Photosynthesis in Higher Plants NEET PYQReal NEET & AIPMT 2005–2021 questions, year-tagged, with solutions
By the RankUp team, founded by Dr. Deepak Sahu (MBBS Gold Medalist, NEET PG AIR 1731) · Updated
Every Photosynthesis in Higher Plants question from the NEET & AIPMT papers on this site (2005–2021), newest first. Each is tagged with its paper. Tap an option to check your answer and read the explanation.
- Chapter
- NCERT Class 11
- PYQs here
- 34
- Papers
- NEET & AIPMT 2005–2021
- In the app
- 440+ questions
Photosynthesis in Higher Plants previous year questions
34 questions. Tap an option to check your answer.
Q1NEET 2021
The first stable product of CO₂ fixation in sorghum is :
Not quite — the answer is B.
Sorghum is a C₄ plant, and in C₄ plants PEP carboxylase fixes CO₂ into the four-carbon oxaloacetic acid as the first stable product. Phosphoglyceric acid is the first stable product only in C₃ plants.
Q2NEET 2021
Which of the following statements is incorrect ?
Not quite — the answer is D.
Cyclic photophosphorylation uses only PS I, with electrons cycling back to it so that only ATP is made, so the statement that it involves both photosystems is incorrect. Non-cyclic photophosphorylation makes both ATP and NADPH + H⁺, and stroma lamellae carry only PS I and lack NADP reductase.
Q3NEET 2020 · Q65
In light reaction, plastoquinone facilitates the transfer of electrons from:
Not quite — the answer is A.
In the Z scheme the electron from PS II goes to plastoquinone, a mobile carrier that passes it to the cytochrome b₆f complex; plastocyanin then carries it on to PS I. Reduction of NADP⁺ happens after PS I, through ferredoxin, not plastoquinone.
Q4NEET 2018 · Q91
Oxygen is not produced during photosynthesis by
Not quite — the answer is C.
Green sulphur bacteria carry out anoxygenic photosynthesis: they use H₂S rather than water as the electron donor, so sulphur, not oxygen, is released. Nostoc is a cyanobacterium and, like Cycas and Chara, splits water and evolves oxygen.
Q5NEET 2018 · Q120
Which of the following is not a product of light reaction of photosynthesis?
Not quite — the answer is B.
The light reaction produces ATP, NADPH and O₂ (from photolysis of water). NADH is a product of respiration (glycolysis and the Krebs cycle), not of photosynthesis.
Q6NEET 2017 · Q48
Phosphoenol pyruvate (PEP) is the primary CO₂ acceptor in:
Not quite — the answer is B.
In C₄ plants PEP in mesophyll cells accepts CO₂ (catalysed by PEP carboxylase) to form the 4-carbon oxaloacetic acid. C₃ plants use RuBP as the primary CO₂ acceptor, so PEP is not the acceptor in both groups.
Q7NEET 2017 (Gujarati paper) · Q92
Which statement is wrong about photorespiration?
Not quite — the answer is D.
When RuBisCO binds O₂, one RuBP gives one molecule of phosphoglycerate and one molecule of phosphoglycolate, not two phosphoglycolates. RuBisCO does have a much greater affinity for CO₂ than O₂, photorespiration produces no ATP or NADPH, and it does not occur in C₄ plants.
Q8NEET 2016 Phase 2 · Q113
The process which makes major difference between C₃ and C₄ plants is
Not quite — the answer is C.
C₄ plants concentrate CO₂ around RuBisCO in bundle sheath cells, so photorespiration is almost absent, while C₃ plants lose much fixed carbon to it. Glycolysis, respiration and the Calvin cycle run in both types of plant.
Q9NEET 2016 Phase 1 · Q97
Emerson's enhancement effect and Red drop have been instrumental in the discovery of:
Not quite — the answer is B.
Emerson found that the rate of photosynthesis falls in light beyond 680 nm (red drop) but rises above the sum of separate rates when shorter-wavelength light is given together with it (enhancement effect). This showed that two photosystems (PS I and PS II) work together.
Q10NEET 2016 Phase 1 · Q103
In a chloroplast the highest number of protons are found in:
Not quite — the answer is B.
During the light reaction, water splitting on the inner side of the thylakoid membrane and proton pumping by the cytochrome b6f complex accumulate H⁺ in the thylakoid lumen. This gradient drives ATP synthase; the stroma becomes relatively proton-poor (alkaline).
Q11NEET 2016 Phase 1 · Q143
A plant in your garden avoids photorespiratory losses, has improved water use efficiency, shows high rates of photosynthesis at high temperatures and has improved efficiency of nitrogen utilisation. In which of the following physiological groups would you assign this plant?
Not quite — the answer is B.
C₄ plants concentrate CO₂ around RuBisCO in bundle-sheath cells, which suppresses photorespiration, gives high photosynthetic rates at high temperature and needs less water and nitrogen (less RuBisCO) per unit carbon fixed. C₃ plants suffer photorespiration; CAM plants save water but have low photosynthetic rates.
