In-text Questions — Asexual Reproduction — How do Organisms Reproduce?

1. 12 marksNCERT Cl-10 Science, In-text Qs after §7.2, Q1

   How does binary fission differ from multiple fission?

   Hint. Count how many daughter cells come out the other end of each process.

   Step 1 — Describe binary fission. Binary fission is when a cell splits into two equal halves, as seen in bacteria and Amoeba.

   Step 2 — Describe multiple fission. Multiple fission is when a cell divides into many daughter cells simultaneously, since this is what happens in the malarial parasite, Plasmodium.

   ✦ Answer: Binary fission produces two daughter cells from one; multiple fission produces many daughter cells simultaneously from one, as in Plasmodium.

   Where students slip. Describing multiple fission as 'binary fission happening several times in a row' — it's a single division event producing many cells at once, not repeated rounds of splitting into two.

2. 22 marksNCERT Cl-10 Science, In-text Qs after §7.2, Q2

   How will an organism be benefited if it reproduces through spores?

   Hint. Think about what protects a spore compared to an ordinary cell, and what that protection allows it to survive.

   Step 1 — Recall what a spore is. A spore is a reproductive cell covered by a thick protective wall.

   Step 2 — Explain the benefit of that covering. Since this thick wall lets the spore survive unfavourable conditions for long periods, it only germinates once it comes into contact with a moist surface suitable for growth.

   Step 3 — State the overall advantage. This means the organism can produce huge numbers of spores that can remain dormant and be dispersed widely, growing into new individuals only once conditions become favourable.

   ✦ Answer: Spores are protected by a thick wall, letting them survive harsh conditions and disperse widely, growing into new individuals only once they reach a suitably moist surface.

   Where students slip. Describing spores as identical to ordinary reproductive cells with no special advantage — the specific benefit is their protective wall, which lets them survive conditions an unprotected cell couldn't.

3. 32 marksNCERT Cl-10 Science, In-text Qs after §7.2, Q3

   Can you think of reasons why more complex organisms cannot give rise to new individuals through regeneration?

   Hint. Think about how a complex body is organised — cells into tissues, tissues into organs, organs into fixed positions — and what that organisation would resist.

   Step 1 — Recall how complex bodies are organised. In complex, multi-cellular organisms, specialised cells are organised into tissues, tissues into organs, and organs are placed at definite positions in the body.

   Step 2 — Explain why this blocks simple regeneration. This carefully organised structure means a random broken-off piece doesn't contain the full, correctly arranged set of specialised cells needed to rebuild an entire organism, unlike in simple organisms such as Hydra or Planaria.

   Step 3 — State the conclusion. Only organisms with a simpler body plan (with cells not committed to such fixed, specialised roles) can regenerate a whole individual from any cut piece.

   ✦ Answer: Complex organisms have cells organised into tissues, organs and fixed body positions, so a random cut-off piece doesn't have the full, correctly arranged material to rebuild a whole organism — unlike the simpler body plans of Hydra or Planaria.

   Where students slip. Suggesting complex organisms simply 'lack the ability' as if it were an arbitrary limitation — the real reason is structural: their cells are too specialised and fixed in position to reorganise into a whole new organism from just any piece.

4. 42 marksNCERT Cl-10 Science, In-text Qs after §7.2, Q4

   Why is vegetative propagation practised for growing some types of plants?

   Hint. Think about plants that can't rely on seeds at all, and about the head start a cutting has over a seedling.

   Step 1 — Note the seed-loss reason. Vegetative propagation makes it possible to grow plants such as banana, orange, rose and jasmine, which have lost the capacity to produce seeds.

   Step 2 — Note the speed advantage. Plants raised by vegetative propagation can flower and fruit earlier than plants grown from seed.

   Step 3 — Note the genetic-consistency advantage. All plants produced this way are genetically similar enough to the parent plant to share all its characteristics, since this is what makes the method valuable for reliably reproducing a desirable variety.

   ✦ Answer: Vegetative propagation lets seedless plants (banana, orange, rose, jasmine) be grown at all, produces earlier flowering/fruiting than seed-grown plants, and reliably passes on the parent's exact characteristics.

   Where students slip. Giving only 'it's faster' as the reason — the chapter gives three distinct reasons: enabling seedless plants to be grown, earlier flowering/fruiting, and genetic consistency with the parent.

5. 52 marksNCERT Cl-10 Science, In-text Qs after §7.2, Q5

   Why is DNA copying an essential part of the process of reproduction?

   Hint. Without it, a new cell would have all the cellular machinery but no instructions for running it.

   Step 1 — Recall what reproduction fundamentally creates. Reproduction creates a new cell (or organism) that must carry on all the life processes needed to survive.

   Step 2 — Explain the role of DNA. DNA contains the information/instructions the cellular apparatus needs to function, so a new cell must receive an accurate copy of this DNA along with its own cellular apparatus.

   Step 3 — State the consequence of skipping this. Without DNA copying, the new cell created would have no organised set of instructions for maintaining its own life processes, so it simply couldn't function.

   ✦ Answer: DNA carries the instructions for running a cell's apparatus, so copying it is essential — a new cell without its own accurate DNA copy would have no way to maintain its own life processes.

   Where students slip. Treating DNA copying as just one optional step among several — it's specifically essential because without it, the new cell has no instructions to operate its inherited cellular apparatus at all.

Solutions written by the tuition.in editorial team and checked against the NCERT Class 10 Science textbook, Reprint 2026-27 (jesc107.pdf) — three in-text question sets (12 questions total) plus one end-of-chapter Exercise (11 questions, not 17 as some older manifests claim). Unchanged by rationalisation.. Questions are referenced from the NCERT textbook for identification.