Question

What does the autotrophic mode of nutrition require?

Answer 1

Hint: Nutrients are defined mostly as sources of foods such as carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc. that are required by both plants and animals for their survival and growth.

Complete answer:
The process by which plants and animals obtain their food and utilize them for their growth and development is termed as nutrition. The mode of nutrition can be broadly divided into two types- autotrophic nutrition and heterotrophic nutrition.

Autotrophic mode of nutrition is defined as the mode of nutrition where the organisms are capable of making their own food, plants carry out this mode of nutrition. Heterotrophic mode of nutrition is where the organisms cannot prepare their own food and depends upon other organisms for obtaining food. Plants carry out autotrophic mode of nutrition by means of photosynthesis where light, carbon dioxide and water are used for the production of energy.

Green plants have an organelle called chloroplast that are located on the leaves which consists of the green pigment chlorophyll that absorbs light. This is followed by series of reactions during which oxygen is evolved by splitting of water and the carbon dioxide obtained is converted into carbohydrates such as glucose that serves as food for the plants.

Note: Apart from the photosynthetic green plants there are certain plants that are heterotrophs. The heterotrophic mode of nutrition are of four types- parasitic where they take advantage of the host to obtain food, insectivorous nutrition where special mechanisms are involved to trap insects, symbiotic where no harm is caused to the host and saprophytic where dead organic matter is obtained as food.