Q12AIPMT 2014
A few normal seedlings of tomato were kept in a dark room. After a few days they were found to have become white-coloured like albinos. Which of the following terms will you use to describe them?
Not quite — the answer is B.
Seedlings grown in darkness cannot form chlorophyll and become pale, yellow-white and elongated; this condition is called etiolation. They are not mutated (the change reverses in light), and defoliation and embolism refer to leaf loss and air blockage of xylem.
Q13AIPMT 2014
Anoxygenic photosynthesis is characteristic of:
Not quite — the answer is D.
Rhodospirillum is a purple non-sulphur photosynthetic bacterium that does not use water as the electron donor, so no oxygen is evolved: anoxygenic photosynthesis. Spirogyra, Chlamydomonas and Ulva are green algae that split water and release O₂.
Q14AIPMT 2012 Prelims
A process that makes important difference between C₃ and C₄ plants is
Not quite — the answer is A.
Photorespiration occurs in C₃ plants, where RuBisCO also acts as an oxygenase, but is almost absent in C₄ plants because CO₂ is concentrated around RuBisCO in the bundle sheath. Both types carry out photosynthesis, transpiration and glycolysis.
Q15AIPMT 2011 Mains
Which one of the following is essential for photolysis of water ?
Not quite — the answer is C.
Splitting of water in photosystem II is carried out by the oxygen-evolving complex, which needs manganese along with calcium and chloride ions. Copper (in plastocyanin), boron and zinc are not involved in photolysis of water.
Q16AIPMT 2011 Mains
In Kranz anatomy, the bundle sheath cells have
Not quite — the answer is D.
In Kranz anatomy of C₄ leaves, the bundle sheath cells are large, have thick walls, lack intercellular spaces and contain a large number of chloroplasts, where the Calvin cycle runs. Thin walls, intercellular spaces or few chloroplasts describe mesophyll-type cells, not the bundle sheath.
Q17AIPMT 2011 Prelims
CAM helps the plants in
Not quite — the answer is B.
CAM plants open their stomata at night to take up CO₂, which is stored as organic acids and used for photosynthesis in the day while the stomata stay closed. This cuts transpiration loss sharply, so CAM is an adaptation for conserving water in dry habitats.
Q18AIPMT 2010 Mains · Q20
Read the following four statements, A, B, C and D and select the right option having both correct statements. STATEMENTS: (A) Z scheme of light reaction takes place in presence of PSI only. (B) Only PS I is functional in cyclic photophosphorylation. (C) Cyclic photophosphorylation results into synthesis of ATP and NADPH₂ (D) Stroma lamellae lack PS II as well as NADP.
Not quite — the answer is A.
Cyclic photophosphorylation uses only PS I, and the stroma lamellae lack PS II and NADP reductase, so cyclic flow there makes only ATP. The Z scheme (non-cyclic flow) needs both PS II and PS I, and cyclic photophosphorylation does not produce NADPH.
Q19AIPMT 2010 Mains · Q32
Kranz anatomy is one of the characteristics of the leaves of
Not quite — the answer is C.
Kranz anatomy, with large chloroplast-rich bundle sheath cells ringing the vascular bundles, is typical of C4 plants such as sugarcane and maize. Wheat, potato and mustard are C3 plants and lack this arrangement.
Q20AIPMT 2010 Prelims · Q133
C₄ plants are more efficient in photosynthesis than C₃ plants due to
Not quite — the answer is A.
In C₄ plants, CO₂ is concentrated around RuBisCO in the bundle sheath cells, so its oxygenase activity, and with it photorespiration, is almost absent. This is why their productivity is higher. Having more chloroplasts is not the reason, and the mesophyll cells of C₄ plants do not carry out the Calvin cycle.
Q21AIPMT 2010 Prelims · Q141
PGA as the first CO₂ fixation product was discovered in photosynthesis of
Not quite — the answer is A.
Melvin Calvin traced radioactive ¹⁴C in the green alga Chlorella and found that 3-phosphoglyceric acid (PGA) was the first stable product of CO₂ fixation. The C₄ pathway (OAA first) was found later in angiosperms such as sugarcane and maize.
Q22AIPMT 2009 Prelims · Q91
Cyclic photophosphorylation results in the formation of
Not quite — the answer is C.
In cyclic photophosphorylation only PS I works and electrons return to the same reaction centre, so only ATP is made. NADPH and O₂ come from the non-cyclic pathway, which involves PS II and water splitting.
Q23AIPMT 2008 Prelims · Q130
The C₄ plants are photosynthetically more efficient than C₃ plants because
Not quite — the answer is C.
C₄ plants use PEP carboxylase in mesophyll cells to capture CO₂ and concentrate it in bundle sheath cells, so RuBisCO works near saturation and photorespiration is minimal; any CO₂ that leaks out can be refixed by PEP carboxylase. Their efficiency comes from this CO₂-concentrating mechanism, not from simply having more chloroplasts, and their CO₂ compensation point is lower, not higher.
Q24AIPMT 2008 Prelims · Q136
In leaves of C₄ plants malic acid synthesis during CO₂ fixation occurs in
Not quite — the answer is C.
