Botany · Ecosystem
NEET (UG) 2023 — Question 99
Identify the correct statements: A. Detritivores perform fragmentation. B. The humus is further degraded by some microbes during mineralization. C. Water soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil and get precipitated by a process called leaching. D. The detritus food chain begins with living organisms. E. Earthworms break down detritus into smaller particles by a process called catabolism. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
- Option A:
B, C and D only
- Option B:
C, D and E only
- Option C:
D, E and A only
- Option D:Correct
A, B and C only
Answer: D
Step-by-step solution
Detritivores break detritus into smaller particles; this is fragmentation, so A is correct. Humus is further degraded by some microbes and inorganic nutrients are released by mineralization, so B is correct. Leaching carries water-soluble inorganic nutrients down the soil and precipitates them as unavailable salts, so C is correct. The detritus food chain starts with dead organic matter (detritus), not living organisms, so D is incorrect. Earthworms carry out fragmentation of detritus; catabolism is the enzymatic breakdown of detritus by microbes, so E is incorrect. Thus the correct statements are A, B and C only, i.e. option D.
Answer key and solution verified before publishing.
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- Exam
- NEET (UG) 2023
- Paper
- 2023 paper
- Subject
- Botany
- Chapter
- Ecosystem
- Topic
- Decomposition