The concept of endosymbiosis is widely accepted. What kind of relationship is it?

Question

A.  One organism in the partnership benefits and the other is harmed.
B.  Both organisms in the partnership benefit.
C.  Neither organism benefits.
D.  One organism benefits but the other is not affected.

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 organism interactions? How does it relate to the question?
 
Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach 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

B.  Both organisms in the partnership benefit.

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        o The question is asking you whether, in endosymbiosis, both partners benefit.
· What type of thinking is required?
        o This question is an “apply” question, so it is asking for you to take a concept you already know (endosymbiosis) and apply it to a new scenario to solve the problem.
 
Gather Content
· What do you already know about organism interactions? How does it relate to the question?
        o There are three types of symbiosis interactions: mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism. In mutualism, both partners benefit. In parasitism, one partner benefits while the other is harmed. In commensalism, one partner benefits but has no affect on the other.  
        o The question is asking whether endosymbiosis is a mutualism or a parasitism.
 
Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        o Think about the first endosymbiosis that led to mitochondria. How did this arrangement benefit the bacterium? How did it benefit the eukaryotic cell? How did it harm the bacterium? How did it harm the eukaryotic cell?
        o Overall, do you think each partner had a net benefit or a net harm?
 
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?         o This question asked you to determine whether endosymbiosis was a mutualism or a parasitism. To answer this question, you needed to understand that the larger cell provided protection, while the smaller cell provided energy. Both received a net benefit.
        o If you got the correct answer, great job!
        o If you got an incorrect answer, where did you get stuck?
            · Did you have trouble thinking of mitochondria as an independent organism?