Pattern 1: "Which hormone does X?" (Direct Recall)
Frequency: High (2–3 questions per year)
| Question Pattern | Answer | Trap Option |
|---|---|---|
| Only gaseous hormone | Ethylene | ABA |
| Stress hormone | ABA | Ethylene |
| Causes bolting | Gibberellin | Auxin |
| Delays senescence (Richmond-Lang) | Cytokinin | Auxin |
| Alpha-amylase in aleurone layer | Gibberellin | Auxin |
| Breaks seed dormancy | Gibberellin | Cytokinin |
| Maintains seed dormancy | ABA | Ethylene |
| Stomatal closure | ABA | Cytokinin |
| Apical dominance | Auxin | Gibberellin |
| Selective herbicide (2,4-D) | Auxin | Ethylene |
| Parthenocarpy | Auxin AND Gibberellin | Cytokinin only |
Pattern 2: Photoperiodism Classification
Frequency: Medium (1–2 questions per year)
| Most-Asked Classification | Answer |
|---|---|
| Rice | SDP |
| Wheat | LDP |
| Tomato | DNP |
| Chrysanthemum | SDP |
| Spinach | LDP |
| Xanthium | SDP |
| Sunflower | DNP |
Pattern 3: Chemical Nature of PGRs
Frequency: Medium (1 per year)
| PGR | Chemical Nature | Common Trap |
|---|---|---|
| Auxin | Indole compound | Students say "terpenoid" |
| Gibberellin | Terpenoid | Confused with cytokinin |
| Cytokinin | Adenine derivative | Students say "protein" |
| Ethylene | Gaseous hydrocarbon | Students say "terpenoid" |
| ABA | Terpenoid | Confused with auxin |
Pattern 4: Named Experiments and Discoveries
Frequency: Low-medium (appears occasionally)
| Discovery | Scientist | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Auxin | F.W. Went | Avena coleoptile experiment |
| Gibberellin | Kurosawa | Bakanae disease of rice |
| Kinetin (first cytokinin) | Skoog & Miller | Herring sperm DNA |
| Ethylene | Cousins | Ripening near gas burners |
| ABA | Addicott & Carns | Cotton boll abscission |