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Mineral Nutrition MCQs

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Mineral Nutrition MCQs - Questions

Under the topic mineral nutrition, you will learn in detail about essential mineral elements that plants require for growth and development. In addition to that, you will also learn how plants absorb these essential nutrients, deficiency symptoms and the significance of nitrogen as a micronutrient and biological nitrogen fixation.


Before moving on to the MCQ on nutrition, let us go through some important concepts from this chapter. Notably, plants being autotrophs, derive all these essential elements from the soil.


Minerals are one of the four types of crucial nutrients required for the growth of a plant, and the deficiency of which causes disease and hampers its life cycle. Others are vitamins such as essential fatty acids, vitamins, and essential amino acids. In the body, five prime minerals are potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. There are two types of nutrients i.e. micro and macro.


The following MCQs on minerals and trace elements will enable you to gain more clarity on the concepts discussed within this chapter. Aside from that, practising these questions will also help you to revise this section thoroughly before examinations. 


Since mineral nutrition NEET is an important part of the NEET syllabus, students appearing for the same can also go through these questions for a quick revision. Therefore, keeping the requirements of students in mind the questions given below cover all the essential topics within the chapter.


Mineral Nutrition Multiple Choice Questions

The questions given below should enable you to gain an idea about question patterns for mineral nutrition NEET.


  1. Who among the following presented the theory of essential mineral nutrients in plants?

  1. Carl Linnaeus

  2. Aristotle 

  3. Arnon and Stout

  4. Leonhart Fuchs


  1. The process of growth of plants by suspending their roots

  1. Osmosis

  2. Hydroponics

  3. Diffusion

  4. Aeroponics


  1. Dark green colouration in leaves is caused due to deficiency of which mineral?

  1. Calcium

  2. Phosphorus

  3. Nitrogen

  4. Potassium


  1. Which one of the following is a magnesium deficiency syndrome

  1. Elongated stem

  2. Chlorosis in young leaves

  3. Chlorosis in older leaves

  4. Spindly and woody stem


  1. Enzymes involved in respiration are activated by which minerals?

  1. Sulphur and iron

  2. Potassium and calcium

  3. Nitrogen and phosphorus 

  4. Magnesium and manganese


  1. Which is not a micronutrient?

  1. Boron

  2. Zinc

  3. Magnesium

  4. Molybdenum


  1. What is the function of leg-haemoglobin in root nodules of legumes?

  1. They act as a catalyst during transamination

  2. It carries oxygen to root nodules

  3. It acts as a scavenger of oxygen

  4. They provides energy to nitrogen-fixing bacteria


  1. Among the elements given below, which one has not yet been proved as essential for plants?

  1. Zinc

  2. Iron

  3. Potassium

  4. Sodium


  1. Plants absorb nitrogen from the soil which is in the form of 

  1. Nitrogen oxide

  2. Nitric acid

  3. Nitrates

  4. Free nitrogen gas


  1.  Which of the following components contain phosphorus?

  1. Carbohydrate 

  2. Fat

  3. Starch

  4. Nucleotide


  1.  Obligate parasites are organisms that 

  1. Are saprophytes but can also become parasites.

  2. Are pests but can also become saprophytes.

  3. Consume only dead and organic matter.

  4. Consume living host.


  1.  Which one of the following discovered nitrogen-fixing bacteria?

  1. Pasteur

  2. Lister 

  3. Winogradsky

  4. Koch


Answer Key: 1. (C), 2. (D), 3. (B), 4. (C), 5. (D), 6. (C), 7. (C), 8. (D), 9. (C), 10. (D), 11. (D), 12.(C)


  1. The answer is C as the theory of mineral nutrients was proposed by Arnon and Stout in 1939. 

  2. The answer is D as it contributes to the suspension of the roots. 

  3. The right option is B as it is caused by Phosphorus (P) due to being cold for the uptaking of nutrients. 

  4. Chlorosis in older leaves is the right answer. 

  5. The correct answer is D as Magnesium is responsible for activating enzymes of respiration. 

  6. The sixth one clearly indicates that magnesium is not a micronutrient. 

  7. C is the right choice as it acts as oxygen. 

  8. Sodium is not essential for plants. 

  9. Plants absorb nitrogen in the form of nitrates. 

  10. A nucleotide contains phosphorus. 

  11. Obligate parasites consume the living host

  12. Winogradsky made this discovery in 1886. 


Plant physiology is an essential topic for the class 11 examination as well as for those who want to study botany further. Hence, you need to have a proper understanding of all the basic concepts and definitions. Additionally, you can also go through important nutrition questions and answers for exams which will help you to clear their doubts while also improving your chances of scoring better grades. 

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FAQs on Mineral Nutrition MCQs

1. What is the definition of macronutrients and micronutrients?

Elements consumed by plants in large quantities are known as macronutrients. Examples include calcium, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, magnesium etc. On the other hand, micronutrients, also called trace elements, are those components that are needed by plants in small quantities. Examples are iron, zinc, copper, manganese etc. 


Thus, the macronutrients are required by the body in larger portions while the need for micronutrients remain lesser than the macronutrients. Their consumption is different but their importance is no lesser than each other in any manner. 

2. What is hydroponics?

The method of growing plants in a mineral nutrient solution in water without the presence of soil is called hydroponics. This method is crucial to identifying essential elements and deficiency syndromes. This means that apart from the soil, plants also require water, light, oxygen, and carbon dioxide at their root zone. 


In hydroponics, an inert method is embraced to grow the plants such as coconut fibre and rocks, and their feeding is done as a solution mixed with secondary, primary, and micro-nutrients. 

3. What is the primary criterion based on which an element is considered essential for plants?

To be considered essential, an element must be crucial for a plant’s life processes and without the absence of which it will show deficiency syndrome. For considering an element as crucial, there are three criteria; the first one is a plant is unable to fulfil its life cycle if there is no element, the second one is without the primary element, no other element is able to perform its function. The third one is that the element is a part of plant nutrition directly. 


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