Students investigated how mineral ion deficiencies affected the growth of radish plants. The seeds used in the experiment came from plants that had been self-pollinated for many generations, so all of them were genetically identical.
(a)[2]
Explain the benefit of using genetically identical radishes in this investigation.
(b)[3]
State three other environmental factors that could influence the growth of the seedlings.
(c)[4]
Describe and explain the outcomes for the radishes grown without nitrate ions (group 2).
(d)[3]
Describe the likely appearance of the radish plants grown in the solution without magnesium ions (group 3) and explain your answer.
(e)[2]
Suggest why the radish plants in group 4 showed less growth than the radish plants in the complete solution (group 1).
Worked solution & mark scheme
This 14-mark question has a full step-by-step worked solution and mark scheme. One marking point: “variation among radishes is not a confounding factor” …