Deck 14: Starchy Staples

Question 1

How do tuberous roots differ from taproots?

A)Tuberous roots do not store starch.
B)Tuberous roots develop from modified fibrous roots.
C)Tuberous roots are not edible.
D)Plants from tuberous roots are dicots.
E)None of the above is correct.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Phytophthora infestans is the scientific name of which of the following?

A)a tall shrub with tuberous roots similar to the sweet potato
B)cassava
C)taro
D)the pathogen that causes late blight
E)the pathogen that causes rickets

Answer 2

D

Question 3

This plant is a bushy,herbaceous annual dicot with a many-seeded fruit and two types of stems.What is the scientific name of this plant?

A)Ipomoea batatas
B)Manihot esculenta
C)Colocasia esculenta
D)Solanum tuberosum
E)Dioscorea cayenensis

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Solanum tuberosum,the white potato,was first domesticated in which country over 10,000 years ago?

A)Ireland.
B)Chile.
C)Peru.
D)Mexico.
E)Idaho.

Question 5

Onions propagate asexually by which of the following?

A)tubers
B)rhizomes
C)stolons
D)corms
E)bulbs

Question 6

Bananas are actually native to which of the following regions?

A)Southeast Asia
B)Indo-Malaysia
C)Northern Australia
D)All of the above are correct.
E)None of the above is correct.

Question 7

Which of the following statement is not correct?

A)The word potato is derived from the Arawak Indian word batata (actually for the sweet potato).
B)Every state in the United States grows potatoes.
C)Potato chips were developed by George Crum in New York State.
D)The potato plant is a stringy,vine-like perennial.
E)The fruit of the potato is a many-seeded berry.

Question 8

Which of the following is not correct about the Irish Famine?

A)The English government did all it could to mitigate the suffering of the Irish people.
B)While potatoes crops were decimated by late blight;cereal crops were unaffected.
C)More than a million Irish left Ireland;most went to the United States.
D)The Penal Laws made it more difficult for Irish Catholics to succeed as land-owners.
E)One response to the Poor Law Extension Act was the eviction of Irish tenants from their homes.

Question 9

The darkened ring found in some potato chips is the ________.

A)periderm
B)cortex
C)pith
D)vascular tissue
E)None of the above is correct.

Question 10

Most plants store food reserves in which form?

A)cellulose
B)starch
C)lignin
D)galactose
E)None of the above is correct.

Question 11

Which of the following are characteristics of bananas?

A)They can be eaten raw or cooked.
B)Most bananas today are sterile triploids.
C)The "trunk" of this monocot is not woody but arises from an underground corm.
D)The single flowering stalk contains 5 to 13 groups of flowers.
E)All of the above are correct.

Question 12

The Irish Famine was made worse because of which of the following?

A)The potatoes planted were genetically identical.
B)The English government was unsympathetic to the plight of the Irish.
C)Potatoes were practically the entire diet of the Irish poor.
D)There was widespread suppression of Catholics.
E)All of the factors listed above made the Irish Famine worse.

Question 13

Potatoes propagate asexually by which of the following?

A)buds of tubers
B)rhizomes
C)stolons
D)corms
E)bulbs

Question 14

What is chuno?

A)an alcoholic drink made from cassava
B)a type of fried sweet potato common in Mexico
C)a freeze-dried dehydrated potato prepared by Peruvian Indians
D)an essential ingredient of Poi,a traditional dish of native Hawaiians
E)a dish similar to mashed potatoes but made from taro

Question 15

Horizontal,underground stems are called ________.

A)tuber
B)rhizomes
C)stolons
D)corms
E)bulbs

Question 16

Strawberry propagates asexually by which of the following?

A)tubers
B)rhizomes
C)stolons
D)corms
E)bulbs

Question 17

How do corms differ from bulbs?

A)Corms store starch in their stems.
B)Corms produce fruits.
C)Corms are all inedible.
D)Corms can multiply and form cormlets.
E)All of these are ways in which corms differ from bulbs.

Question 18

Which of the following is not one of the major potato producing states in the United States?

A)Maine
B)Nevada
C)Washington
D)Idaho
E)All of the above are major potato producing states.

Question 19

The potato was initially rejected as food in Europe because it was thought to be ________.

A)poisonous
B)hallucinogenic
C)a cause of leprosy
D)a cause of rickets
E)All of the above are correct

Question 20

The two most consumed starchy staples are potatoes and ________.

A)sweet potatoes
B)taro
C)cassava
D)yams
E)Jerusalem artichoke

Question 21

Helianthus tuberosus is native to which area?

A)North America.
B)South America.
C)Africa.
D)Asia.
E)Polynesia.

Question 22

This starchy staple grows from a tall shrub with palmately compound leaves,large tuberous roots,and can be cultivated from seeds.This starchy staple is which of the following?

A)Ipomoea batatas
B)Manihot esculenta
C)Colocasia esculenta
D)Solanum tuberosum
E)Dioscorea cayenensis

Question 23

Inulin is a polymer of which of the following?

A)glucose.
B)fructose.
C)sucrose.
D)maltose.
E)starch.

Question 24

Which of the following staples is not matched correctly with its family?

A)Solanum tuberosum :: nightshade
B)Manihot esculenta :: spurge
C)Ipomoea batatas :: yam
D)Colocasia esculenta :: arum
E)Helianthus tuberosus :: Jerusalem artichoke

Question 25

All of the following species are correctly matched with its common name except one.Choose the exception.

