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RAS question

Bioremediation refers to:

Correct answer: (D) Using living organisms to clean up environmental pollution.

Bioremediation is the use of living organisms, especially microbes, to clean up environmental pollution in contaminated soil and water.

  1. (A)

    Cloning of organisms

  2. (B)

    Using chemicals to clean polluted sites

  3. (C)

    Genetic modification of plants

  4. (D)

    Using living organisms to clean up environmental pollution

Explanation

Bioremediation means cleaning pollution through living organisms, not through ordinary chemical treatment. The EPA fact sheet defines it as using microbes to clean contaminated soil and groundwater, where microbes such as bacteria occur naturally in the environment. The method works because selected microbes use contaminants as food and energy; under suitable conditions, they can change contaminants into small amounts of water and harmless gases. The MCQ explanation also covers fungi and plants, including phytoremediation, as biological routes for degrading, transforming, or removing pollutants from soil and water. This is why option D fits the concept: the core idea is biological cleanup of pollution, whether through microorganisms or plants.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Cloning produces genetically identical organisms and belongs to reproductive technology, whereas bioremediation is about cleaning contaminated soil or water.
  • (B) Using chemicals to clean polluted sites is chemical remediation, while bioremediation relies on living organisms such as microbes, fungi, or plants.
  • (C) Genetic modification of plants is genetic engineering, not the use of organisms to remove, degrade, or transform pollutants.

Concept

This tests the environmental biotechnology part of Science and Technology. RAS often asks such terms because they connect pollution control with applied biological processes.

Source

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