Assertion (A): Sex of the children will be determined by what they inherit from their mother. Reason (R): Women have XX sex chromosomes.
Assertion (A): Sex of the children will be determined by what they inherit from their mother. Reason (R): Women have XX sex chromosomes.
Options
Official answer
Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark for selecting the correct option (D) with valid reasoning.
Hint
Recall which parent contributes the chromosome that determines if a child will be a boy.
Quick oral answer
The assertion is false because the mother only passes on an X chromosome, so she cannot determine the sex. The father passes on either an X or a Y chromosome, which ultimately determines whether the child is a girl or a boy.
Common mistakes
- 1.Students often mistakenly believe that both parents equally determine the sex of the child, or confuse the sex chromosomes of males (XY) and females (XX).
Analysis and explanation
According to the NCERT textbook, all children inherit an chromosome from their mother regardless of whether they are boys or girls. Therefore, the mother's contribution does not determine the sex of the child. Instead, the sex of the child is determined by what they inherit from their father: inheriting an chromosome from the father results in a girl (), and inheriting a chromosome results in a boy (). Thus, Assertion (A) is false.
Reason (R) states that women have sex chromosomes, which is true. In humans, women have a perfect pair of sex chromosomes, both called .
Since Assertion (A) is false and Reason (R) is true, the correct option is D.
- Why A and B are incorrect: Both options require the Assertion to be true, which is not the case here.
- Why C is incorrect: This option states that the Assertion is true and the Reason is false, which is the exact opposite of the facts.
Interesting facts
In some reptiles, sex is not genetically determined at all but depends entirely on the temperature at which the fertilized eggs are incubated!
Question details
Q18 of 39 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 10
- Subject
- Science
- Year
- 2024
- Section
- Section A
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- MCQ
- Chapter
- Heredity
- Topic
- Sex Determination
- Bloom's level
- Understanding
- Syllabus topic
- Sex determination: Brief discussion
Spotted a mistake or something unclear?
Tell us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
How many marks does this question carry in CBSE Class 10 Science 2024?
This question carries 1 mark in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2024 examination.
Which chapter does this question come from in Science?
This question is from the chapter "Heredity" in the CBSE Class 10 Science syllabus.
What topic does this question cover in Science?
This question covers the topic "Sex Determination" from CBSE Class 10 Science.
What type of question is this in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2024 paper?
This is a MCQ question from Section A in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2024 paper.