Mineral nutrition

The diagram illustrates several structures, Q, on the roots of a bean plant. Which chemical process fixes nitrogen in these structures?

May/June 2016

A student cultivates seedlings in four separate test-tubes. Tube W has every mineral ion required for healthy plant growth. The diagram illustrates what these seedlings look like after two weeks. What are present in tubes X, Y and Z?

May/June 2018

A student is growing seedlings in four separate test-tubes. Tube W has every mineral ion required for healthy plant growth. The diagram illustrates how these seedlings look after two weeks. What are contained in tubes X, Y and Z?

May/June 2018

The graph illustrates how crop yield (amount harvested) is affected when fertilisers containing nitrogen are used.

May/June 2018

How do plant leaves change when nitrate ions are deficient?

May/June 2019

How does a shortage of nitrate ions affect plant leaves?

May/June 2019

Plants growing in soil with a shortage of magnesium ions have poor growth. What is the cause of this poor growth?

May/June 2021

Insufficient amounts of some mineral ions reduce the growth of young plants. Which effects result from a shortage of magnesium ions and a shortage of nitrate ions?

May/June 2021

A gardener is growing tomato plants in pots. At the start, the plants have green leaves and are growing rapidly. After a few weeks, the leaves become yellow. Which kind of water could the gardener give the plants to make the leaves green again?

May/June 2022

Which row indicates how nitrate ions affect plant growth and explains why this happens?

May/June 2022

Worldwide, more than 100 million tonnes of nitrogen-containing fertiliser are made each year. Farmers then scatter this artificial fertiliser onto their soil.

May/June 2022

Which row explains why plants require magnesium ions and nitrate ions?

May/June 2023

Calculate the total mass of sulfur present in the fertiliser solution made by the gardener.

May/June 2024

Plants may be supplied with fertiliser to support their growth. Some students were given germinated seeds of the same species in several shallow dishes together with a 10% fertiliser solution. One dish is illustrated in Fig. 3.1. The students could use any other ordinary laboratory apparatus.

May/June 2024

A student places seedlings in four separate test-tubes. Tube W has all the mineral ions required for healthy plant growth. The remaining three tubes contain water, all minerals except magnesium ions, and all minerals except nitrates. The diagram shows how these seedlings look after two weeks. What are the contents of tubes X, Y and Z?

Oct/Nov 2015

A container is filled with lake water and set on an outdoor table in sunlight. Healthy plant seedlings are put into the container and left there for $3$ months. Distilled water is added when needed. At the end of each month, one typical mature leaf that has developed over the previous $30$ days is removed and sketched to the same scale. The diagram displays the three sketches that are produced. Why is the leaf from month $3$ smaller than the others?

Oct/Nov 2015

When plants do not have enough magnesium, their leaves become yellow. This is because magnesium is required for

Oct/Nov 2016

A plant that is still growing is watered at regular intervals with a solution. The solution’s composition is then altered, after which the plant’s leaves turn yellow. How can this problem be corrected?

Oct/Nov 2016

Sweet clover is a plant from the pea and bean family (leguminous plants) that grows among grass in fields that are used as cattle feed.

Oct/Nov 2016

Which plant characteristic results from a lack of magnesium?

Oct/Nov 2017

The elements named below occur in every living organism. Which element do plants not take in from the soil?

Oct/Nov 2019

The elements named below occur in all living organisms. Which one is not taken up by plants from the soil?

Oct/Nov 2019

Describe and explain the route by which a nitrate ion in the soil becomes part of a storage molecule in a plant seed.

Oct/Nov 2019

Why are newly germinated seeds unable to develop into healthy plants when magnesium ions are absent?

Oct/Nov 2021

Which two nutrients can result in deformed bones if the diet lacks either one?

Oct/Nov 2021

What is likely to happen to a plant if it does not obtain enough magnesium ions from the soil?

Oct/Nov 2021

Some plants are growing well and have large leaves, but the leaves are becoming yellow. Which factor is most likely to be causing this problem?

Oct/Nov 2022

The graph illustrates how the yield of a wheat crop changes when different amounts of nitrate fertiliser are added. What conclusion can be drawn from the graph?

Oct/Nov 2022

Which processes require plants to have either nitrate ions or magnesium ions?

Oct/Nov 2023

Why are newly germinated seeds unable to develop into healthy plants if magnesium ions are absent?

Oct/Nov 2025