Consider the following statements about starch and cellulose.
(A) A high content of starch is found in cereals, roots, tubers and some vegetables.
(B) Cellulose is a straight chain polysaccharide composed only of α-D-glucose units.
(C) Starch is the most important dietary source for human beings.
(D) Cellulose is a predominant constituent of the cell wall of plant cells.
Which of the statements given above are correct? Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (C) and (D) only
Starch and cellulose are both polymers of glucose, but they differ in the form of glucose they contain and in their role: starch is the main storage polysaccharide of plants, while cellulose is a structural material.
(A) A high content of starch is found in cereals, roots, tubers and some vegetables. — True. These parts of the plant store starch.
(B) Cellulose is a straight chain polysaccharide composed only of α-D-glucose units. — False. Cellulose is made of β-D-glucose units, joined between C1 of one unit and C4 of the next.
It is starch that is a polymer of α-glucose.
(C) Starch is the most important dietary source for human beings. — True. Starch, from cereals and other plant foods, is our main dietary carbohydrate.
(D) Cellulose is a predominant constituent of the cell wall of plant cells. — True. Cellulose forms the cell wall of plant cells.
NCERT (2026-27 edition):
10.1.4 Polysaccharides – “(i) Starch: Starch is the main storage polysaccharide of plants. It is the most important dietary source for human beings. High content of starch is found in cereals, roots, tubers and some vegetables.”
“(ii) Cellulose: …It is a predominant constituent of cell wall of plant cells. Cellulose is a straight chain polysaccharide composed only of β-D-glucose units which are joined by glycosidic linkage between C1 of one glucose unit and C4 of the next glucose unit.”