REPRODUCTIVE ADVANTAGES OF FLOWERING PLANTS

1. The preeminent form of vegetation on land is the family of plant species that generates
flowers. Flowering plants have become the dominant form of land vegetation because
they possess various features in their anatomical structures that provide them with many
reproductive advantages over non-flowering plants. These advantages include dispersal
mechanisms that allow for more active and widespread fertilization, pollen grains that
allow them to fertilize seeds more quickly than non-flowering plants can, and a
physiological structure that prevents self-fertilization and allows flowering plants to
achieve more genetic diversity.

2. Flowers and fruits are the most distinctive features of flowering plants, and these features
act as effective dispersal mechanisms for successfully spreading their pollen and seeds
over a great distance. Both flowers and fruits act as dispersal mechanisms by attracting
animals to their bright colors, enticing scents, and the sweet tastes of their nectar and fruit
pulp. When animals like bees or birds brush up against flowers to get their nectar, pollen
rubs off on them; when other animals like bears or raccoons consume fruit, they ingest
the seeds. These animals then proceed to scatter the pollen among distant flowering
plants and drop the seeds in their excrement. Through the active transportation of this
reproductive material, flowering plants can cover a wide area, thus increasing their
chances of fertilization and successful seed planting.

3. Another advantageous feature of flowering plants is their ability to fertilize seeds more
quickly than non-flowering plants. Flowering plants accomplish this by having a reduced
number of cells in both their male and female pollen grains. Flowering plants can then
produce sex cells more quickly, and the fewer number of cells means that the pollen
grains will become seeds more quickly, too. The quick production of fertilized seeds also
means that seeds can be dispersed quickly and in greater quantities than in non-flowering
plants. Because of this relatively short time - non-flowering plants can, in contrast, take
up to a year to fertilize the egg cells of their species - flowering plants both set out their
seeds sooner than most other plants and produce fertilized seeds at a quicker rate. The
speed of these functions allows flowering plants to set up annual life cycles and find a
wider variety of habitats in which to establish themselves, claiming most of the fertile
soil and resources before non-flowering plants can.
 4. The structure of a flowering plant is meant to prevent the plant from fertilizing its own
seeds, thus ensuring that the plant will breed exclusively with other flowering plants. For
instance, the *stamen of a flowering plant is designed to keep male and female
reproductive organs separate. Flowering plants also use their flower petals to enclose
their egg cells. Both of these physiological features prevent the male pollen grains from
reaching and fertilizing the female eggs. A flowering plant utilizes these mechanisms to
reserve its sex cells for cross-pollination with other flowering plants. The advantage of
cross-pollination is that it increases genetic diversity by distributing different genetic
traits among flowering plants, producing offspring with various features that can adapt to
almost any environment.

*stamen - the stalk of a flowering plant that contains a pollen sac at the end.

1. The word preeminent in the passage is closest in meaning to {1:MC:~A~=B~C~D}

(A) prestigious

(B) dominant

(C) destructive

(D) malnourished

2. The word nectar in the passage 2 is closest in meaning to {1:MC:~=A~B~C~D}

(A) honey

(B) lemonade

(C) tree

(D) amber

3. According to paragraph 2, how do animals help flowering plants? {1:MC:~=A~B~C~D}

(A) They scatter the pollen and seeds of flowering plants,

(B) Their excrement fertilizes soil around flowering plants.

(C) They eat and destroy the seeds of non-flowering plants.

(D) Their excrement keeps away insects that feed on seeds.

4. Based on the information in paragraph 4, what can be inferred about self fertilization in
flowering plants? {1:MC:~A~B~=C~D}

(A) It can be highly beneficial to the evolution of flowering plants.

(B) It is the only reliable way that flowering plants can reproduce.

(C) It does not provide as much genetic diversity as cross-pollination.

(D) It is not performed as quickly as cross-pollination is performed.

5. According to the passage, all of the following are features that give flowering plants a
reproductive advantage EXCEPT {1:MC:~A~B~=C~D}

(A) Petals that enclose the egg cells

(B) Flowers that can attract animals

(C) Stamens that separate sex organs

(D) Pollen grains that have many cells