Which kingdom contains organisms that are multicellular and often photosynthetic?

• A. Protista
• B. Fungi
• C. Animalia
• D. Plantae

Answer: (D)

Multicellular organisms that can use light to make their own food are most characteristic of plants. Plants contain chloroplasts with chlorophyll, which capture light energy and drive photosynthesis, producing sugars that fuel the organism and support life on many other levels as primary producers. Their bodies are organized into tissues and organs, built from cells with cellulose cell walls, all of which fits the plant kingdom.

Fungi decompose and absorb nutrients rather than photosynthesize, and animals obtain energy by consuming other organisms, so they don’t fit the same pattern. Some organisms in Protista can photosynthesize, but many are unicellular or exist as loose colonies rather than true multicellular plants. That combination of being multicellular and typically photosynthetic points to Plantae.