Video Transcript
Which of the following does not
correctly describe why plants that have pests or harmful bacteria on them are
exposed to nuclear radiation in agricultural applications? Is it (A) to mutate the plants, (B)
to show the positions of animal pests and bacteria on the crops, or (C) to kill
animal pests and bacteria on the plants?
This question asks us which option
is not an application of nuclear radiation in agriculture. To decide this, let’s remember that
nuclear radiation is used in agriculture to increase how much food can be produced
and how long that food can be kept before it must be eaten. Nuclear radiation is used to
destroy insect pests. This can be done by killing the
eggs of insects or stopping insects from breeding. Harmful bacteria on plants can also
be killed by nuclear radiation.
Nuclear radiation is also used to
alter the DNA of plant cells in order to obtain nutritious or easier-to-grow
products. We must reject option (A) and
option (C), as these do correctly describe how nuclear radiation is used in
agriculture. However, nuclear radiation is not
used to show the position of animal pests or bacteria on crops. This is because knowing the
positions of pests and bacteria does not help in growing more food or in preserving
food.
We can see then that option (B) is
correct. We do not use nuclear radiation to
show the positions of pests and bacteria on crops.
