Three respirometers (germinating peas, dry peas with beads, beads only) are placed in a 25 C bath. The droplet position is recorded every 2 minutes for 20 minutes. The corrected O2 consumption (germinating minus bead-only correction) is graphed below.
Which conclusion is best supported by the data?
- A
Both pea types respire at the same rate
- B
Dry peas consume O2 faster than germinating peas
- C
Germinating peas release O2 by photosynthesis
- Dcheck_circle
Germinating peas have a much higher metabolic rate than dry peas
Explanation
The germinating pea curve has a much steeper slope, indicating substantially higher O2 consumption per unit time. Dry peas show only minimal change, consistent with metabolic dormancy.