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Assertion (A): Vulture… (Class 10 Science SQP 2025-26, Q9)

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ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Sample paper, session 2025-26 · 1 mark · Assertion-reason

CBSE Class 10 Science sample paper 2025-26: question 9

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2025-26, section A, question 9, for 1 mark. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q9 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonCompetency-basedOur Environment

Assertion (A): Vulture will always have the least amount of pesticides in a food chain.
Reason (R): Vulture occupies the last trophic level and it gets only 10% of energy of the previous trophic level.

  1. (A)Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  2. (B)Both A and R are true, and R is not the correct explanation of A.
  3. (C)A is true but R is false.
  4. (D)A is false but R is true.

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2025-26.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Think about biological magnification.

Hint 2

Energy decreases up a food chain, but what happens to non-degradable chemicals?

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. Pesticides are not broken down, so they build up at each trophic level. This is biological magnification. The vulture is at the top, so it has the maximum amount of pesticides. (A) is false.

  2. The vulture is at the last trophic level and receives only about 10% of the energy of the level before it (10% law). (R) is true. Answer: option (D).

    1 mark

Answer: Option (D): A is false but R is true

Where the marks are

  • States that pesticides accumulate most at the top (biomagnification), so A is false and R is true, option (D) (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

  • Chapter: Our Environment (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)
Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Our Environment, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paperSample paper 2025-26: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.