Tree Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. A leafy tree is placed in prolonged darkness while water and minerals remain available. Which process decreases most directly because light is unavailable?
Absorption of water by root hairs
Production of sugars through photosynthesis
Movement of water through xylem
Release of energy through cellular respiration
2. Why does shedding leaves before winter benefit many deciduous trees in cold climates?
It prevents every form of winter herbivory
It allows the bark to absorb enough light for photosynthesis
It transfers photosynthesis from the crown to the roots
It reduces water loss when cold or frozen soil limits water uptake
3. A complete ring of bark and phloem is removed from around a living trunk, but the inner xylem remains intact. What is the most likely major consequence?
Water movement to the crown stops immediately
Gas exchange through the leaves permanently increases
Sugar transport toward the roots is interrupted
Existing growth rings disappear below the wound
4. Under which conditions would a well-watered tree generally lose water through transpiration most rapidly?
Cool, humid, and still conditions
Cool, dry, and still conditions
Warm, dry, and breezy conditions
Warm, humid, and still conditions
5. A newly planted tree has soil piled high against its trunk, hiding the natural root flare. Why can this be harmful?
It can restrict oxygen around roots and keep vulnerable trunk tissue too moist
It causes leaves to change from alternate to opposite arrangement
It prevents the crown from receiving direct sunlight
It makes the trunk produce too many annual rings
6. In a typical mycorrhizal partnership, what do fungal partners commonly provide to tree roots in exchange for sugars?
Flowers and seeds
Improved access to water and mineral nutrients
A replacement for all root tissue
Permanent protection from every pathogen
7. Lichens are growing on the bark of an otherwise vigorous tree. Which conclusion is best supported by that observation alone?
The lichens are using the bark as a surface, and their presence alone does not prove disease
The tree must have a fatal root disease
The bark has stopped protecting the trunk
The lichens are consuming the tree’s heartwood
8. Why can a locally native oak support more native insect life than an introduced tree with which local insects have few evolutionary relationships?
Native oaks produce unlimited food in every season
Introduced trees are unable to perform photosynthesis locally
All insects can digest every native plant equally well
Many local insects have evolved to feed on or use particular native tree lineages
9. A dead branch must be removed from a tree. Where should a proper pruning cut generally be made?
Flush with the trunk, removing the swollen branch collar
Just outside the branch collar without cutting into it
Far out on the branch, leaving a long stub
Through the trunk immediately below the branch
10. A sapling has buds and leaves arranged in opposite pairs along each twig. Which option is consistent with that clue?
Oak
Birch
Maple
Willow
11. Which part of a mature trunk contains the younger, functional xylem that conducts most of the water upward?
Sapwood
Heartwood
Phloem
Outer bark
12. What does an alternate leaf arrangement mean?
Three or more leaves form a circle around each node
Two leaves occur directly opposite each other at every node
One leaf occurs at a node, with leaves alternating along the stem
Leaves occur only at the very end of each branch
13. Which tree tissue carries water and dissolved minerals mainly from the roots toward the leaves?
Xylem
Phloem
Cork cambium
Outer bark
14. Pine seeds develop exposed on the scales of cones rather than enclosed inside fruits. This makes pines which type of plant?
Angiosperms
Gymnosperms
Ferns
Mosses
15. One annual ring in a trunk is much wider than the neighboring rings. What does that usually suggest about that growing season?
A forest fire definitely occurred that year
The tree changed into a different species
The tree was necessarily older during that year than in later years
Conditions allowed comparatively strong growth
16. You are selecting a tree for a narrow planting strip beneath overhead utility lines. Which factor is most important for avoiding a predictable future conflict?
Choosing whichever species grows fastest when young
Choosing the species with the largest possible crown
Choosing a tree solely because it currently fits in its container
Matching the species’ mature size to the available space