Question

1. Brown algae have a stem, holdfast and blade. How does this compare to land plants?

2. Algae you examined were a variety of colors, yet all contain chlorophyll. How can this be?

3. What adaptations do algae have which allow them to be so successful in marine environments?

4. How are cyanobacteria different than algae? How are they similar?

Answer 1

1. Brown algae have a stem, holdfast, and blade these can be compared to land plants as the blades act as leaves that consist of air bladders which make them light to float on the surface of the water and perform photosynthesis like . the leaves of land plant performs. The holdfast act as a stem that holds them together as the stem in the land plant does to provide structural rigidity and support.

Although land plants and brown algae vary in their structure but they have various similar functions of photosynthesis and exchange of gases in common.

2. The algae are of different colors like blue, red, brown, or green but yet all they perform photosynthesis is because they have pigments that give them different colors. It is mainly because they absorb some wavelengths and reflect some. In this way, they absorb energy from the sun to perform the necessary process of photosynthesis. This is the reason several colors of algae exist to absorb more of the sunlight to make their food.