Strobilanths kunthiana (source wikipedia)
Kerala PSC HSST Botany 2012 Examination
Higher Secondary School Teacher: Junior & Senior
Question Paper Code 40/2012 (Cat. NO. 449/2010)
Original question paper of Kerala PSC HSST Botany Junior / Senior (Higher Secondary School Teacher Botany), Category No. 449/2010) examination conducted by Kerala PSC (Public Service Commission) on 13/04/2002 (Q. Code 40/2012) for the appointment of HSST Botany in Government Higher Secondary Schools of Kerala under the Directorate of Higher Secondary Education, Trivandrum, Govt. of Kerala. Questions are in MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) format.
Part – 4 (Questions 76 – 100)
76. Fossil fuels are:
a. Renewable resources
b. Non-renewable resource
c. Inexhaustible resources
d. Non-renewable and exhaustible resource
Ans. (d). Non-renewable and exhaustible resource
77. Parthenocarpy is induced by the hormone:
a. BAP
b. GA
c. IAA
d. ABA
Question removed due to confusions in the options
Parthenocarpy: formation of fruit without fertilization. Parthenocarpic fruits are devoid of seeds, Eg. Banana
Gibberellin can induce the formation of seedless fruits but not through parthenocarpy but through stenospermocarpy
Stenospermocarpy: a biological phenomenon which induces seedless fruit formation in some fruits especially grapes. In stenospermocarpic fruits, normal pollination and fertilization is essential to ensure fruit formation. But during the course of fruit development spontaneous embryo abortion takes places and it leads to near seedless condition.
78. Asexual reproductive structure in Lichen is:
a. Apothecium
b. Soridia
c. Gonidia
d. Conidia
Ans. (b). Soridia:
Soridia: a common type of asexual reproduction mode in lichens. Soredia are fungal spores wrapped around algal components
Apothecium: cup shaped fruiting bodies of Ascomycota and Ascolichens.
79. Natural anti-transpirant:
a. CO2
b. CO
c. O2
d. Ozone
Ans. (a). CO2
Higher concentration of CO2 induce stomatal closure
80. Cadmium poisoning leads to:
a. Minamata
b. Molting of teeth
c. Epilepsy
d. Itai-Itai
Ans. (d). Itai-Itai
Itai-itai disease: disease caused by cadmium poisoning. Cadmium poisoning causes softening of bones and kidney failure. Itai-itai disease is considered as one of the four major pollution disease in Japan.
Minamata: due to industrial pollution of Mercury
81. The principal pigment in photosynthesis:
a. Chlorophyll a
b. Chlorophyll b
c. Carotene
d. Xanthophyll
Ans. (a). Chlorophyll a
In all photosynthetic organisms (eukaryotes & prokaryotes), chlorophyll a is the principal pigment involved in photosynthesis. It is present in both the antenna and reaction center. In addition to chlorophyll a, antennas contain other light-absorbing pigments such as chlorophyll b in vascular plants, and carotenoids in both plants and photosynthetic bacteria. Antenna pigments which absorb light at different wavelengths, greatly extends the range of light that can be absorbed and used for photosynthesis
82. National Botanical Garden is located at:
a. Mumbai
b. Lucknow
c. Delhi
d. Calcutta
Ans. (b). Lucknow
83. The universal currency of free energy in biological system:
a. ATP
b. GTP
c. NAD+
d. NADPH
Ans. (a). ATP
84. Hormone involved in stomatal closure:
a. Gibberellic acid
b. Abscisic acid
c. IAA
d. Ethylene
Ans. (b). Abscisic acid
Abscisic acid is also called as ABA, Absisin II or dormin. ABA can rapidly change the osmotic potential of guard cells and this induce stomatal closing and thereby reduce transpiration rate.
85. Apospory means:
a. Formation of sporophyte from gametophyte
b. Amphimixis
c. Formation of gametophyte from sporophyte
d. Parthenospory
Ans. (c). Formation of gametophyte from sporophyte
Apospory: formation of gametophyte from sporophyte, (= up on sporophyte). Individuals developed by apopsory will be diploids
Apogamy: formation of sporophyte from gametophyte, (= up on gametophyte), Individuals developed by apogamy will be haploids
86. Fresh water algae:
a. Batrochospermum
b. Ulva
c. Sargassum
d. Laminaria
Ans. (a). Batrachospermum
Ulva, Sargassum and Laminaria are marine algae
87. Suppression of gene expression in antisense RNA technology occurs at:
a. DNA level
b. RNA level
c. Protein Level
d. None of the above
Ans. (c). Protein level
Antisense RNA: RNA which is exactly complementary to the mRNA, produces by the antisense strand of the gene.
Antisense RNA technology: a method to inhibit mRNA and thereby inhibiting protein synthesis by binding the mRNA with a complementary RNA molecule called antisense RNA, produced from the anti-sense strand of the gene.
