The Fungi Practice Test

If necessary, review:

• Fungi Help
• Fungal Body Plan and Reproduction Help
• Major Groups of Fungi Help
• Lichens Help
• Fungal Parasites Help

The Fungi Practice Test

Directions: A good score is at least 8 correct answers out of these 10 questions.

1. Saprophytic fungi:

(a) Absorb small molecules from the cells of living hosts

(b) Are not common enough to be worth studying

(c) Release enzymes that partially digest dead tissues

(d) Are named from their habit of feeding upon the sap leaking from injured trees

2. A key difference between fungi and slime molds:

(a) Some fungi are parasites of living organisms

(b) Most slime molds act as parasites of living hosts

(c) Fungi obtain nutrients by digesting and absorbing organic matter

(d) There are far more species of slime molds, than of fungi

3. The entire group of unicellular fungi:

(a) Molds

(b) Yeasts

(c) Morels

(d) Lichens

4. The fruiting body of a mushroom:

(a) Its extensive underground mycelium

(b) Spores released into the air

(c) A dense web of hyphae projecting above ground

(d) The sweet, cool part that always tastes like an apple!

5. The fungal phylum to which morel mushrooms belong:

(a) Zygomycetes

(b) Basidiomycetes

(c) Chytridiomycetes

(d) Ascomycetes

6. The basidia are important to a mushroom, since they:

(a) Directly absorb nutrient molecules from decaying organic matter

(b) Produce and hold its spores

(c) Branch extensively underground

(d) Allow the fruiting body to be efficiently removed

7. Phylum of fungi involving the union of two gametes:

(a) Ascomycetes

(b) Chytridiomycetes

(c) Zygomycetes

(d) Basidiomycetes

8. Probably the most primitive group of fungi, and the first to evolve from protists:

(a) The chytrids

(b) Ascomycetes

(c) Zooplankton

(d) Bread yeasts

9. Penicillium :

(a) Releases thick-walled zygospores

(b) A bluish-colored genus of mold that produces powerful antibacterial agents

(c) Frequently appears on lawns as groups of fairy ring mushrooms

(d) Is a typical club fungus

10. A lichen:

(a) Is a type of green plant (roughly the same thing as moss)

(b) Exists as a symbiotic combination of fungi with algae or bacteria

(c) May be too delicate to live in harsh climates

(d) Basically is the fruiting body of an alga

Answers:

1. C

2. C

3. B

4. C

5. D

6. B

7. C

8. A

9. B

10. B