NEET UG Botany Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Botany deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. In angiosperm seeds, what develops into the seed coat, the embryo, and the endosperm?

   Ovule integuments → seed coat (testa and tegmen); zygote → embryo; primary endosperm cell (triple fusion product) → endosperm (nutritive tissue).

2. Distinguish a true fruit from a false fruit with examples.

   True fruit: develops from the ovary only (e.g., mango). False (pseudocarp) fruit: develops from the thalamus/other floral parts besides the ovary (e.g., apple, where the fleshy part is the thalamus).

3. What is parthenocarpy?

   Development of fruit without fertilization, producing seedless fruits (e.g., banana); can be induced by growth hormones like auxins/gibberellins.

4. State Mendel's Law of Segregation.

   During gamete formation, the two alleles of a gene separate (segregate) so that each gamete carries only one allele of each gene.

5. State Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment.

   Alleles of different genes assort independently of one another during gamete formation (applies to genes on different chromosomes).

6. What are the phenotypic ratios of a monohybrid and a dihybrid cross in the F2 generation?

   Monohybrid: 3:1; Dihybrid: 9:3:3:1.

7. What is incomplete dominance? Give an example.

   Heterozygote shows an intermediate phenotype between the two homozygotes; e.g., in snapdragon (Antirrhinum), red x white gives pink flowers (F2 ratio 1:2:1).

8. What is co-dominance? Give an example.

   Both alleles express fully and simultaneously in the heterozygote; e.g., human ABO blood group, where I^A and I^B alleles both express in AB blood.

9. What is linkage in genetics?

   The tendency of genes located close together on the same chromosome to be inherited together, deviating from independent assortment; studied by Morgan in Drosophila.

10. What is pleiotropy? Give an example.

    A single gene affecting multiple phenotypic traits; e.g., phenylketonuria, or the starch synthesis gene in pea affecting seed shape and starch grain size.

11. Define a population and name any two of its attributes.

    A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in a defined geographical area. Attributes: birth rate (natality), death rate (mortality), age distribution, population density, and sex ratio.

12. Write the exponential growth equation and the logistic growth equation.

    Exponential: dN/dt = rN (J-shaped curve, unlimited resources). Logistic: dN/dt = rN[(K−N)/K], where K = carrying capacity (S-shaped/sigmoid curve).

13. Differentiate mutualism, commensalism, and amensalism.

    Mutualism (+/+): both benefit (e.g., mycorrhiza). Commensalism (+/0): one benefits, other unaffected (e.g., orchid on tree). Amensalism (−/0): one harmed, other unaffected.

14. What is the difference between predation and parasitism?

    Predation: predator kills and eats prey. Parasitism: parasite lives on/in a host, deriving nutrition usually without immediately killing it.

15. What is an ecosystem, and what are its two basic components?

    An ecosystem is a functional unit of biotic community interacting with the abiotic environment. Components: biotic (producers, consumers, decomposers) and abiotic (physical/chemical factors).

16. What are the trophic levels in a food chain?

    T1 producers (autotrophs), T2 primary consumers (herbivores), T3 secondary consumers (primary carnivores), T4 tertiary consumers, and decomposers.

17. State the 10 percent law of energy transfer (Lindeman).

    Only about 10% of the energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next higher trophic level; the rest is lost mainly as heat (metabolic activity).

18. What are the three types of ecological pyramids?

    Pyramid of number, pyramid of biomass, and pyramid of energy. The pyramid of energy is always upright.

19. What is ecological succession, and differentiate primary from secondary succession.

    Gradual, orderly change of communities in an area. Primary succession: starts on barren areas with no prior life (e.g., bare rock); Secondary succession: starts where soil/some life already existed (e.g., after a fire), and is faster.

20. Name the microbe used to produce curd from milk and the change it causes.

    Lactic acid bacteria (LAB, e.g., Lactobacillus); they convert lactose to lactic acid, coagulating milk proteins to form curd.

21. Which microbe is used in bread-making and brewing, and what process is involved?

    Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's/brewer's yeast); it carries out fermentation, producing CO2 (leavening bread) and ethanol (in alcoholic beverages).

22. What antibiotic did Alexander Fleming discover and from which microbe?

    Penicillin, from the fungus Penicillium notatum (chrysogenum).

23. What are biofertilizers, and name two nitrogen-fixing examples used in agriculture.

    Biofertilizers are organisms that enrich soil nutrients. Examples: Rhizobium (symbiotic N-fixer in legume root nodules) and Azospirillum/Azotobacter (free-living N-fixers); also cyanobacteria like Anabaena and the fern Azolla.

24. What is the role of mycorrhiza as a biofertilizer?

    A symbiotic association between fungi and plant roots; the fungus (e.g., Glomus) absorbs phosphorus and other nutrients/water from soil and supplies the plant, improving growth and stress tolerance.

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