NEETBotanyPhotosynthesis in Higher Plants
What happened when Priestley placed a mint plant in the bell jar with a mouse and a burning candle?
Options
- AThe mouse died.
- BThe candle extinguished.
- CThe mouse stayed alive and the candle continued to burn.
- DThe air became toxic.
Correct answer
C. The mouse stayed alive and the candle continued to burn.
Step-by-step solution
Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) in 1770 performed a series of experiments that revealed the essential role of air in the growth of green plants. Priestley, you may recall, discovered oxygen in 1774. Priestley observed that a candle burning in a closed space – a bell jar, soon gets extinguished. Similarly, a mouse would soon suffocate in a closed space. He concluded that a burning candle or an animal that breathe the air, both somehow, damage the air. But when he placed a mint plant in the same bell jar, he found that