Mineral Nutrition – Notes, Topics, Formulas, Equations, Books, Question & Answers

Mineral Nutrition

Edited By Irshad Anwar | Updated on Oct 05, 2024 07:53 PM IST

Mineral nutrition is the process whereby plants acquire necessary inorganic nutrients from the soil, supporting their growth and vital functions. Mineral nutrition is a very important topic for entrance exams such as NEET since there exists a huge number of NEET questions and MCQs relating to mineral nutrition, like the roles of nutrients and deficiency symptoms. This is a very important chapter for Class 11, which provides a basis for further studies on plant physiology and ecology. The understanding of mineral nutrition truly adds much to one's current grasp of biology.

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This Story also Contains

What is Mineral Nutrition?
Importance of Mineral Nutrition in Plants
Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms
Mineral Absorption Processes:
The Process of Nitrogen Fixation
How many questions come from Mineral Nutrition in NEET?
Is Mineral Nutrition Deleted for NEET 2024?
Tips, Tricks, and Strategies to Prepare for Mineral Nutrition
Weightage of Topics for Mineral Nutrition in Different Entrance Exams
Important Topics in Different Entrance Exams
Types of Questions Asked on Mineral Nutrition in Different Exams
Study Resources for Mineral Nutrition
General MCQs on Mineral Nutrition
Recommended videos for "Mineral Nutrition"

What is Mineral Nutrition?

Mineral nutrition is the uptake, distribution, and metabolism of essential inorganic nutrients in a plant. These nutrients are essential for various physiological activities such as growth, repair, and photosynthesis. Mineral nutrition should be known to students because it is the foundation on which further studies on plant physiology are built. Although more than 105 mineral elements have been identified, only around 21 are considered to be important to normal plant development and growth.

NCERT Books Link:

Importance of Mineral Nutrition in Plants

Mineral nutrition plays an important role in the proper functioning and development of a plant.
The two essential nutrients required by plants are the macronutrients needed in higher amounts and the trace amounts of micronutrients needed by the plants.
The basic nutrients involved in this process include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper, and manganese, among others.
Deficiency symptoms resulting from their lack include chlorosis, necrosis, and stunted growth.

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NCERT Notes Subject Wise Link:

Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms

Those deficiency symptoms can be visible in plants, such as direct results of a lack of essential minerals such as magnesium and iron, in the forms of chlorosis, necrosis, and impairment of cell division, which may, in turn, severely impact the health of the plants.

Also Read:

Mineral Absorption Processes:

Mineral uptake is both passive and active. The xylem, through which all nutrients and water should flow throughout the plant, also plays the conduit. Helpful to know is that among more than 105 known absorbed elements, only 21 are required by the plant.

The Process of Nitrogen Fixation

Nitrogen is particularly essential to plant life, but plants cannot absorb atmospheric nitrogen.
Legumes can transform atmospheric nitrogen into biologically usable forms by symbiotically associating with specific nitrogen-fixing bacteria such as Rhizobium.
This fixation requires the molecule as a reducing agent and occurs typically in an anaerobic environment.

NCERT Solutions Subject-wise link:

How many questions come from Mineral Nutrition in NEET?

The mineral nutrition aspect makes up a part of the NEET exams where one would get to see quite several questions; it is generally around 5-10 in number, and it focuses on this area since the aspect is important especially so in the syllabus.

Is Mineral Nutrition Deleted for NEET 2024?

Thus far, mineral nutrition remains a part of the NEET 2024 syllabus; thus, it is not deleted. Thus, the focus for students should be on this area itself while preparing for the exam.

NCERT Exemplar Solutions Subject-wise link:

Tips, Tricks, and Strategies to Prepare for Mineral Nutrition

To better prepare the topic of mineral nutrition, use the following tips, tricks, and strategies along with mnemonics to help guide your study

Tips and Strategies	Description
Key Concepts	Put your focus on the roles of macronutrients and micronutrients in plant health.
Use Mnemonics	- "NPK CaMg": Remember the major macronutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium. - "C HOPKINS CaFe": For essential micronutrients: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Potassium, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Calcium, Iron.
Practice with Diagrams	Draw diagrams to show nutrient absorption and deficiency symptoms.
Practice Previous Year Questions	Read through questions related to mineral nutrition in the NEET and previous Class 11 annual examinations.
Flashcards for Terminology	Prepare flashcards of chlorosis, necrosis, and nitrogen fixation as some vocabulary terms.
Regular Revision	Schedule regular review sessions to reinforce knowledge and improve retention.