In C₄ plants PEP carboxylase in the mesophyll cells fixes CO₂ into oxaloacetate, which is converted to malic acid there. The malate then moves to the bundle sheath, where it is decarboxylated, so the bundle sheath is where malate breaks down, not where it is made.
Q25AIPMT 2008 Prelims · Q143
Electrons from excited chlorophyll molecule of photosystem II are accepted first by
Not quite — the answer is D.
Electrons leaving the PS II reaction centre are passed to a quinone acceptor (via pheophytin to plastoquinone) before reaching the cytochrome b₆f complex. Ferredoxin accepts electrons on the PS I side, much later in the chain.
Q26AIPMT 2007 Prelims · Q147
The first acceptor of electrons from an excited chlorophyll molecule of photosystem II is
Not quite — the answer is C.
Electrons from P680 pass to the primary acceptor of PSII and then to plastoquinone, so among the options a quinone is the first acceptor. Ferredoxin and iron-sulphur proteins accept electrons on the PSI side, and cytochromes come later in the chain.
Q27AIPMT 2007 Prelims · Q153
In the leaves of C₄ plants, malic acid formation during CO₂ fixation occurs in the cells of
Not quite — the answer is D.
In C₄ plants PEP carboxylase in mesophyll cells fixes CO₂ into oxaloacetate, which is turned into malic acid there before moving to the bundle sheath. In the bundle sheath, malate is broken down to release CO₂ for the Calvin cycle, so malate is not formed there.
Q28AIPMT 2006 Prelims · Q118
In photosystem-I, the first electron acceptor is :
Not quite — the answer is D.
Electrons from excited P700 pass through bound iron-sulphur proteins of PS I before reaching ferredoxin, so the early acceptor is an iron-sulphur protein. Plastocyanin is the donor to PS I, not its acceptor, and ferredoxin comes later.
Q29AIPMT 2006 Prelims · Q161
During photorespiration, the oxygen consuming reaction(s) occur in :
Not quite — the answer is B.
Oxygen is taken up when RuBisCO acts as an oxygenase on RuBP in the chloroplast stroma, and again when glycolate is oxidised by glycolate oxidase in the peroxisome. Mitochondria release CO₂ in this pathway; they do not consume O₂ in it.
Q30AIPMT 2005 Prelims · Q119
Chlorophyll in chloroplasts is located in :
Not quite — the answer is A.
Chlorophyll sits in the thylakoid membranes, which are stacked into grana. The stroma is the fluid matrix where the dark reactions happen and holds no pigment, and the pyrenoid is a starch-forming body in algae.
Q31AIPMT 2005 Prelims · Q142
As compared to a C₃ plant, how many additional molecules of ATP are needed for net production of one molecule of hexose sugar by C₄ plants :
Not quite — the answer is D.
A C₃ plant needs 18 ATP per hexose. A C₄ plant also spends 2 ATP per CO₂ to regenerate PEP (pyruvate to PEP), which is 12 more for six CO₂, giving 30 ATP in total. So it needs 12 extra ATP.
Q32AIPMT 2005 Prelims · Q157
Carbohydrates, the most abundant biomolecules on earth, are produced by :
Not quite — the answer is C.
Carbohydrates are made by photosynthetic (and chemosynthetic) autotrophs: some bacteria, algae and green plants. Fungi and viruses cannot make carbohydrate from CO₂, and not all bacteria are autotrophic.
Q33AIPMT 2005 Prelims · Q164
Chemiosmotic theory of ATP synthesis in the chloroplasts and mitochondria is based on :
Not quite — the answer is A.
Mitchell's chemiosmotic theory says that electron transport pumps protons across a membrane, and the protons flowing back through ATP synthase (CF₀-CF₁ or F₀-F₁) drive ATP formation. The driving force is the proton gradient, not K⁺ or Na⁺ build-up.
Q34AIPMT 2005 Prelims · Q198
Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) has the following range of wavelengths :
Not quite — the answer is A.
NCERT gives PAR as light from 400 to 700 nm, the visible band that chlorophylls and carotenoids absorb. Wavelengths beyond 700 nm (far-red, infrared) and in the ultraviolet are not used for photosynthesis.
How often Photosynthesis in Higher Plants came up
Questions from this chapter in each paper on this site.
- NEET 2021: 2
- NEET 2020: 1
- NEET 2018: 2
- NEET 2017: 1
- NEET 2017 (Gujarati paper): 1
- NEET 2016 Phase 2: 1
- NEET 2016 Phase 1: 3
- AIPMT 2014: 2
- AIPMT 2012 Prelims: 1
- AIPMT 2011 Mains: 2
- AIPMT 2011 Prelims: 1
- AIPMT 2010 Mains: 2
- AIPMT 2010 Prelims: 2
- AIPMT 2009 Prelims: 1
- AIPMT 2008 Prelims: 3
- AIPMT 2007 Prelims: 2
- AIPMT 2006 Prelims: 2
- AIPMT 2005 Prelims: 5
Keep going
PYQs show what NEET asks. For the full Photosynthesis in Higher Plants bank (440+ questions with solutions), use the RankUp app.
