Mendel selected garden peas as his experimental material because
(i) Pea plants possess a number of well defined contrasting characters.
(ii) Pea plants contain unisexual flowers.
(iii) Pea plants have a short life cycle.
(iv) Pea plants produce many seeds in one generation.

Options

A. (i) and (iv) only
B. (i) and (ii) only
C. (i) and (iii) only
D. (i), (iii) and (iv) only

Answer

To answer the question about why Mendel selected garden peas as his experimental material, we will evaluate each of the provided statements step by step.

### Step 1: Evaluate Statement (i)
**Statement (i): Pea plants possess a number of well-defined contrasting characters.**
- Mendel chose garden peas because they exhibit clear and distinct traits, such as flower color, seed shape, and pod color. These contrasting traits made it easier for him to study inheritance patterns.
- **Conclusion**: This statement is correct.

### Step 2: Evaluate Statement (ii)
**Statement (ii): Pea plants contain unisexual flowers.**
- This statement is incorrect. Pea plants have bisexual flowers, meaning each flower contains both male (stamens) and female (pistils) reproductive organs. This allows for self-pollination.
- **Conclusion**: This statement is incorrect.

### Step 3: Evaluate Statement (iii)
**Statement (iii): Pea plants have a short life cycle.**
- Pea plants do indeed have a short life cycle, allowing Mendel to conduct multiple generations of experiments in a relatively short period. This was crucial for observing the inheritance of traits.
- **Conclusion**: This statement is correct.

### Step 4: Evaluate Statement (iv)
**Statement (iv): Pea plants produce many seeds in one generation.**
- Pea plants are known for producing a large number of seeds in one generation, which provided Mendel with ample data for his experiments on inheritance.
- **Conclusion**: This statement is correct.

### Final Conclusion
From the evaluations:
- Correct statements: (i), (iii), and (iv).
- Incorrect statement: (ii).
- Therefore, the correct answer to the question is that Mendel selected garden peas because of the well-defined contrasting characters, short life cycle, and the ability to produce many seeds in one generation.

### Answer
Mendel selected garden peas as his experimental material because:
- (i) Pea plants possess a number of well-defined contrasting characters.
- (iii) Pea plants have a short life cycle.
- (iv) Pea plants produce many seeds in one generation.

The correct option is D.

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