Kingdom Protista Review

1. What are some important differences between bacteria and protists?

2. Why do protists live in aqueous environments?

3. What three groups make up the kingdom Protista?

4. What is the evolutionary significance of the three groups of protists?

5. What characteristics distinguish plant-like protists from animal-like protists?

6. Would you expect all students to observe exactly the same shape when observing a live amoeba under the microscope? Explain.

7. What is a pseudopod and what is one used for?

8. Unlike the higher plants, plant-like protists do not have roots, stems, or leaves. Explain why they do not require these structures?

9. Why are multicellular algae not classified as plants?

10. What is the function of the cilia on the surface of Paramecium?

11. The contractile vacuole is used to get rid of excess water. If you observe a contractile vacuole in a protist, what is the most likely habitat for the organism?

12. All protists are eukaryotic. Why, then, is this not considered a trait that defines the group?

13. You have a sample of pond water in which you want to look for protists. The jar has some mud at the bottom and some plant bits as well. Where would you look to find sarcodines? Ciliates?

14. Animal-like protists are further arranged into three groups. On what basis are they classified?

15. The Kingdom Protista could be described as the junk drawer when it comes to classification of organisms. Explain the meaning of this statement.

16. Explain why plant-like protists are so important in aquatic food chains.