Question

Read the following statements (A-E) and answer the question which follows them.
A. In liverworts, mosses, and ferns gametophytes are free-living
B. Gymnosperms and some ferns are heterosporous.
C. Sexual reproduction in Fucus, Volvox, and Albugo is oogamous.
D. The sporophyte in liverworts is more elaborate than that is mosses.
E. Both Pinus and Marchantia are dioecious.
How many of the above statements are correct?
i) One
ii) Two
iii) Three
iv) Four

Answer 1

Plants are eukaryotic organisms that are autotrophic in nature as they contain chlorophyll. In some cases, the green pigment is replaced by other pigments. The plants are classified into five important categories such as thallophyte, bryophyte, pteridophyte, gymnosperms and angiosperms. Each one of the classes near distinct characteristics.

Complete answer:
Bryophytes are denoted by mosses, liverworts and ferns. Mosses, liverworts, and ferns are small, green plants that do not have flowers or seeds found in shady and moist areas. Mosses, liverworts, and ferns belong to bryophytes. In this type of plant, vascular tissues are not found. True stems, roots, or leaves are also absent. In the life cycle of bryophytes, gametophytes are grown up from the sporophyte. The gametophyte is the dominant and free-living in all bryophytes.
Gymnosperms are a group of woody, vascular plants with seeds but not produce flowers i.e. it is a non-flowering plant. The seed of this type of plant is not formed in fruit i.e. seed is naked. The fern is a green leafy plant but the flower is not produced also here. The term heterosporous refers to the plants which produce two different types of spores to differentiate between male and female. These spores can be different in shape and size. Like all non-flowering plants gymnosperms and fern are also heterosporous.
Fucus is a type of seaweed genus of brown algae while the Volvox is the genus of green algae which is spherical and multicellular. Albugo is an obligate parasite and the only genus of the family Albuginaceae. Oogamous represents a type of sexual reproduction where male gametes are small in comparison to female gametes as the female gamete is large. The male gametes are motile and female gametes are nonmotile. This type of reproduction is shown by Fucus, Volvox, and Albugo.
In the given statement D, it is wrong because the sporophyte found in mosses is more elaborate than the sporophyte found in liverworts. Sporophytes of mosses are more elaborate in nature and consist of a spore bearing capsule atop a stalk. The liverwort has a gametophyte dominated life cycle and the sporophyte is not elaborate but depends on the gametophyte.
Pinus is a large, perennial, evergreen plant whose branches grow spirally and the plant gets a conical or pyramidal structure. Marchantia is a genus in the family Marchantiaceae, a group of liverworts. In dioecious conditions, the plant body bears a single spore either male or female. Though the Marchantia is dioecious, Pinus is not. Pinus shows the monoecious condition i.e. both male and female pores contain in the same plant.

Therefore, the correct option is option iii).

Note: The liverworts, mosses, and ferns bear the gametophytes which are dominant and free-living and the ferns are also heterosporous in nature i.e. both male and female pores are present. The gymnosperms are also heterosporous as it is a non-flowering plant and seeds are exposed without any covering. Fucus, Volvox, and Albugo shows oogamous type reproduction.