The correct option is (a).
Explanation
The life cycle of a frog involves indirect development, where the young ones undergo significant morphological changes to become adults. This process is distinct from direct development seen in humans or mammals.
- Statement 1 is Correct: The life cycle of a frog begins with the laying of eggs, which hatch into the larval stage known as the tadpole. The tadpole represents the aquatic, larval phase of the frog's life cycle.
- Statement 2 is Incorrect: A tadpole is morphologically very different from an adult frog. Tadpoles possess tails for swimming and breathe through gills, adapting them to an aquatic environment. Adult frogs, conversely, typically lack tails, develop legs for hopping, and breathe through lungs and moist skin. Therefore, they do not look similar.
- Statement 3 is Incorrect: The drastic transformation of the larva (tadpole) into an adult is called metamorphosis. Binary fission is a method of asexual reproduction observed in unicellular organisms like Amoeba, where a parent cell divides into two identical daughter cells. It is not involved in the development of multicellular organisms like frogs.
Key Takeaway: Metamorphosis is the biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation.