Kingdom Protista Concept Questions

1. What are some important differences between bacteria and protists? (nucleus, cell wall)

2. Why do protists live in aqueous environments? (they often swim and need water to get nutrients)

3. What is the evolutionary significance of the three groups of protists? (believed to be the ancestors of the other higher kingdoms)

4. What characteristics distinguish plant-like protists from animal-like protists? (photosynthesis, sometimes motility)

5. Kingdom Protista contains organisms which do not seem to fit in any other kingdom. Do they actually have any characteristics in common? (eukaryotic, mostly unicellular)

6. Would you expect all students to observe exactly the same shape when observing a live amoeba under the microscope? Explain. (shape changes as pseudopods change)

7. Unlike the higher plants, plant-like protists do not have roots, stems, or leaves. Explain why they do not require these structures? (they absorb nutrients directly from water; use water for support when multicellular, entire organism is photosynthetic)

8. Why are multicellular algae not classified as plants? (no cell wall of cellulose)

9. All protists are eukaryotic. Why, then, is this not considered a trait that defines the group? (plants, animals, and fungi are eukaryotic)

10. You have a sample of pond water in which you want to look for protists. The jar has some mud at the bottom and some plant bits as well. Where would you look to find sarcodines? (bottom or side of jar or on plant) Ciliates? (free-swimming)

11. Explain why plant-like protists are so important in aquatic food chains. (they are producers which use photosynthesis to make food for other organisms in the chain)