CH.1 NUTRITION IN PLANTS ; (Boojho and Paheli questions)

Q. Solutions to Boojho and Paheli’s questions from the text: (NCERT)

1. Boojho wants to know how plants prepare their own food.

Ans: Plants prepare their own food by taking up raw materials from the surrounding like carbon dioxide (co2), water, and minerals in the presence of sunlight by a process known as photosynthesis.

2. Paheli wants to know why our body cannot make food from carbon dioxide, water and minerals like plants do.

Ans: Our bodies do not have chlorophyll which is required for the process of photosynthesis to make food from carbon dioxide, water and minerals like plants do.

3. Boojho wants to know how water and minerals absorbed by roots reach the leaves.

Ans: Water and minerals absorbed by the roots are transported to different parts of the plants through pipe like structures known as vessels that run throughout the roots, stem and leaves of the plants.

4. Paheli wants to know what is so special about the leaves that they can synthesize food but other parts of the plant cannot.

Ans: Leaves contain a pigment known as chlorophyll which helps the plant to prepare its own food by the process of photosynthesis. Since other parts of plants don’t have this pigment like roots and flowers, they cannot prepare their own food.

5. Boojho has observed some plants with deep red, violet or brown leaves. He wants to

know whether these leaves also carry out photosynthesis.

Ans: Yes the leaves with deep red, violet or brown leaves can carry out photosynthesis; the chlorophyll is also present in leaves that are not green in color. They are of different colours because the other colour pigments are more than the green colour pigments in such leaves.

6. Paheli wants to know whether mosquitoes, bed bugs, lice and leeches that suck our blood are also parasites.

Ans: Yes, the animals such as mosquitoes, bed bugs, lice and leeches that suck our blood are also parasites because these organisms derive their nutrition from host (human).

7. Boojho is confused. If the pitcher plant is green and carries out photosynthesis, then why does it feed on insects?

Ans: The insectivorous plants grow in soil which does not contain sufficient nitrogen mineral. So, insectivorous plants feed on insects to obtain the nitrogen needed for their growth.