Question

Spirogyra is called pond silk because

• A. Filaments are made up of silk
• B. Filaments are slippery to touch
• C. It looks like thread
• D. All of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is B

Filaments are slippery to touch

The correct option is B.

Explanation for the correct option:

1. Spirogyra is a green-colored free-floating algae found in aquatic places.
2. The body texture is very smooth, and filaments feel slippery to touch.
3. Their vegetative structure is filamentous and unbranched.
4. The filament is made up of many numerous long cylindrical cells arranged in a single row, one above the other.
5. Spirogyra's two-layered cell walls are composed of pectin on the outside and cellulose on the inside.
6. The body of the spirogyra has a shiny and silky texture due to the mucilage that is produced when this pectin dissolves in water. Pond silk gets its name from this.

Explanation for the incorrect option:

Option A:

The given statement is false as filaments of Spirogyra are not made of silk.

Option C:

Spirogyra is filamentous algae. They are not thread like.

Final answer: Spirogyra is called pond silk because filaments are slippery to touch.