Video Transcript
Which of the following most
correctly describes why plants that do not have pests or harmful bacteria on them
are exposed to nuclear radiation in agricultural applications? Is it (A) to kill the plants, (B)
to heat the plants, or (C) to mutate the plants?
To answer this question, let’s look
at the details of how nuclear radiation is used in agriculture. Nuclear radiation is useful in
agriculture in several different ways, always with the aim of increasing how much
food can be produced and how long that food can be kept before it must be eaten. So, if we know that agricultural
applications of nuclear radiation have these aims, we know that using nuclear
radiation to kill plants would not make any sense. We reject option (A). Nuclear radiation can transfer
thermal energy to objects, like water in a nuclear power plant. But this would not be a useful
thing to do to plants. We reject option (B).
Nuclear radiation can also be used
to control pests that eat crops or kill harmful bacteria that damage the plants. But this question specifically
mentions plants that don’t have pests or harmful bacteria on them. Nuclear radiation can be used to
create useful mutations in the plants that can help agriculture. Nuclear radiation can cause changes
in the DNA of plant cells. These are called mutations. Mutations can change the properties
of crops. For example, they can make them
easier to grow or make them more nutritious. Farmers use nuclear radiation to
create mutations in the plants in the hope of changing the characteristics of their
crops for the better.
So, option (C) is correct. Nuclear radiation can be used to
create mutations in plants for agricultural applications.
