RUHS / State Nursing Entrance Botany Syllabus

What are the four whorls of a typical flower from outside to inside?

Calyx (sepals), Corolla (petals), Androecium (stamens), and Gynoecium (carpels/pistil).

What is the function of the stamen and its parts?

The stamen is the male reproductive part; it consists of the anther (produces pollen) and the filament (stalk that supports the anther).

What are the three parts of the pistil (carpel)?

Stigma (receives pollen), style (connects stigma to ovary), and ovary (contains ovules).

What is placentation in a flower?

Placentation is the arrangement of ovules within the ovary; types include marginal, axile, parietal, basal, free central, and superficial.

What is aestivation in a flower?

Aestivation is the mode of arrangement of sepals or petals in a floral bud; types include valvate, twisted, imbricate, and vexillary.

What are the three types of plant tissue systems?

The epidermal (dermal) tissue system, the ground tissue system, and the vascular tissue system.

What are the three types of simple permanent tissues in plants?

Parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma.

What is the function of xylem and its main components?

Xylem conducts water and minerals upward from roots to shoots; its components are tracheids, vessels, xylem parenchyma, and xylem fibres.

What is the function of phloem and its main components?

Phloem transports food (sugars) made in leaves to other parts (translocation); its components are sieve tube elements, companion cells, phloem parenchyma, and phloem fibres.

What is the role of the cambium in plants?

The cambium is a lateral meristem that produces secondary xylem and phloem, causing secondary growth (increase in girth/thickness).

What is the function of stomata?

Stomata are tiny pores in the epidermis (mainly of leaves) that regulate gas exchange (CO2 in, O2 out) and transpiration (water vapour loss); they are flanked by guard cells.

Who is regarded as the father of taxonomy and what system did he give?

Carolus Linnaeus is the father of taxonomy; he gave the binomial system of nomenclature.

What is binomial nomenclature?

A two-word naming system for species using the genus name (capitalized) followed by the species epithet (lowercase), both italicized, e.g., Mangifera indica.

List the taxonomic hierarchy from largest to smallest category.

Kingdom, Phylum/Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

What is the difference between active and passive transport in plants?

Active transport moves substances against a concentration gradient and requires ATP energy; passive transport moves substances down a gradient without energy (e.g., diffusion, osmosis).

What is osmosis?

Osmosis is the movement of water molecules from a region of higher water potential (lower solute concentration) to lower water potential (higher solute concentration) across a semipermeable membrane.

What is transpiration and through which structure does most of it occur?

Transpiration is the loss of water vapour from aerial parts of a plant; most of it occurs through the stomata of leaves.

What is the cohesion-tension theory of water transport?

It explains the ascent of sap: transpiration pull at the leaves creates tension, and the cohesion of water molecules (held together by hydrogen bonds) pulls a continuous water column up the xylem.

What is the overall balanced equation for photosynthesis?

6CO2 + 12H2O --(light, chlorophyll)--> C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O.

Where do the light reactions and the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis occur?

The light reactions occur in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplast; the Calvin cycle (dark reaction) occurs in the stroma.

What is the source of oxygen released during photosynthesis?

The oxygen comes from the splitting of water (photolysis) during the light reaction, not from carbon dioxide.

What is the primary CO2 acceptor in the Calvin cycle and the first stable product?

The acceptor is RuBP (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate); the first stable product is 3-phosphoglyceric acid (3-PGA), a 3-carbon compound.

What is the overall equation for aerobic respiration?

C6H12O6 + 6O2 --> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy (ATP).

Where does glycolysis occur and what is its end product?

Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm; it breaks one glucose into two molecules of pyruvate (pyruvic acid), producing a net 2 ATP and 2 NADH.

What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration in terms of ATP yield?

Aerobic respiration completely oxidizes glucose yielding about 36-38 ATP per glucose; anaerobic respiration (fermentation) yields only 2 ATP per glucose.

What is the respiratory quotient (RQ) and its value for carbohydrates?

RQ is the ratio of CO2 released to O2 consumed in respiration; for carbohydrates RQ = 1.

What are the five major plant growth hormones (phytohormones)?

Auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, abscisic acid (ABA), and ethylene.

What is the role of auxin in plants?

Auxin promotes cell elongation, apical dominance, root initiation, and is responsible for phototropic and geotropic responses.

What is photoperiodism in plants?

Photoperiodism is the response of plants to the relative lengths of day and night (light/dark periods), which controls flowering (short-day, long-day, and day-neutral plants).

What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

A food chain is a single linear sequence of who eats whom; a food web is a network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem.

What does the 10 percent law of energy flow in an ecosystem state?

Only about 10 percent of the energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level; the rest is lost mainly as heat through metabolism.