Answer: Used as food (nori in Japanese cuisine) and for agar production.
- A Processed industrially as a renewable source of crude petroleum
- B Used as food (nori in Japanese cuisine) and for agar production
- C Harvested commercially as a source of structural timber for construction
- D Cultivated solely as a source of pharmaceutical-grade medicinal compounds
Correct answer: B. Used as food (nori in Japanese cuisine) and for agar production
Explanation: Porphyra is eaten as nori (dried sheets used in sushi). Red algae also provide agar (from Gelidium) used in microbiology and food industry, and carrageenan (from Chondrus) used as a food thickener.
Plants evolved from water-dependent algae through increasingly land-adapted groups, gaining vascular tissue (Pteridophyta), then seeds (Gymnosperms), and finally fruit-enclosed seeds (Angiosperms) - each step reducing dependence on water for reproduction.
Concept context
Classification of plants from algae to angiosperms. Understanding plant diversity is essential for NEET.