Biology · Plant Growth and Development · NEET
No. Growth is only the permanent (irreversible) increase in size, mass or volume, for example a stem getting longer. Development is a much wider term. It covers all the changes a plant goes through in its whole life, from the seed to old age. Development includes growth as one part, plus differentiation. For NEET, remember: growth is a subset of development, not equal to it.
Yes. NCERT states development = growth + differentiation. So growth is one piece of development. When a seed germinates, grows into a seedling, then a mature flowering plant, and finally dies, that entire ordered sequence of events is development. The size increase at each step is growth.
Differentiation is when cells made by the meristem change their shape and structure to do a special job, for example becoming a tracheid or a xylem vessel by losing their contents and thickening their walls. Growth just adds cells and size; differentiation gives those cells a role. Because development includes differentiation, it means more than just getting bigger, which is why growth and development are not the same.
Because once a plant cell takes in water, makes new material and increases in size or number, it does not go back to the smaller state on its own. This permanent nature is the key feature of growth. Do not confuse it with temporary swelling of a cell when it absorbs water, which can be reversed and is NOT counted as true growth.
No. Simple water uptake that makes a seed swell can be reversed if the water is removed, so it is not true growth. Growth must be a permanent increase caused by cell division and cell enlargement with new protoplasm formed, not just water going in and out.
Which of the following statements is not correct?
Plants follow different pathways in response to environment or phases of life to form different kinds of structures. This ability is called
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Growth is only the irreversible increase in size or mass, while development is the entire life-long sequence of change that includes both growth and differentiation.
Development is broader. NCERT defines development = growth + differentiation, so growth is only one part of development.
A stem becoming longer is growth. A seed germinating, growing into a seedling, then a mature flowering plant, and later ageing is development, because it includes growth plus cells differentiating into leaves, flowers and vessels.
Differentiation is part of development, not growth. Growth only adds size and cells; differentiation makes those cells specialised, and together they form development.
Because students often confuse the two words. NEET repeatedly checks whether you know that growth is measurable and indeterminate, and that development is the larger term made of growth plus differentiation.
