Question
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Physical Characteristics Quick Check
2 of 42 of 4 Items
Question
You receive a sample slide of an organism. While observing it under a microscope, you notice that the organism is single-celled and green in color. There are multiple individual organisms on the slide. Based on this initial information, you guess that it is either a bacterium or a protist. Which trait is least likely to help you identify the correct group of this organism? (1 point)
Responses
the presence of different cell shapes
the presence of different cell shapes
the absence of cell structure membranes
the absence of cell structure membranes
the absence of a nucleus
the absence of a nucleus
the presence of cell structures in the cell
the presence of cell structures in the cell
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Physical Characteristics Quick Check
2 of 42 of 4 Items
Question
You receive a sample slide of an organism. While observing it under a microscope, you notice that the organism is single-celled and green in color. There are multiple individual organisms on the slide. Based on this initial information, you guess that it is either a bacterium or a protist. Which trait is least likely to help you identify the correct group of this organism? (1 point)
Responses
the presence of different cell shapes
the presence of different cell shapes
the absence of cell structure membranes
the absence of cell structure membranes
the absence of a nucleus
the absence of a nucleus
the presence of cell structures in the cell
the presence of cell structures in the cell
Skip to navigation
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To determine which trait is least likely to help identify whether the organism is a bacterium or a protist, we can analyze each option:
1. **The presence of different cell shapes**: This trait would be helpful because bacteria can have various shapes (cocci, bacilli, spirilla), while protists can also exhibit diverse forms.
2. **The absence of cell structure membranes**: This is a characteristic of bacteria (prokaryotes), as they lack membrane-bound organelles. Protists (eukaryotes) have membrane-bound organelles. This trait can help differentiate between the two.
3. **The absence of a nucleus**: This is another key trait; bacteria do not have a true nucleus (they are prokaryotic), while protists have a defined nucleus (eukaryotic). This is a critical identifier.
4. **The presence of cell structures in the cell**: While this can provide some information, protists have a wide variety of structures (such as chloroplasts in green algae) which may or may not exist in bacteria. Thus, the presence of cell structures could be less definitive in distinguishing between the two groups, especially since both types can have complex cellular structures.
Given this analysis, the trait that is **least likely** to help you identify the correct group of this organism is **the presence of cell structures in the cell**.
1. **The presence of different cell shapes**: This trait would be helpful because bacteria can have various shapes (cocci, bacilli, spirilla), while protists can also exhibit diverse forms.
2. **The absence of cell structure membranes**: This is a characteristic of bacteria (prokaryotes), as they lack membrane-bound organelles. Protists (eukaryotes) have membrane-bound organelles. This trait can help differentiate between the two.
3. **The absence of a nucleus**: This is another key trait; bacteria do not have a true nucleus (they are prokaryotic), while protists have a defined nucleus (eukaryotic). This is a critical identifier.
4. **The presence of cell structures in the cell**: While this can provide some information, protists have a wide variety of structures (such as chloroplasts in green algae) which may or may not exist in bacteria. Thus, the presence of cell structures could be less definitive in distinguishing between the two groups, especially since both types can have complex cellular structures.
Given this analysis, the trait that is **least likely** to help you identify the correct group of this organism is **the presence of cell structures in the cell**.