Final answer:
The life cycle of a tomato plant consists of five stages: Germination, Seedling, Vegetative, Flowering, and Fruiting, which occur in this order. Option B is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
Life Cycle of a Tomato Plant
The life cycle of a tomato plant consists of several stages. The correct answer to the student's question is b) 5 stages: Germination, Seedling, Vegetative, Flowering, Fruiting. These stages occur in a specific order, with each stage representing a phase in the growth and development of the plant.
Germination - This stage begins once the tomato seed is planted and provided with the right conditions, such as moisture and temperature. The seed absorbs water, swells, and the embryo inside starts to grow, eventually breaking through the seed coat.
Seedling - As the embryo emerges from the soil, it develops into a seedling with young leaves. This stage is crucial for photosynthesis to begin, providing the plant with food for growth.
Vegetative - During this stage, the plant continues to grow in size, producing more leaves, stems, and a stronger root system. The plant prepares for the next stage by developing the structures that will eventually support flowers and fruits.
Flowering - The plant starts to produce flowers, which are the reproductive organs of the plant. These flowers will pollinate and lead to fruit development.
Fruiting - After pollination, the flowers develop into fruits. For tomato plants, the fruit is the tomato itself, which contains seeds for the next generation of plants.
Throughout these stages, the plant will undergo various processes such as mitosis for growth and meiosis for reproduction. The gametophyte stage and sporophyte stage, which are the two distinct stages of plant life cycles, are represented in this process as the plant alternates between the two during its lifetime.
The sporophyte stage produces spores through meiosis, while the gametophyte stage produces gametes through mitosis.