If a plant's stomata were always closed, how would this affect the plant's ability to make glucose?

Question

A.  There would be no effect on the ability of the plant to make glucose
B.  Plants would be able to make more sugar than normal
C.  Plants would make less sugar than normal

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?

  Gather Content
What do you already know about how stomata and gas exchange in plants? What other information is related to the question?

  Choose Answer
Do you have all the information needed to determine what would happen to the plant with closed stomata?

  Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?

Answer 1

C.  Plants would make less sugar than normal

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · The question asks you to decipher what would happen to glucose production if a plant always had its stomata closed.
What type of thinking is required?
        · You are being asked to dissect, or analyze, how a plant’s ability to produce glucose would be affected with closed stomata.

  Gather Content
What do you already know about how stomata and gas exchange in plants? What other information is related to the question?
        · Recall that plants import carbon dioxide and export oxygen due to concentration differences on both the inside and outside the plant. For example, oxygen is in its highest concentration inside the plant, and because the concentration of oxygen is lower in the atmosphere, diffuses from inside to outside the plant. Conversely, carbon dioxide is in higher concentration outside the plant and thus diffuses into the plant where the concentration of carbon dioxide is lower.
        · The anatomical gateways a plant uses to regulate gas exchange are the stomata that are located primarily in leaves. Analogous to a human nose or mouth, stomata can open or close, depending on environmental suitability and photosynthetic need of the plant. Considering the importance of carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, what do you think would happen to a plant whose stomata are permanently closed?

  Choose Answer
Do you have all the information needed to determine what would happen to the plant with closed stomata?
        · Remember that photosynthesis is comprised of the light reactions in the Calvin cycle. The Calvin cycle in particular requires carbon dioxide in order to fix that carbon and produce carbohydrate.
        · If a plant's stomata were always closed, it would not be able to take in carbon dioxide from the environment. As a result, the ability of that plant to make glucose would be significantly decreased.

  Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        · Answering this question correctly depended on your ability to analyze what would happen to a plant’s capacity to produce glucose if its stomata were closed.
        · If you got the correct answer, well done! If you got an incorrect answer, did youremember that oxygen and carbon dioxide gases move from high to low concentration? Did you remember that plant stomata regulate gas exchange? Were you able to infer that preventing carbon dioxide from entering the plant would restrict the Calvin cycle and therefore sugar production?