biology : class11 Imbibition versus Absorption : Definition, Mechanism, Examples, Importance : Imbibition MCQ Questions and Answers
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Imbibition versus Absorption
MCQ questions and answers.
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MCQ Questions
1. A dry seed increases in volume when placed in water, even though no living membrane is initially involved. Which process best explains this change?
A.
Absorption, because water enters through a selectively permeable membrane
B.
Imbibition, because hydrophilic colloids of the seed attract and hold water
C.
Osmosis, because water moves into the seed against a concentration gradient
D.
Active absorption, because seed cells expend energy to take up water
Correct Answer:
Imbibition, because hydrophilic colloids of the seed attract and hold water
Explanation:
Imbibition is the adsorption and absorption of water by hydrophilic colloidal substances such as cell-wall components and storage materials. It can occur in dry biological material without requiring a selectively permeable membrane or metabolic energy, unlike cellular absorption.
2. Which observation most reliably distinguishes imbibition from absorption by living cells?
A.
The process causes an increase in the mass of the material
B.
The process involves movement of water into a biological structure
C.
The process can occur in a non-living, dry hydrophilic material
D.
The process may continue until the material becomes hydrated
Correct Answer:
The process can occur in a non-living, dry hydrophilic material
Explanation:
Imbibition can occur in non-living hydrophilic substances such as dry wood, whereas absorption in the biological sense generally involves uptake by living cells or tissues and may depend on cellular membranes and physiological conditions.
3. A dry wooden splinter is placed in water and swells. Which conclusion is most accurate?
A.
The splinter has absorbed water by osmosis through a plasma membrane
B.
The splinter has imbibed water because its cell-wall colloids are hydrophilic
C.
The splinter has actively absorbed water using ATP-dependent transport
D.
The splinter has taken up water only because living xylem cells created pressure
Correct Answer:
The splinter has imbibed water because its cell-wall colloids are hydrophilic
Explanation:
Dry wood contains hydrophilic cellulose and other colloidal components that attract and hold water, producing swelling. This is imbibition, not osmosis or active absorption, because the dead material lacks living membranes and metabolic activity.
4. Why can imbibition generate considerable imbibitional pressure, whereas ordinary cellular absorption is not primarily described in this way?
A.
Water is chemically produced during imbibition
B.
Hydrophilic colloids swell as water is held within their interspaces
C.
Living cells hydrolyse ATP to force water molecules into colloids
D.
A selectively permeable membrane pumps water into the dry material
Correct Answer:
Hydrophilic colloids swell as water is held within their interspaces
Explanation:
During imbibition, hydrophilic colloids attract water and expand. The resulting swelling can exert pressure. Cellular absorption may involve osmotic or physiological uptake, but its defining feature is not the swelling pressure of a dry colloidal matrix.
5. Which pair correctly matches the process with the condition most essential for it?
A.
Imbibition—presence of hydrophilic colloids; absorption—uptake by living cells or tissues
B.
Imbibition—presence of chlorophyll; absorption—presence of lignin
C.
Imbibition—continuous ATP supply; absorption—absence of cell membranes
D.
Imbibition—presence of a vascular system; absorption—complete dryness of the material
Correct Answer:
Imbibition—presence of hydrophilic colloids; absorption—uptake by living cells or tissues
Explanation:
Imbibition depends chiefly on the affinity of hydrophilic colloids for water. Absorption refers more broadly to the entry and uptake of water or dissolved substances by living cells or tissues, often involving membranes and physiological conditions.
6. A student claims that every increase in water content of a seed is imbibition. Which correction is most scientifically appropriate?
A.
Only water entering through stomata can be called imbibition
B.
Water uptake by living seed cells may involve absorption after initial imbibition
C.
A seed can never absorb water because it contains no plasma membrane
D.
Imbibition occurs only after the seed has completed germination
Correct Answer:
Water uptake by living seed cells may involve absorption after initial imbibition
Explanation:
Initial hydration of dry seed colloids is characteristically imbibitional. Once cells become hydrated and functional, further water entry may involve cellular absorption and osmotic processes. Thus, the entire water uptake of a seed need not be assigned to only one process.
7. Which experimental result would provide the strongest evidence that water uptake is mainly imbibition rather than absorption?
A.
Water uptake stops when the tissue is treated with a metabolic inhibitor
B.
Water uptake occurs in dead, dried tissue and causes measurable swelling
C.
Water uptake depends on an intact plasma membrane and a solute gradient
D.
Water uptake is reduced when living cells lose their respiratory activity
Correct Answer:
Water uptake occurs in dead, dried tissue and causes measurable swelling
Explanation:
Imbibition does not require living metabolism and can occur in dead, dry hydrophilic material. Swelling of such material after water exposure strongly supports imbibition rather than absorption by living cells.
8. Which statement best differentiates the role of a selectively permeable membrane in absorption from its role in imbibition?
A.
A selectively permeable membrane is essential for all imbibition but irrelevant to absorption
B.
A selectively permeable membrane may regulate cellular absorption but is not required for imbibition
C.
A selectively permeable membrane prevents both imbibition and absorption
D.
A selectively permeable membrane converts absorption into imbibition by allowing solutes to pass
Correct Answer:
A selectively permeable membrane may regulate cellular absorption but is not required for imbibition
Explanation:
Imbibition is based on the attraction of water by hydrophilic colloids and can occur without a membrane. In contrast, absorption by living cells commonly involves membrane-controlled movement of water or solutes.
9. A dry cotton fibre and a living root hair are separately placed in water. Which comparison is correct?
A.
Both take up water exclusively by osmosis through plasma membranes
B.
The cotton fibre mainly imbibes water, whereas the root hair absorbs water through a living membrane system
C.
The cotton fibre actively absorbs water, whereas the root hair only imbibes it
D.
Neither can take up water because water must first contain dissolved minerals
Correct Answer:
The cotton fibre mainly imbibes water, whereas the root hair absorbs water through a living membrane system
Explanation:
Cotton contains hydrophilic cellulose and can swell by imbibition without metabolism. A root hair is a living cell, so its water uptake is described as cellular absorption and is influenced by its plasma membrane and water-potential conditions.
10. Which combination of features would identify a water-uptake process as imbibition rather than ordinary absorption?
A.
Living membrane, selective transport, and dependence on respiration
B.
Hydrophilic colloids, swelling, and possible occurrence in dead material
C.
Solute pumping, ATP consumption, and transport-protein specificity
D.
Maintenance of turgor, membrane potential, and cytoplasmic streaming
Correct Answer:
Hydrophilic colloids, swelling, and possible occurrence in dead material
Explanation:
Imbibition is characterized by water attraction to hydrophilic colloids, swelling of the imbibant, and the ability to occur in dead or non-living material. The other combinations describe features associated with living cellular absorption.
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