While walking in the woods, you encounter an unfamiliar nonwoody flowering plant. If you want to know whether it is a monocot or eudicot, it would not help to look at the a. number of seed leaves, or cotyledons, present in its seeds. b. shape of its root system. c. arrangement of vascular bundles in its stem. d. size of the plant.

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the characteristics that distinguish monocots from eudicots. Monocots typically have one cotyledon, parallel leaf veins, scattered vascular bundles in the stem, fibrous root systems, and floral parts usually in multiples of three. Eudicots usually have two cotyledons, net-like leaf veins, ring-arranged vascular bundles in the stem, a taproot system, and floral parts usually in multiples of four or five.
2. Examine the number of seed leaves, or cotyledons, in the plant's seeds. This is a fundamental difference between monocots and eudicots, as monocots have one cotyledon and eudicots have two.
3. Look at the arrangement of vascular bundles in the plant's stem. In monocots, these are typically scattered throughout the stem, whereas in eudicots, they are usually arranged in a ring.
4. Check the shape of the root system. Monocots generally have a fibrous root system, while eudicots often have a main taproot.
5. Ignore the size of the plant as it is not a distinguishing feature between monocots and eudicots and will not help in identifying the type of the plant.