Biodiversity of Plants is one of 10 topics in the Grade 11 Life Sciences CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Bryophytes (such as mosses) reproduce by releasing:
Spores
Seeds
Fruit
Pollen only
Answer: Spores — Bryophytes lack seeds entirely and instead reproduce by releasing spores, a simpler reproductive structure than a seed.
Easy
2. Which structure do pteridophytes (such as ferns) have that bryophytes lack, allowing them to grow larger?
True vascular tissue (xylem and phloem)
Chlorophyll
A cell wall
The ability to photosynthesise
Answer: True vascular tissue (xylem and phloem) — Pteridophytes possess true vascular tissue, allowing efficient water and nutrient transport and larger growth, unlike bryophytes, which lack vascular tissue entirely.
Medium
3. Why are both bryophytes and pteridophytes restricted to moist habitats for successful reproduction?
Their sperm cells must swim through a film of external water to reach and fertilise the egg cell
They cannot photosynthesise without standing water present
Their spores can only germinate underwater
They have no cell walls and would dry out and die instantly
Answer: Their sperm cells must swim through a film of external water to reach and fertilise the egg cell — Both groups produce free-swimming sperm that require a film of external water to travel to and fertilise the egg cell, making damp conditions essential for successful fertilisation.
