Fruits stored in a cold chamber exhibit longer storage life, because

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Correct — C, Rate of respiration is decreased. Harvested fruits are still living tissue that continue to respire, using up stored sugars and giving off heat, carbon dioxide and water while they ripen and age. Respiration is a temperature-dependent, enzyme-driven process, so lowering the temperature in a cold chamber slows it down. A reduced respiration rate delays ripening, senescence and microbial spoilage — which is exactly why cold-stored fruits keep for much longer.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Cold rooms are dark, but keeping fruit out of sunlight is not why it lasts longer. Fruit spoils chiefly through its own respiration and ripening, not through light exposure; a dark room at warm temperature would still spoil quickly.  (b) Raising CO2 is the principle of controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage, a separate technique. An ordinary cold chamber works by lowering temperature, not by deliberately increasing CO2; here the operative mechanism is reduced respiration due to cold.  (d) Cold stores do maintain humidity to stop fruit from shrivelling, but higher humidity only prevents moisture loss — it does not extend storage life the way slowing respiration does. Excess humidity can even encourage mould.

Concept: After harvest, fruits remain metabolically active: they respire, converting stored carbohydrates into energy while releasing CO2, heat and water, and this drives ripening and eventual decay. Because respiration and the associated enzyme activity speed up with temperature, refrigerated (cold-storage) conditions slow them down. Lower respiration means slower ripening, less water and sugar loss, and reduced growth of spoilage microbes — the basis of cold-chain preservation.

State PCS 2021 Q70 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q70 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer