This document contains 9 multiple choice questions about flowering plants. Each question has 4 possible answers, and an explanation is provided for why each answer choice is correct or incorrect. The questions cover topics like the location of spongy mesophyll in leaves, how sugars are transported in plants, how water moves up trees, and the structures involved in plant reproduction. After selecting an answer, the reader is encouraged to review all the options and explanations to reinforce their understanding.

1. INTERACTIVE
MULTIPLE-CHOICE
QUESTIONS
Flowering Plants
The answers are provided.
Explanations of why the alternatives
are unsatisfactory are also offered

2. These multiple choice questions are similar to the ones set
by the GCSE and IGCSE Examination Boards except that,
in some cases, there may be more than one acceptable
answer.
For this reason, even if you select a correct answer at your
first attempt, it is worth looking at all the alternatives
(a) to see if there is a better answer and
(b) to see why some of the alternatives are
unacceptable
Question 1

3. Question 1
In a flowering plant, the spongy mesophyll is to be found in …
(a) the roots
(b) the stem
(c) the leaf
(d) the fruit
Question 2

4. No

5. No

6. palisade
mesophyll
spongy
mesophyll
Vertical section through leaf
1mm
Yes

7. No

8. Question 2
In a flowering plant, sugars are transported …
(a) upwards in the xylem
(a) upwards in the phloem
(c) upwards or downwards in the phloem
(d) upwards or downwards in the xylem
Question 3

9. No
Water and mineral ions are transported in the xylem
but not sugars

10. Yes and No
Sugars are transported in the phloem but not exclusively
in an upward direction

11. Yes
Sugars are transported in the phloem. The direction may
be upwards, e.g. from the leaves to the growing point or
the fruits, or downwards, e.g. from the leaves to the
roots or storage organs.

12. No
Water and mineral ions are transported in the xylem
but not sugars

13. Question 3
The root of a flowering plant absorbs water and mineral
ions mainly through …
(d) the xylem
(c) the phloem
(b) the root hairs
(a) the epidermis
Question 4

14. The epidermis is largely impermeable except in the
region where root hairs develop
No

15. Transverse section
through a root
root hair
epidermis
phloem
xylem
0.05
mm
Root hair cell
root hair
Yes
The root hairs are
extensions from some of
the epidermal cells.
They have very thin cell
walls and absorb water
and mineral ions.

16. No
The phloem conducts sugars and amino acids to the
root but is not involved in the uptake of water

17. No
The xylem carries water from the root to the rest of
the plant but it is not the structure involved in the
entry of water

18. Question 4
The force responsible for water travelling up a tree is
generated mainly by …
(d) osmosis
(c) active transport
(b) root pressure
(a) evaporation from the leaves
Question 5

19. Yes
Evaporation of water from the
leaves creates a tension which
draws water up the trunk
evaporation

20. No
Root pressure can force water some distance up the
trunk but is insufficient to take it all the way

21. No
Active transport enables the roots to take up dissolved
substances against a diffusion gradient. It is not
responsible for the flow of water up the trunk

22. No
Osmosis generates root pressure but this is
insufficient to force water all the way up the trunk

23. Question 5
Which of the following are the reproductive organs
of a flowering plant?
(d) Stamens and ovary
(a) Petals and sepals
(b) Style and stigma
(c) Pollen nucleus and egg cell
Question 6

24. No
The sepals protect the flower when it is in bud. The colour
and scent of the petals (in insect-pollinated plants) attract
insects which pollinate the flower

25. No
The style and stigma are attached to the ovary and play a
part in the transfer of the pollen nucleus to the egg cell in
the ovule

26. The pollen nucleus and the egg cell are the gametes. The
pollen nucleus is the male gamete and the egg cell is the
female gamete
No

27. Yes petal
sepal
stamen
ovary
style and
stigma
Stamens are the male
organs and the ovary
is the female organ
Flower structure of Stitchwort

28. Question 6
The seeds in this fruit will be
dispersed by …
(d) animals
(c) wind
(b) water
(a) an explosive method
Question 7

29. Yes
The pod (fruit) wall dries out,
splits and curls back suddenly,
flicking out the seeds.
Examples are gorse and lupin

30. No
If the seeds landed in a stream they might be
dispersed by the current, provided they did not sink,
but they are not adapted for water dispersal

31. No
The seeds are smooth with no feathery or fluffy
structures which would be expected for wind dispersal.
Also they are too heavy

32. No
Seeds dispersed by mammals have tiny hooks which
catch in the animal’s fur. Sometimes the hooks are on
the fruit, and the seeds fall out as the animal moves
about.
Seeds dispersed by birds are usually contained in an
edible fruit.

33. Question 7
Which of the following statements is the most accurate?
In order to germinate most seeds need…
(c) water, oxygen and a suitable temperature
(b) water, oxygen, nitrates, and a suitable
temperature
(a) water, carbon dioxide, sunlight and a suitable
temperature
(d) water, oxygen and light
Question 8

34. No
Carbon dioxide and sunlight are not needed for
germination but they will be needed when photosynthesis
begins in the seedling.

35. No
Nitrates are not needed for germination, but they will
be when the seedling grows and starts to make amino
acids and proteins

36. Yes
Most seeds need only these three conditions although some
seeds need to undergo a period of low temperature before
they will germinate.

37. It depends
Most seeds do not need light to germinate but a few do.
e.g. some species of lettuce.These seeds need a light
stimulus only in order to get started. Once germination
has begun, light is not needed

38. Question 8
The drawing shows a bean
seed germinating. Which of
the structures is the
hypocotyl
A
B
C
D
D
C
B
A
Question 9

39. No
This is the cotyledon being withdrawn from the testa

40. Yes
The hypocotyl is the part of the stem below the
cotyledons

41. No
This is the root which has developed from the radicle

42. No
This is a lateral root

43. Question 9
A group of plants derived by vegetative reproduction from a
single parent is called…
(b) a colony
(c) a clone
(d) a community
(a) a population

44. No
A population is made up of all the members of the
same species in a habitat. It does not matter whether
they are derived sexually or asexually.

45. No
The plants may well form a colony but this could be
produced from seed as well as vegetatively

46. Yes
Any population of organisms derived asexually from a
single parent is called a clone. The organisms will be
genetically identical.

47. No
A community consists of all the living organisms
occupying the same habitat

48. End of questions
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