis to produce tetrads of haploid spores (n). The tapetum is the nutritive layer surrounding them. Each haploid spore then germinates to produce the prothallus (gametophyte).

Not quite — the answer is D.

Gymnosperms are predominantly anemophilous (wind-pollinated). Their pollen grains are often winged (e.g., Pinus) or light and powdery to facilitate wind dispersal. They lack the colourful flowers, nectar, and scent that attract insect or animal pollinators. Water pollination is characteristic of aquatic angiosperms, not gymnosperms.

Not quite — the answer is B.

Gymnosperms lack a stigma and ovary entirely. Pollen is carried by wind directly to the micropyle of the ovule, where it is captured by the pollination drop. This direct pollen-to-ovule transfer distinguishes gymnosperms from angiosperms, where pollen lands on a stigma and must grow through the style.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Dicots: tap root system, reticulate (net-like) venation, floral parts in 4s or 5s (tetra/pentamerous), two cotyledons, vascular bundles arranged in a ring with cambium (allowing secondary growth). Options A and D describe monocot characters. Option B mixes monocot vascular bundle arrangement with dicot features.

Not quite — the answer is C.

Double fertilisation was discovered by the Russian botanist Sergei Nawaschin in 1898, working with Lilium (lily) and Fritillaria. This discovery was a landmark in plant reproductive biology — it revealed that both male gametes from a pollen grain participate in fertilisation. Darwin studied pollination mechanisms. Mendel studied inheritance. Hofmeister described alternation of generations.

Not quite — the answer is D.

Angiosperms are diplontic — the sporophyte (the flowering plant) is the dominant phase; the gametophyte is reduced to a few cells within the flower (pollen grain = male gametophyte; embryo sac = female gametophyte). Option C is a well-designed trap combining the correct cycle type with wrong dominance.

Not quite — the answer is B.

In a diplontic cycle, the dominant sporophyte produces gametes (via meiosis), which fuse to form a zygote, which develops back into a sporophyte — there is no free-living multicellular gametophyte stage. Option C describes the haplo-diplontic sequence and is the most tempting wrong answer.