Measuring Plant Growth Parameters — NEET Biology
📚 Practice ConceptGrowth, at a cellular level, is principally a consequence of increase in the amount of protoplasm. Since increase in protoplasm is difficult to measure directly, one generally measures some quantity which is more or less proportional to it. Growth is, therefore, measured by a variety of parameters some of which are: increase in fresh weight, dry weight, length, area, volume and cell number. You may find it amazing to know that one single maize root apical meristem can give rise to more than 17,500 new cells per hour, whereas cells in a watermelon may increase in size by upto 3,50,000 times. In the former, growth is expressed as increase in cell number; the latter expresses growth as increase in size of the cell. While the growth of a pollen tube is measured in terms of its length, an increase in surface area denotes the growth in a dorsiventral leaf.
Which of the following statements regarding the measurement of plant growth are correct? S1: Increase in protoplasm is difficult to measure directly, so growth is generally assessed by indirect parameters. S2: Growth in the root apical meristem of maize is primarily expressed as an increase in individual cell size. S3: Watermelon cells exemplify growth predominantly through an increase in their overall cell number. S4: The growth of a pollen tube is effectively measured by assessing its total surface area. S5: An increase in surface area is the parameter used to denote growth in a dorsiventral leaf. S6: Both fresh weight and dry weight are considered valid parameters for quantifying plant growth.
View solution & NCERT explanation
Correct answer: B — S1, S5 and S6 only
Let's evaluate each statement based on NCERT text: S1: "Since increase in protoplasm is difficult to measure directly, one generally measures some quantity which is more or less proportional to it." This statement is correct. S2: "one single maize root apical mersitem can give rise to more than 17,500 new cells per hour... In the former, growth is expressed as increase in cell number." This statement is incorrect as growth in maize root apical meristem is an increase in cell number, not individual cell size. S3: "cells in a watermelon may increase in size by upto 3,50,000 times... the latter expresses growth as increase in size of the cell." This statement is incorrect as growth in watermelon cells is an increase in cell size, not cell number. S4: "While the growth of a pollen tube is measured in terms of its length..." This statement is incorrect as pollen tube growth is measured by length, not surface area. S5: "...an increase in surface area denotes the growth in a dorsiventral leaf." This statement is correct. S6: "Growth is, therefore, measured by a variety of parameters some of which are: increase in fresh weight, dry weight..." This statement is correct. Therefore, S1, S5, and S6 are correct. Final Answer: The final answer is B because statements S1, S5 and S6 are correct.
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