How does phototropism occur in plants?
Phototropism is a growth movement induced by a light stimulus. Growth towards a source of light is called positive phototropism, that away from the source is termed negative phototropism. The tips of shoots are usually positively, that of roots negatively phototropic.
Charles Darwin and his son Francis discovered (in 1880) that the phototropic stimulus is detected at the tip of the plant.
The Darwins used grass seedlings for some of their experiments. When grass seeds germinate, the primary leaf pierces the seed coverings and the soil while protected by the coleoptile, a hollow, cylindrical sheath that surrounds it. Once the seedling has grown above the surface, the coleoptile stops growing and the primary leaf pierces it.
The Darwins found that the tip of the coleoptile was necessary for phototropism but that the bending takes place in the region below the tip.
If they placed an opaque cover over the tip, phototropism failed to occur even though the rest of the coleoptile was illuminated from one side.
However, when they buried the plant in fine black sand so that only its tip was exposed, there was no interference with the tropism – the buried coleoptile bent in the direction of the light.
From these experiments, it seemed clear that
What does CNS stand for ? Which part of CNS : (a) consists of two cerebral hemispheres, and (b) has spinal nerves attached to it ?
Which one term in each of the following includes the other three ?
(a) thyroid, ductless gland, thymus, pituitary, ovary
(b) adrenalin, insulin, hormone, thyroxine, estrogen
(i) Name the hormones that are released in human males and females when they reach puberty.
(ii) Name a gland associated with brain. Which problem is caused due to the deficiency of the hormone released by this gland ?
(a) What does a plant root do in response to water ? What is this phenomenon known as ?
(b) What happens to the moonflower (i) during daytime, and (ii) at night ? What is this phenomenon known as ?
(a) Explain how auxins help in bending of plant stem towards light.
(b) State the objective of the experiment for which experimental set-up is shown in the given diagram.
What are 'hormones'? State one function of each of the following hormones:
(i) Thyroxine (ii) Insulin
(a) The human brain can be broadly divided into three regions. Name these three regions.
(b) What is cranium ? What is its function ?
A potted plant is made to lie horizontally on the ground. Which part of the plant will show
(i) positive geotropism?
(ii) negative geotropism?
What is the stimulus in : (a) phototropism ? (b) geotropism ? (c) chemotropism ? (d) hydrotropism ? (e) thigmotropism ?
Name the plant part :
(a) which bends in the direction of gravity but away from light
(b) which bends towards light but away from the force of gravity
When you smell a favourite food your mouth begins to water (that is, you secrete saliva). Write down what the following are examples of :
(a) the smell of the food
(b) the cells in your nasal passages which perceive the smell
(c) the gland which is stimulated to secrete saliva.
(a) What is a reflex action ? Explain with the help of an example.
(b) Define reflex arc. Give the flow chart of a spinal reflex arc.
(c) How are involuntary actions and reflex actions different from each other ?
What are meanings? What are their functions? Name the fluid, which is filled in between meanings.
(a) Write the names of the regions in hindbrain. Give one function of each region.
(b) Name the functions of cerebrum.
Write one example each of the following tropic movements :
(i) Positive phototropism (ii) Negative phototropism
(iii) Positive geotropism (iv) Negative geotropism
(v) Hydrotropism (vi) Chemotropism
Name one example of the movement of a plant part which is very quick and can be observed easily.
(a) Explain any three directional movements in plants.
(b) How brain and spinal cord are protected in human ?
(c) Name the master gland present in the brain.
What is chemotropism? Give one example. Name any two plant hormones and mention their functions.
Name the plant hormones which help/promote (i) cell division (ii) growth of
the stem and roots?
Plant parts show two types of movements, one dependent on growth and the other independent of growth. Give one example of the movement in plant parts :
which depends on growth
which does not depend on growth
(a) What does a Mimosa pudica plant do in response to touch ? What is this phenomenon known as ?
(b) What happens to the dandelion flower (z) during daytime, and (ii) at night ? What is this phenomenon known as ?
What is a tendril ? Name the two types of tendrils. What does a tendril do in response to the touch of a support ? What is this phenomenon known as ?
What is the name of in-built ‘arrangement’ in our body which controls the timing and amount of hormones released by various endocrine glands in the body ?
State the functions of the following hormones :
(a) Thyroxine (b) Adrenaline (c) Growth hormone
Label the parts (a), (b), (c) and (d) and show the direction of flow of electrical signals in the given figure.