A)Solanum tuberosum - potato
B)Manihot esculenta - cassava
C)Ipomoea batatas - sweet potato
D)Colocasia esculenta - yam
E)Helianthus tuberosus - Jerusalem artichoke

Question 26

Which of the following is not a true statement about potatoes?

A)The greatest diversity of Solanum species is in Peru.
B)The Colorado potato beetle is a serious potato pest.
C)Potatoes are a good source of vitamin B and C.
D)No Solanum species is resistant to all strains of late blight.
E)Much of the nutritional value of a potato is in the periderm.

Question 27

Which of the following statements is not correct?

A)Varieties of cassava are classified as either sweet or bitter,based on the concentration of hydrocyanic acid.
B)Enzymes of cyanogenic glycosides are already present in cassava.
C)In South America,the traditional preparation of sweet potato produces a meal called farinha.
D)The root of cassava is very high in protein.
E)The cassava genome has more genes than that of humans.

Question 28

This starchy staple is a storage root that grows as a vine and requires a long warm growing season.What is this starchy staple?

A)potato
B)taro
C)cassava
D)yam
E)sweet potato

Question 29

Which starchy staple is a source of diosgenin,shown to inhibit ovulation in women?

A)yam
B)manioc
C)sweet potato
D)white potato
E)banana

Question 30

The most damaging pathogen of cassava is which of the following?

A)Phytophthora infestans.
B)Bacillus thuringiensis.
C)tobacco mosaic virus.
D)cassava mosaic virus (CMV).
E)More than one of these is devastating.

Question 31

Which of the following is true about the sweet potato?

A)It was introduced into Spain by Columbus.
B)Its original name was batata.
C)It was originally cultivated in Peru.
D)It is a not really a type of yam.
E)All of these statements are true about sweet potatoes.

Question 32

Potato tubers that are planted must contain at least one of these:

A)seed
B)bud (an "eye")
C)root
D)flower
E)rachis

Question 33

What is one of the biggest disadvantages of planting potato tubers instead of potato seeds?

A)There is an increase in genetic variability.
B)The yield is far less.
C)There is greater susceptibility to disease because they are genetic clones.
D)It is more labor intensive.
E)Potato blight becomes much more common.

Question 34

The best potato variety for baking is probably which variety?

A)Superior
B)Red LaSoda
C)Katahdin
D)Norland
E)Russet

Question 35

Which of the following statements is not correct?

A)Starch is the most common carbohydrate storage product found in plants.
B)Sugars are the direct products of photosynthesis but are generally not stored as such.
C)There are two distinct components of starch: amylose and amylopectin,which differ in their nutritional benefits.
D)Starch is mostly extracted commercially from corn,potatoes,and cassava,but can be extracted from almost any grain,tuber,or other plant storage organ.
E)Although starch is ubiquitous in plants,it unfortunately cannot be used in the production of sugar-based sweeteners.

Question 36

Which of the following is not correct about Manihot esculenta?

A)It grows well in nutrient-poor soils.
B)Nigeria is one of the leading producers of this starchy staple.
C)It cannot tolerate extended dry periods without rainfall.
D)It can be cultivated from seed.
E)It is resistant to locust infestations.

Question 37

Which of the following is a corm that is steamed,crushed,and fermented to make poi?

A)cassava
B)yam
C)sweet potato
D)taro
E)None of the above is correct.

Question 38

This misnamed staple was once known as sun root,does not contain starch,and is a weedy perennial in the sunflower family.This staple is known as which of the following?

A)potato.
B)taro.
C)cassava.
D)yam.
E)Jerusalem artichoke.

Question 39

Which of the following tissues makes up much of a potato tuber?

A)the pith
B)vascular tissue
C)the cortex
D)the periderm
E)the pome

Question 40

While originating is South America,cassava has become a major staple in which of the following areas?

A)Africa
B)North America
C)China
D)Europe
E)Australia

Question 41

The wild potato species,Solanum bulbocastanum,is resistant to all known strains of Phytophthora spp.

Question 42

The starchy staple which grows as a corm is ________.

Question 43

Yams are an important source of ________ used to make human sex hormones and cortisone.

Question 44

The sweet potato is classified as which one of the following?

A)rhizome
B)stolon
C)root
D)tuber
E)corm

Question 45

The continent to which sweet potatoes are native is Africa.

Question 46

The major disadvantage of cassava as a dietary staple is that it is very low in carbohydrates.

Question 47

Cassava comes in two forms: bitter and sweet.The sweet form contains high concentrations of hydrocyanic acid.

Question 48

________ is a tuberous root native to South America.

Question 49

The breakdown and fermentation of starch by yeast produces alcohol that can be used for beverages,but not for industrial solvents or petroleum fuel substitute.

Question 50

In the Polynesian Islands,current sweet potato varieties showed just one genetic lineage,and virtually no mixed heritage.

Question 51

The source of tapioca pearls is the moist flour obtained from the ________ root.

A)Colocasia
B)Manihot
C)Dioscorea
D)Ipomoea
E)Solanum

Question 52

Grating and other methods of processing cassava are necessary to remove the toxin ________.

Question 53

________ is the component of starch that is relatively soluble in water.

Question 54

The scientific name of the plant family containing white potato is Solanaceae.

Question 55

Many of today's cultivars of potatoes are grouped into the following types: round white,russet,round red,and long white.

Question 56

________ is in high demand because it is sweeter and less inexpensive to process than sucrose.

Question 57

________ is the component of starch that is a highly branched molecule.

Question 58

________ is the major component of starch comprising about ________ percent of this molecule.

Question 59

Modified stems which grow horizontally underground and function in vegetative reproduction are called stolons.