Question

Assertion: Chlorella and Spirulina are used as a food supplement by space travelers.
Reason: Chlorella and Spirulina are unicellular algae.
A. Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion.
B. Both Assertion and Reason are correct but Reason is not the correct explanation for Assertion.
C. Assertion is correct but Reason is incorrect.
D. Both Assertion and Reason are incorrect.

Answer 1

Hint: Chlorella is a green alga belonging to the class Chlorophyceae of the Kingdom Algae. Spirulina is a Blue-Green Algae or BGA. Blue-green algae are not algae actually but cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria is a class of bacteria that contain chlorophyll and perform photosynthesis. Moreover, cyanobacteria were the first group to release oxygen on Earth.

Complete answer: Let us look at the statements that are given to us one by one.
Assertion: Chlorella and Spirulina are used as a food supplement by space travelers.
The given assertion statement is completely true. Algae like Chlorella and Spirulina are used as a source of food. This is because Chlorella and Spirulina are single-celled proteins or SCP. Spirulina is used by the space astronauts as a source of food in the form of capsules when they are in space. Chlorella is known as the space algae as it releases oxygen. Therefore, the Assertion statement is correct.
Reason: Chlorella and Spirulina are unicellular algae.
The given reason statement is not correct. This is because Chlorella is a unicellular alga. It is a non-flagellated alga. On the other hand, Spirulina is a unicellular blue-green alga. Blue-green algae are not algae in reality but bacteria or more precisely cyanobacteria. Therefore, the Reason statement is incorrect.
Thus, based on the above information we can conclude that Assertion is correct but Reason is incorrect. Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: Single-cell protein is an alternative to the protein source for humans and animals’ nutrition. Single-cell protein is the organism that has protein-rich biomass. Single-cell protein can be derived from both unicellular microorganisms as well as multicellular microorganisms. Single-cell proteins are very rich in protein content but they lack fat content.