If you are asked to classify the various algae into distinct groups, which of the following characters you should choose?
- Nature of stored food materials in the cell
- Structural organization of thallus
- Chemical composition of the cell wall
- Types of pigments present in the cell
Answer
(4) Types of pigments present in the cell
Solution
As per NCERT, algae are divided into three main classes — Chlorophyceae, Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae — and these names themselves refer to the dominant pigment: green (chlorophyll a, b), brown (fucoxanthin) and red (r-phycoerythrin).
∵ Stored food, cell wall and thallus organisation help in describing the classes but the primary basis is the type of pigments ⇒ (4).
Answer: (4)