Morphology of Flowering Plants – The Seed: NEET MCQs with Answers

15 free questions on Morphology of Flowering Plants – The Seed for NEET (UG), starting with previous-year NEET and AIPMT questions. Try each one, then tap Show answer for the answer and a short explanation.

Syllabus covered: The Seed

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Question 1

Previous-year question
Cotyledon of a maize grain is called [NEET 2016]
  1. plumule
  2. coleorhiza
  3. coleoptile
  4. scutellum
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Answer: (D) scutellum
Explanation: The scutellum is the single large shield-shaped cotyledon of the maize embryo, situated on one side of the embryonal axis and pressed against the endosperm.

Question 2

Previous-year question
The wheat grain has an embryo with one large, shield-shaped cotyledon known as [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Coleorrhiza
  2. Scutellum
  3. Coleoptile
  4. Epiblast
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Answer: (B) Scutellum
Explanation: The single shield-shaped cotyledon of a cereal grain is the scutellum. It lies against the endosperm and absorbs digested food and passes it to the growing embryo axis.

Question 3

Previous-year question
Coconut water from a tender coconut is [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Free nuclear endosperm
  2. Innermost layers of the seed coat
  3. Degenerated nucellus
  4. Immature embryo
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Answer: (A) Free nuclear endosperm
Explanation: The endosperm of coconut is at first free nuclear — nuclei divide without wall formation and remain suspended in a liquid. This liquid is the coconut water; later it becomes cellular and forms the white edible kernel.

Question 4

Previous-year question
Which one of the following statements is correct? [AIPMT 2014]
  1. The seed in grasses is not endospermic
  2. Mango is a parthenocarpic fruit
  3. A proteinaceous aleurone layer is present in maize grain
  4. A sterile pistil is called a staminode
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Answer: (C) A proteinaceous aleurone layer is present in maize grain
Explanation: The maize grain has a proteinaceous aleurone layer as the outer covering of the endosperm. Grass seeds ARE endospermic, mango is not parthenocarpic, and a staminode is a sterile STAMEN, not a sterile pistil.

Question 5

Previous-year question
The aleurone layer in the maize grain is specially rich in [AIPMT 2003]
  1. Proteins
  2. Starch
  3. Lipids
  4. Auxins
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Answer: (A) Proteins
Explanation: The aleurone layer is the outermost layer of the endosperm of the maize grain and is specially rich in protein. Besides serving as a store of protein it secretes hydrolytic enzymes during germination that mobilise the starch reserves of the endosperm.

Question 6

Previous-year question
In a cereal grain, the single cotyledon of the embryo is represented by the [AIPMT 2006]
  1. Scutellum
  2. Prophyll
  3. Coleoptile
  4. Coleorhiza
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Answer: (A) Scutellum
Explanation: In a cereal grain such as wheat the single cotyledon is the scutellum, which is specialised for the absorption of nutrients from the endosperm. The coleoptile is a modified ensheathing leaf that protects the young plumule and the coleorhiza is a sheath covering the radicle.

Question 7

Previous-year question
The endosperm is completely consumed by the developing embryo in the seed of [AIPMT 2008]
  1. Pea
  2. Maize
  3. Coconut
  4. Castor
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Answer: (A) Pea
Explanation: In pea the food stored in the endosperm is continuously drawn upon by the growing embryo during seed development and is completely exhausted, the reserve being transferred to the cotyledons. Such seeds are described as non-endospermic or ex-albuminous.
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Question 8

Previous-year question
An example of a seed possessing endosperm, perisperm and caruncle is [AIPMT 2009]
  1. Cotton
  2. Coffee
  3. Lily
  4. Castor
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Answer: (D) Castor
Explanation: The seed of castor (Ricinus communis, family Euphorbiaceae) is an endospermic dicot seed. It retains endosperm as the food storage tissue, possesses a residual perisperm derived from the persistent nucellus, and bears a caruncle, a spongy outgrowth of the outer integument at the micropylar end.

Question 9

Previous-year question
Cotyledons and testa are the edible parts of [AIPMT 2009]
  1. Groundnut and pomegranate
  2. Walnut and tamarind
  3. French bean and coconut
  4. Cashew nut and litchi
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Answer: (A) Groundnut and pomegranate
Explanation: In groundnut the food is stored in the cotyledons, which form the edible portion, whereas in pomegranate the juicy testa of the seed is eaten. In the other pairs the edible parts are the cotyledon of walnut, the mesocarp of tamarind, the endosperm of coconut and the fleshy aril of litchi.

Question 10

Previous-year question
The scutellum observed in a grain of wheat or maize is comparable to which part of the seed in other monocotyledons? [AIPMT 2010]
  1. Cotyledon
  2. Endosperm
  3. Aleurone layer
  4. Plumule
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Answer: (A) Cotyledon
Explanation: The scutellum is the single cotyledon of the grass embryo. It is the tissue lying between the embryo and the endosperm in a wheat or maize seed and is specialised for digesting and absorbing the food reserves of the endosperm.

Question 11

Previous-year question
The seed coat is NOT thin and membranous in [NEET 2013]
  1. Maize
  2. Coconut
  3. Groundnut
  4. Gram
Show answer
Answer: (B) Coconut
Explanation: The seed coat of coconut is thick and hard, since it is closely associated with the stony endocarp of the drupe. In groundnut, gram and maize seeds the seed coat is thin and membranous, and in maize it is even fused with the fruit wall.

Question 12

Previous-year question
The wheat grain has an embryo with one large, shield-shaped cotyledon known as the [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Scutellum
  2. Coleoptile
  3. Epiblast
  4. Coleorhiza
Show answer
Answer: (A) Scutellum
Explanation: The single large shield-shaped cotyledon of the wheat grain is the scutellum. The epiblast, present in certain monocot embryos, is regarded as the vestige of the second cotyledon, while the coleoptile and coleorhiza are protective sheaths of the plumule and radicle respectively.

Question 13

Previous-year question
The cotyledon of a maize grain is called the [NEET 2016]
  1. Coleoptile
  2. Scutellum
  3. Plumule
  4. Coleorhiza
Show answer
Answer: (B) Scutellum
Explanation: The maize grain has a single shield-shaped cotyledon called the scutellum, which is situated towards one lateral side of the embryonal axis. It lies between the embryo and the endosperm and is specialised for the digestion and absorption of food from the endosperm for the developing embryo.

Question 14

Previous-year question
If the root tip cells of a plant contain 42 chromosomes, the aleurone cells of the same plant will contain [2010]
  1. 84
  2. 42
  3. 21
  4. 63
Show answer
Answer: (D) 63
Explanation: Root tip cells are somatic and therefore diploid, so 2n equals 42 and n equals 21. The aleurone layer is part of the endosperm, which arises by triple fusion of one male gamete with the two polar nuclei and is accordingly triploid, giving 3n, that is 63 chromosomes.

Question 15

Previous-year question
The aleurone layer of a maize grain is especially rich in [2003]
  1. starch
  2. auxins
  3. lipids
  4. proteins
Show answer
Answer: (D) proteins
Explanation: The aleurone layer is the outermost layer of the endosperm, and its cells are packed with protein-rich aleurone grains rather than starch. On imbibition it responds to gibberellin from the embryo by synthesising and releasing alpha-amylase, which digests the starchy endosperm within.

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