BIOLOGY (ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, HEALTH), ENVIRONMENT & AGRICULTURE
1004.(2) Lichens can be used as air pollution indicators,
especially of the concentration of sulfur dioxide in
the atmosphere. Air pollutants dissolved in rainwater,
especially sulfur dioxide, can damage lichens, and
prevent them from growing. This makes lichens
natural indicators of air pollution.
1005.(3) The kidneys maintain our body’s water balance
by controlling the water concentration of blood
plasma. The kidneys also control salt levels and the
excretion of urea.
1006.(1) Algae are chlorophyll (green pigment) containing
thallophytes. They prepare their own food and are
thus autotrophic in their mode of nutrition.
1007.(4) Anopheles (female): Malaria; Culex: Filariasis; Sand
Fly: Kala-azar; Tse-tse fly: Sleeping Sickness.
1008.(4) Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known
as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose. A
white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste,
it is best known for its role in food.
1009.(2) Chlorophyll molecule contains a magnesium ion.
Green plants are dependent on chlorophyll for
photosynthesis, and magnesium is required for
chlorophyll production.
1010.(4) Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using
mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.
Plants are grown with their roots in the mineral
nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as
perlite, gravel, mineral wool, expanded clay pebbles
or coconut husk.
1011.(4) Animals and non-green plants cannot prepare their
own food and depend directly or indirectly on green
plants for their nutrition. This mode of nutrition is
called heterotrophic nutrition. Fungi are non-
chlorophyllos. They should be classified as animals
because of their heterotrophic mode of nutrition. But,
they are classified under plant kingdom as they have
many plant characters.
1012.(4) Hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland
is regulated by releasing hormones secreted by the
hypo thalamus. Neuro-endo crine cells in the
hypothalamus project axons to the median eminence,
at the base of the brain. At this site, these cells can
release substances into small blood vessels that travel
directly to the anterior pituitary gland
1013.(4) Old, “worn out” RBCs are mostly broken down in
the spleen. It is the organ that filters the blood, checks
it for infection, and removes undesirable substances.
RBCs are produced in the red bone marrow of bones.
The average life span of erythrocytes is about 120
days.
1014.(1) Self-pollination can lead to inbreeding depression,
or the reduced health of the species, due to the
breeding of related specimens. This is why many
flowers that could potentially self-pollinate have a
built-in mechanism to avoid it.
1015.(4) There are rows and columns in any spreadsheet.
Each column has a capital letter on the top to show
what column it is. Each row has a number to the
immediate left of the first column, to show what row
it is. So address of the cell in the first column, first
row is A1.
SGAE–994
1016.(3) Vitamin B1: Thiamine; Vitamin B2: Riboflavin;
Vitamin B6: Pyridoxine; Vitamin B12 : Cyano-cobalamin.
1017.(2) When plants and animals die, they become food
for decomposers like bacteria, fungi and earthworms.
The dead things that are eaten by decomposers are
called detritus which means “garbage”.
1018.(1) Deciduous means “falling off at maturity” or “tending
to fall off”. Deciduous trees or shrubs lose their leaves
seasonally. The converse of deciduous is evergreen.
1019.(2) A Red Data Book contains lists of species whose
continued existence is threatened. Species are
classified into different categories of perceived risk.
Each Red Data Book usually deals with a specific
group of animals or plants (e. reptiles, insects, mosses).
1020.(1) The laws of heredity were discovered by Gregor
Mendel in about 1856-1863. Mendel conducted
experiments in plant hybridization, collecting the
results of cross-fertilizing hundreds of edible pea
plants. The results from Mendel’s experiments
confirmed his ideas about heredity: the law of
segregation, which has become known as Mendel’s
First Law, and the law of independent assortment,
also known as Mendel’s Second Law.
1021.(2) Insulin is central to regulating carbohydrate and
fat metabolism in the body. It stops the use of fat as
an energy source by inhibiting the release of gluca-
gon. It removes excess glucose from the blood, which
otherwise would be toxic.
1022.(2) Plant genetic material in ‘GENE BANK’ is preserved
at -196° Celsius in Liquid Nitrogen as mature seed
(dry). In plants, it is possible to unfreeze the material
and propagate it.
1023.(3) Flowers emit fragrance to attract pollinators which
are mainly insects. The fragrance plays a prominent
role in the localization and selection of flowers by
insects, especially moth-pollinated flowers, which are
detected and visited at night.
1024.(4) Radioactive materials are first encased in resin or
concrete and sealed in steel drums. The drums are
then packed into concrete casks and placed in con-
crete trenches up to 18 metres deep.
1025.(1) Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) cures scurvy, which
can cause abnormal gum bleeding. Excellent sources
include citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes,
and grapefruits.