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Name:
Date:
Block:
Protist Structure and Function
1. What are pseudopods? How do protists use them?
2. How do amoebas capture and ingest food?
3. What are cilia? How are they used by protists?
4. In the three boxes below, draw pictures of three organisms—one with a pseudopod, one with a
flagellum, and one with cilia.
Pseudopod
Flagellum
Cilia
5. The visual analogy compares structures used by cells for movement to boat oars. Explain why a series
of oars is compared to cilia, and why only one oar is used to represent flagella.
6. How do amoebas reproduce?
7. Describe the steps involved in conjugation.
8. Within a large population, how does conjugation benefit protists?
9. Describe the process known as alternation of generations.
10. Plasmodium is the protist that causes malaria in humans. It is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit
the parasite when they bite humans. In the human body, Plasmodia cause red blood cells to break and
release spores in the evening. The spores can then travel through the bloodstream. How would this
mechanism help spread the parasite throughout an ecosystem? What methods might help prevent its
spread?