88. The gene targeted in the production of Flavar Savr tomato:
a. Cry 1
b. Reverse transcriptase
c. Cry 2
d. Polygalacturonase
Ans. (d). Polygalacturonase
Polygalacturonase is enzyme which hydrolyze the alpha-1,4 glycosidic bonds between galacturonic acid of polygalacturonans, the principal component of plant pectins. Pectins are the intercellular cementing materials, the hydrolysis of pectin causes rotting of tissues that is what exactly happens when fruit rotting occurs. Flavar Savr tomato is a genetically modified crop (first genetically modified crop by Calgene) in which the activity of polygalacturonase enzyme is inhibited with and an antisense technology.
Cry toxins are the delta endotoxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria and which induce pore formation in the gut epithelium of insect caterpillars.
89. Apothecium is the fruit body:
a. Ascomycota
b. Basidiomycota
c. Mastigomycota
d. Zygomycota
Ans. (a). Ascomycota
Apothecium: cup shaped fruiting bodies of Ascomycota and Ascolichens
90. Cybrids contain:
a. Nuclei of both parents and cytoplasm of one parent
b. Cytoplasm of both parents and nucleus of one parent
c. Cytoplasm and nuclei of both parents
d. Cryo-preserved hybrids
Ans. (b). Cytoplasm of both parents and nucleus of one parent
Cybrids: cytoplasmic hybrids
91. A fungal toxin:
a. Glutamine
b. Smut
c. Ergotamine
d. HCN
Ans. (c). Ergotamine
Ergotamine: a fungal toxin obtained from ergot fungus, Claviceps purpurea. It is an alkaloid with action similar to neurotransmitters, and has biological activity as a vasoconstrictor.
HCN: “bitter” roots of cassava plant may contain HCN
92. Genetic disease can be rectified by:
a. Antibiotics
b. Vaccines
c. Monoclonal antibodies
d. Gene therapy
Ans. (d). Gene therapy
Gene therapy: the therapeutic delivery of polynucleotides (genes) to cells to treat disease or to prevent the occurrence of some diseases.
93. In tissue culture roots can be induced by:
a. Lowering concentration of cytokinin and higher concentration of auxin
b. Higher concentration of cytokinin and lower concentration of auxin
c. Both in equal proportion
d. Only auxin and no cytokinin
Ans. (a). Lowering concentration of cytokinin and higher concentration of auxin
At higher concentration of auxin in relation to cytokinin will induce shoot formation
At higher concentration of cytokinin in relation to auxin will induce root formation
94. Endosperm is the useful part in:
a. Cotton
b. Peanut
c. Wheat
d. Cashew nut
Ans. (c). Wheat
Cotton: useful part is epidermal outgrowth of seeds
Peanut and cashew nut: useful part is cotyledons
95. Virus free clones can be obtained from:
a. Callus culture
b. Meristem culture
c. Haploid culture
d. Embryo culture
Ans. (b). Meristem culture
There are many speculations regarding the viral free nature of meristems. The exact mechanism is even unknown to sciences. Possible reasons are: (1) meristems are undifferentiated cells, since virus cannot utilize machinery of undifferentiated cells, meristems are usually virus free. (2). Vascular system is not developed in meristem and virus cannot move directly from one cell to another. (3). The speed of meristematic cell division is so rapid that the virus particles cannot cope up with it.
96. Father of Modern Botany:
a. Linnaeus
b. Theophrastus
c. Hooker
d. Aristotle
Ans. (a). Linnaeus
Linnaeus is also known as father of Taxonomy, he introduced binomial nomenclature, his main publication is Species plantarum- 1753
97. Carbohydrates are:
a. Polyalcohols
b. Hydroxy aldehydes
c. Hydroxy ketones
d. Polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones
Ans. (d). Polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones
Carbohydrates are hydrates of carbon; they contain C, H and O. All the carbohydrates are polyhydroxy (contain many hydroxyl groups – OH) aldehydes (CHO, example: glucose) or ketons (C=O, example: fructose).
98. Which of the following is a herbicide:
a. Ethylene
b. Methylene
c. 2,4,D
d. IBA
Ans. (c). 2,4,D
2, 4, D: 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is a synthetic auxin used as a weedicide to control dicot leaved plants. 2,4, D was one of the reagent used in Agent Orange which was used during Vietnam War.
2,4, D (source wikipedia)
99. Eravikulam is a :
a. Tourist place
b. Bioreserve
c. National park
d. Sanctuary
Ans. (c). National park
Eravikulan National Park is located at Idukki, Kerala, protects Nilgiri tahr and Strobilanthes kunthiana (Neelakurinji)
100. Classification based on secondary metabolities is:
a. Cytotaxonomy
b. Chemotaxonomy
c. Experimental taxonomy
d. Phenetic taxonomy
Ans. (b). Chemotaxonomy
Chemotaxonomy: Use of chemical characters from plants for the classification and solving taxonomic disputes in plant systematics.
Cytotaxonomy: use of cytological characters, especially characters of chromosome such as chromosome number, chromosome size, special types of chromosomes, behavior of chromosomes during cell division and chromosome abnormalities for plant classification and solving taxonomic disputes.
Experimental taxonomy: Also called as the omega taxonomy, (=non-conventional or nontraditional taxonomy) is the modern approach in taxonomy and it uses inter-disciplinary characters such as cytological anatomical, physiological, palynological etc.
Alpha taxonomy: is the conventional taxonomy or traditional taxonomy where more priority is given to floral morphological characters.
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