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A ball of snow when rolled over snow inc...

A ball of snow when rolled over snow increases in mass, volume and size. Is this comparable to growth as seen in living organisms? Why?

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Growth in biological terms is characteristic feature of all living organisms. It relates to increase in size by accumulation of protoplasm in the cell thus results in increase in size of the cell. Whereas increase in number in number of cell by cell division results is the size of individual organism.
Snow is an inanimate (non-living) object, while rolling over snow, it gathers more snow on its surface thus, it increases in size by physical phenomenon but not by biological phenomenon. So, this growth cannot be compared to that seen in living organisms.
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Knowledge Check

  • When growth takes place only by increase in volume of existing cells, it is called

    A
    Auxetic growth
    B
    Multiplication growth
    C
    Accretionary growth
    D
    Differentiated cells

  • An irreversible or permanent increase in size, mass or volume of a cell, organ or organism is called as ________.

    A
    growth
    B
    differentiation
    C
    dedifferentitation
    D
    development

  • When a plant cell undergoes expensive growth, the increase in volume is caused mostly:

    A
    uptake of minerals
    B
    uptake of water
    C
    synthesis of cellulose
    D
    synthesis of proteins

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