Question

A student examined two different groups of cells and made the following observations.

Trait	Cell 1	Cell 2
Cell wall	Present	Present
Ribosomes	Present	Present
Nucleus	Absent	Present
Ability to photosynthesize	Present	Absent
Cell respiration	Present	Present

Which of the following conclusion can be made from these observations?

• A. Cell I is more complex in its organization than cell II.
• B. Cell I is a prokaryote.
• C. The ancestors of cell II appeared earlier in the fossil record than the ancestors of cell I.
• D. Cell II does not have a cell membrane.
• E. Both groups of cells are from plants.

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Cell I is a prokaryote.

• Option A is incorrect as cell I lack nucleus which means that cell I is primitive type as compared to the cell II which has the nucleus.
• Option B is correct as a lack of nucleus makes the cell I prokaryotic cell.
• Option C is incorrect as earliest life forms were autotrophs while cell II lacks photosynthesizing ability which makes it heterotroph.
• Option D is incorrect as both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have the cell membrane.
• Option E is incorrect as cell II is heterotroph (lack photosynthesis) and hence is not from the plant while cell I show photosynthesis but is prokaryotic which rules out its possibility of being plant cell.
  

Therefore, the correct answer is option B.