Question

select the correct answer.
david brought home a leaf cutting from a plant. he potted the cutting, and it grew into a full plant. what can you conclude about the new plant?
a. it inherited chromosomes from two parents.
b. it’s genetically identical to the parent plant.
c. it was produced by sexual reproduction.
d. it has half the number of genes as its parent.

Explanation:

The process of growing a new plant from a leaf cutting is vegetative propagation, a type of asexual reproduction. In asexual reproduction, the offspring (new plant) is genetically identical to the parent plant because there is no fusion of gametes (so no mixing of genetic material from two parents, ruling out A and C). Also, the new plant has the same number of genes as the parent (ruling out D), as it's a clone. So the correct conclusion is that it's genetically identical to the parent plant.

Answer:

B. It's genetically identical to the parent plant.