OCR General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) Biology Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Get ready for the OCR GCSE Biology exam with our comprehensive quiz, featuring flashcards and multiple choice questions. Understand the exam format, key topics, and effective study strategies to excel.

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.

What is a benefit of using cuttings from resistant trees instead of seeds for planting?

Seeds grow faster than cuttings
Cuttings ensure resistance to disease
Cuttings produce diverse plant offspring
Seeds are generally larger and stronger

The correct answer is: Cuttings ensure resistance to disease

Using cuttings from resistant trees offers the significant benefit of ensuring that the new plants inherit the same disease resistance traits as the parent plant. This is because cuttings are clones of the parent tree, meaning that the genetic material is identical. By replicating a tree that has demonstrated resistance to certain diseases, growers can establish plantations that are more resilient and have a higher chance of thriving in environments where those diseases are a risk. In contrast, seeds do not guarantee the same traits, as they can produce offspring with a range of genetic variations, some of which may lack the desired resistance. This makes cuttings a more reliable option when the goal is to propagate plants with specific desired characteristics, such as disease resistance.