Jeremiah claims that a single-celled organism called a Euglena is a plant because it is eukaryotic, performs cellular respiration and photosynthesis, needs sunlight, and is unicellular.

Question

Why is Jeremiah wrong to say that a Euglena is a plant?

It performs respiration.
It is unicelluar.
It performs photosynthesis.
It is eukaryotic.

Answer 1

Jeremiah is wrong to classify a Euglena as a plant primarily because of the distinction in classification between plants and Protists. While Euglena does perform photosynthesis and is eukaryotic, these features alone do not qualify it as a plant.

Here are the key points:

1. Unicellularity: Plants are multicellular organisms, while Euglena is unicellular.
2. Classification: Euglena belongs to the kingdom Protista, which is a separate group from Plantae.
3. Photosynthetic Capabilities: Euglena is a mixotroph, meaning it can photosynthesize (like plants) and also absorb organic material for nutrition when light is not available. This dual capability is not typical of true plants.
4. Respiration: While both Euglena and plants perform cellular respiration, this is a characteristic shared across many different life forms, not unique to plants.

In summary, while a Euglena shares some characteristics with plants, its unicellularity and membership in the Protista kingdom distinguish it from true plants. Thus, the primary reason Jeremiah is incorrect is because Euglena is unicellular, which places it outside the classification of plants.