Weightage of Topics for Mineral Nutrition in Different Entrance Exams

Here's a table showing the weightage of topics related to mineral nutrition across various entrance exams:

Topic	NEET	JEE	AIIMS	State-Level Exams
Nitrogen Fixation	30%	10%	20%	20%
Macronutrients	30%	20%	30%	20%
Micronutrients	20%	10%	20%	10%

Important Topics in Different Entrance Exams

Here are the key topics related to mineral nutrition that are commonly covered in various entrance exams:

Topic	NEET	JEE	AIIMS	State-Level Exams
Uptake and Transport of Mineral Nutrients	High	Medium	High	Medium
Phloem Transport (Source to Sink)	High	Medium	High	Medium
Nitrogen Fixation	High	Low	High	Medium
Essential Mineral Elements	High	Medium	High	Medium
Deficiency Symptoms of Essential Elements	High	Medium	High	Medium
Hydroponics	Medium	Low	Medium	Low

These topics are crucial for students preparing for NEET, JEE, AIIMS, and state-level exams, as they encompass fundamental concepts in plant physiology and mineral

Types of Questions Asked on Mineral Nutrition in Different Exams

The following table summarizes the types of questions you can expect regarding mineral nutrition across different exams:

Exam	Types of Questions
NEET	MCQs on nutrient roles, deficiency symptoms
JEE	Conceptual questions on nutrient absorption mechanisms
AIIMS	Application-based questions on nitrogen fixation
State-Level Exams	MCQs on basic concepts like macronutrients and micronutrients

Also Read:

Photosynthesis	Biological Pigments in Plants - Types and Uses of Pigments
Early Experiments on Photosynthesis	Chlorophyll
Photosynthesis in Higher plants	Chlorophyll Structure
Difference Between Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration	Absorption spectrum, action spectrum. and Differentiate between the absorption spectrum and the action spectrum
Photosynthetic Pigments	Emerson Enhancement Effect

Study Resources for Mineral Nutrition

There are many resources from which the students can gain more knowledge about mineral nutrition. There are comprehensive study materials such as mineral nutrition pdf, and NCERTs that students can access on the web. Download the mineral nutrition Class 11 NCERT pdf to learn more regarding the topic.

General MCQs on Mineral Nutrition

The mineral nutrition MCQs are one of the best techniques through which the students can practice the examination. The questions contain important concepts such as nutrient roles, deficiency symptoms, and absorption mechanisms among others.

Recommended videos for "Mineral Nutrition"

Introduction to Mineral Nutrition and Hydroponics

Methods to study the mineral requirements of plants

Macronutrients and Micronutrients

Mineral nutrition is one of the very important concepts, especially for students preparing for exams like NEET, where questions on this topic very frequently come up. While studying, the students may use mineral nutrition PDFs and NCERT materials. Mineral nutrition is also a fundamental chapter in Class 11 biology; it covers the basic knowledge that will be further improvised in Class 12. As of now, mineral nutrition has not been deleted from the NEET 2024 syllabus. So this area should also be targeted for gaining success in the examinations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the importance of purifying water and nutrient salts in studies involving mineral nutrition in hydroponics?

It refers to the process of growing plants in a solution without soil, utilising a nutrition solution. Impure water contains many impurities in the form of dissolved minerals. The impurities in this water will interfere with the experiments used to detect the elements if the solution culture is used to grow plants in hydroponics. Therefore, studies involving mineral nutrition using hydroponics use pure water and purified nutrient salts.

2. When a plant exhibits symptoms that could be caused by a deficiency of more than one nutrient, how would you determine the specific mineral that is deficient?

The solution is to place plants that exhibit multiple nutrient deficiencies in different sets of water cultures. The first, second, and third sets are given with three different nutrients and are grown hydroponically by supplementing one of the deficiencies. When an element is supplemented that is actually deficient, the plant will grow normally without any symptoms of deficiency.

3. The symptoms of deficiency typically appear in the younger parts of some plants, but in mature organs in others?

Symptoms are determined by the mobility of a deficient element. In the presence of an immobile element, symptoms tend to occur in young parts of the plant, and in the presence of a mobile element, symptoms tend to appear in older parts of the plant.

4. What is the process of mineral absorption by plants?

The absorption process can be broken down into two phases. In the first phase, ions are passively taken up into the apoplast, the 'free space' or 'outer space' of the cell. The ions are taken up into the symplast of the cells in the second phase of uptake - the "inner space.". Ion channels are transmembrane proteins that function as selective pores that allow ions to move passively into the apoplast.

The movement of ions into and out of the symplast requires metabolic energy, which is an active process. The movement of ions is known as flux; the influx of ions into the cells and the efflux of ions out of the cells.

5. When using hydroponics, how important is it to purify water and nutrient salts?

Hydroponics involves growing plants in nutrient solutions without soil in a limited amount. The roots of a plant are deprived of oxygen and other minerals when exposed to a limited solution. In order to maintain optimal plant growth and obtain accurate scientific results, water and nutrient salts need to be purified.

6. List five symptoms of a plant deficiency. Describe them.

Chlorosis: is caused by a deficiency in potassium, sulfur, nitrogen, zinc, iron, molybdenum, and sulfur.

Delayed Flowering: Fertilization is delayed by sulfur, nitrogen, and molybdenum deficiencies.

Necrosis: This refers to the death of plant tissues, which is often caused by deficiencies of Ca, Mg, Cu, and K.

Stunted plant growth: The main cause is a lack of sulfur, and Cu.

Inhibition of cell division: This symptom results from deficiency of N, K, S, Mo