The wild sunflower plant has been cultivated by humans over several generations - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 20 - 2010 - Paper 1
Question 20
The wild sunflower plant has been cultivated by humans over several generations. During that time, selection for or against particular sunflower traits has been carr... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The wild sunflower plant has been cultivated by humans over several generations - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 20 - 2010 - Paper 1
Step 1
A. leaf area.
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Answer
The leaf area of cultivated sunflowers is larger (300–315 cm²) than that of wild sunflowers (180–270 cm²), indicating that larger leaf area was likely favored.
Step 2
B. plant height.
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Answer
The plant height in cultivated sunflowers is shorter (120–136 cm) compared to wild sunflowers (153–170 cm). This suggests selection against larger plants.
Step 3
C. fruit weight.
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Cultivated sunflowers produce heavier fruits (55–65 mg) compared to wild sunflowers (9–10 mg). This indicates that larger fruit weight was not selected against.
Step 4
D. flower diameter.
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Answer
The flower diameter in cultivated sunflowers is larger (9–11 cm) than in wild sunflowers (3–5 cm), suggesting that larger flower diameter was favored in cultivation.
