You go to the movies with a friend, and he refuses to share your popcorn. He says that he heard that movie theatre popcorn is triploid. What is the most likely explanation for this?

Question

A.  Most corn is genetically modified by large agricultural companies.
B.  The buttery topping on movie theatre popcorn causes chromosomal abnormalities.
C.  Popcorn is made from a different species of maize than regular corn.
D.  All popcorn is triploid, because the starchy part of the kernel is triploid endosperm tissue.

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 seed structure? What other information is related to the question?

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

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

D.  All popcorn is triploid, because the starchy part of the kernel is triploid endosperm tissue.

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · This question is asking you to explain the triploid nature of popcorn.
What type of thinking is required?
        · Analyze level:
            o This question is asking you to identify key factors that qualify something as triploid.

Gather Content
What do you already know about seed structure? What other information is related to the question?
        · Triploid cells have three sets of chromosomes.
        · Popcorn endosperm is triploid, and forms from the fusion of one sperm cell and two polar nuclei in the embryo sac of a plant seed.
        · The endosperm is the food supply of an embryo.

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · Popcorn is naturally triploid; it is not modified by agricultural companies or by the butter that is put on the popcorn. Other species of corn also have endosperm that is triploid, so that answer can be excluded. In fact corn typically has starchy, triploid endosperm components that serve as a food source for the embryo.

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?
        · Analyze level:
            o Answering this question correctly depended not only on distinguishing between the causes of triploidy, but on your ability to analyze, the reasons that popcorn is triploid. If you got an incorrect answer, did you remember that causes of triploidy include the mechanism of endosperm formation, or that corn in general has triploid endosperm? Did you have trouble breaking down triploidy in corn to determine the correct answer?