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How are morphine and heroin… (Class 12 Biology 2025, Q17A)

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BiologyCBSE Class 12 · Board exam 2025, set 57/1/1 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 12 Biology 2025: question 17(A)

Set in the CBSE Class 12 board exam of 2025, paper 57/1/1, section B, question 17(A), for 2 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q17(A) · 2 marks · Very short answerHuman Health and Disease

How are morphine and heroin related ? Mention their effect on the human body.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2025 board paper, set 57/1/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Think of the poppy plant and the class of drugs it gives.

Hint 2

Heroin's chemical name is diacetylmorphine. What chemical change does that name suggest?

Hint 3

One drug is used medically after surgery. The other slows down body functions.

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. Relation: Morphine and heroin are both opioids. Heroin (smack, chemically diacetylmorphine) is made by acetylation of morphine. Morphine itself is extracted from the latex of the poppy plant Papaver somniferum.

    1 mark

  2. Effect of morphine: It is a very effective sedative and painkiller. It is useful to patients who have undergone surgery.

    ½ mark

  3. Effect of heroin: It is a depressant and slows down body functions. It binds to opioid receptors in the CNS and the gastrointestinal tract.

    ½ mark

Answer: Both are opioids; heroin is acetylated morphine. Morphine is a sedative/painkiller; heroin is a depressant that slows body functions.

Where the marks are

  • States heroin is obtained by acetylation of morphine / both are opioids (1 mark)
  • Morphine acts as a sedative and painkiller (½ mark)
  • Heroin is a depressant that slows body functions (½ mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Human Health and Disease, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2025 board paper, set 57/1/1: 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.