Question

A large plant arose in a natural population. Qualitatively, it looked just the same as the others, except much larger.

A) Is it more likely to be an allopolyploid or an autopolyploid?

Answer 1

The large plant is more likely to be an autopolyploid.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the information provided, it is more likely that the large plant is an autopolyploid. Autopolyploidy occurs when a plant has extra sets of chromosomes from within the same species. In this case, the plant has qualitatively similar characteristics to others in the population, except for its larger size, which suggests that it may have undergone autopolyploidy.

Allopolyploidy, on the other hand, involves the combination of chromosomes from different species. Therefore, the increased size while maintaining the qualitative similarity to others in the population is indicative of autopolyploidy.