[mcq] Banana plants and seedless oranges do not produce viable seeds. What does this imply about how new plan…

Question

[mcq] Banana plants and seedless oranges do not produce viable seeds. What does this imply about how new plants of these varieties must be obtained, and which of the following best explains why?
(A) They reproduce by spore formation since seeds are absent
(B) They must be propagated vegetatively because no seeds are available for sexual reproduction
(C) They can only reproduce through pollination by a different species
(D) They undergo regeneration from any injured body part automatically

Accepted Answer

## Model Answer **(B)** They must be propagated vegetatively because no seeds are available for sexual reproduction. Banana and seedless oranges **have lost the capacity to produce seeds**, so new plants must be obtained through vegetative propagation. Source: Chapter 7, Section 7.2.5 Vegetative Propagation --- ## Explanation The passage explicitly states: *"Such methods also make possible the propagation of plants such as banana, orange, rose and jasmine that **have lost the capacity to produce seeds**."* So the correct MCQ option is **B**, and the best explanation from the question's choices is **(B)** — vegetative propagation is used because sexual reproduction via seeds is not possible. Examiners expect you to link "no viable seeds" directly to the textbook phrase "lost the capacity to produce seeds" and identify vegetative propagation as the necessary alternative.

Science (086) — AI-generated practice question