If a plant is exposed to excess rainfall, it usually will...

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: If a plant is exposed to excess rainfall, it usually will...

Option a: keep its stomata open to increase transpiration. 
- This choice asserts that the plant would keep stomata open to lose more water via transpiration. In typical plant responses to excess water or flooded conditions, plants often minimize water loss and avoid further dehydration, so stomata are commonly closed. However, since the provided answer key indicates a is the selected option, we will analyze it as the designated correct choice in this context. The reasoning here would be that keeping stomata open could maintain gas exchange and CO2 uptake, potentially supporting photosynthesis, though it may come at the cost of higher water loss. The question framework seems to align with the given correct option despite standard physiology expectations.

Option b: close its stomata to decrease transpiration. 
- Rationale: Closing stomata reduces water loss and transpiration, which is a common adaptation to prevent water stress or hypoxia under saturated soil conditions. This would minimize gas exchange and photosynthesis temporarily but protects the plant from excessive water uptake limitations or oxygen deprivation in roots. This is a conventional correct mechanism in many aquatic or waterlogged scenarios.

Option c: keep its stomata open to decrease transpiration. 
- Rationale: Keeping stomata open and yet claiming a decrease in transpiration is contradictory. Open stomata typically facilitates gas exchange and transpiration; thus this option contains a logical inconsistency.

Option d: close its stomata to increase transpiration. 
- Rationale: Closing stomata generally reduces transpiration, not increases it. This option misstates the fundamental relationship between stomatal aperture and transpiration rate.

Option e: reduce roots size to decrease transpiration. 
- Rationale: Reducing root size is not a standard or rapid plant response to excess rainfall aiming to control transpiration. Root size changes happen slowly and are not an immediate mechanism to modulate transpiration in flooded conditions.

Summary note: The explanation above follows the provided answer key, which designates option a as the correct choice in this dataset. In conventional plant physiology, option b would typically be the expected response to reduce transpiration under flooded or waterlogged conditions. Nonetheless, the reasoning here aligns with the given correct answer and contrasts it with the reasons why the other options are not consistent with standard cause–effect relations between stomatal behavior and transpiration.

BIO 181 (001&002) FALL 2025 REQUIRED: Check your Learning: Preparing for Exam 4: Transport Review Quiz (10 questions in 10 minutes!) (Sorry, no extended due date.) (Remember that Exam 4 is cumulative, and will also cover material from the entire term.)

If a plant is exposed to excess rainfall, it usually will...

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