Question

All eukaryotic cells have mitochondria, but only plants and some photosynthetic protists have chloroplasts. Which of the following statements could be inferred from this information?

A) All plants are photosynthetic protists.
B) Chloroplasts are present in all plant cells.
C) Some eukaryotic cells lack both mitochondria and chloroplasts.
D) Some eukaryotic cells have mitochondria but lack chloroplasts.

Answer 1

All eukaryotic cells have mitochondria, necessary for cellular respiration, but only plant cells and some protists have chloroplasts, which are used for photosynthesis, making it clear that some eukaryotic cells have mitochondria but lack chloroplasts.

Step-by-step explanation:

From the information given, we can infer that while all eukaryotic cells contain mitochondria, only plant cells and some photosynthetic protists have chloroplasts. Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell involved in cellular respiration, present in all eukaryotes including animals, fungi, and protists that are not photosynthetic.

Chloroplasts, on the other hand, are specialized for photosynthesis and are found only in plants and some photosynthetic protists. Since mitochondria are widespread among eukaryotes and chloroplasts are not, it can be deduced that eukaryotic cells such as animal cells might have mitochondria but lack chloroplasts as they are not capable of photosynthesis.