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Mention the functions of… (Class 12 Biology 2026, Q17a)

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BiologyCBSE Class 12 · Board exam 2026, set 57/5/1 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 12 Biology 2026: question 17(a)

Set in the CBSE Class 12 board exam of 2026, paper 57/5/1, 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 answerSexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants

Mention the functions of each of the following :
(i) Tassels of Corn Cob
(ii) Scutellum

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2026 board paper, set 57/5/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Maize is wind-pollinated. Think about which part of the female flower hangs out of the cob as 'silk'.

Hint 2

The scutellum is the cotyledon of a monocot embryo. What does a cotyledon do for the embryo?

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. (i) The tassels (silk) of a corn cob are the long, feathery styles and stigmas of the female flowers. They hang out and wave in the wind, which helps them trap wind-borne pollen grains (anemophily).

    1 mark

  2. (ii) The scutellum is the single, shield-shaped cotyledon of the monocot (maize/grass) embryo. It absorbs food from the endosperm and passes it to the growing embryo, so it nourishes the embryo during germination.

    1 mark

Answer: (i) Tassels (styles and stigmas) trap wind-borne pollen; (ii) scutellum absorbs food from the endosperm and nourishes the embryo.

Where the marks are

  • States a function of corn tassels, e.g. trapping pollen grains carried by wind (1 mark)
  • States that the scutellum supplies nourishment from the endosperm to the embryo (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2026 board paper, set 57/5/1: 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.