0Study Guide for Plant Test
1. What process makes a plant a plant? The name of the process _Photosynthesis
That process in words: The plant takes in carbon dioxide and water, then using
chlorophyll to jump start the process, it uses the energy from sunlight to produce
glucose for its energy needs, and sends off oxygen as a waste product .
That process stated chemically: _6H2O + 6CO2  C6H12O6 + 6O2
2. (a) Provide a timeline for plant evolution, showing the change, the millions of years ago, and the
adaptation. You can use a diagram or sentences.
Protected Seeds
Gymnosperms
(Pine trees)
Trees
Angiosperms
Flowers
Ferns
319MYA
165 MYA
40MYA
H2O from air
Roots
Photosynthesis
3BYA
Grasses
Estivation
Moss
Algae
Lignin
on land
450MYA
Vascular system
to carry liquids
360MYA
Or, in words, first was green algae, it did photosynthesis, about 3BYA. Then, roots made the first land
plants – the mosses – take hold on the land, and they managed to get H2O from the air, about
450MYA. Ferns then developed a vascular system to take water up from the roots, and sugars
produced by photosynthesis to all parts of the plant, about 360MYA. Then, about 319MYA, protected ---seeds came along with the gymnosperms, aka conifers or pine trees. Angiosperms, or flowering
plants, arrived at about 165 MYA. Lignin arrived shortly after. The last major plant group was the
grasses group, which could survive droughts and low CO2, through a sort of hibernation called
estivation.
(b) Explain the benefit of each adaptation.
Roots hold a plant in place, for its safety. And once vascular systems arrive, they allow the plant to get
water from the ground, important since underground usually stays damp. Lignin lets the plants grow
taller to get more light. Gymnosperms protect the seeds from drought and damage, so they can travel
farther. Flowers, lead to fruit and nuts, and all three – the flower, the fruit, and the nuts, cause
animals to help the flower to reproduce. Estivation (the ability to survive during hot and dry spells)
helps the plant, mostly grasses, survive droughts and hot periods.
3. What is a gymnosperm? A plant that protects its seed with a hard coating, such as a pine tree
does with its pine cones. No flower or fruit is involved.
4. What is an angiosperm? A plant that produces a flower, which then produces a seed, often
inside a fruit or a nut. Increases the chances of reproduction, as animals help in the pollination
or in the spread of the seeds.
5.
6. Be ready for a critical thinking question.