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Q96 (CDS-I/2004) Science & Technology › Basic Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) › Plant anatomy physiology Answer Verified

Assertion (A): Chlorophyll usually show red fluorescence though they absorb blue radiations as well. Reason (R) : In fluorescence, long wave radiations are emitted.

Result
Your answer: —  Â·  Correct: A
Explanation

Assertion (A) is true because chlorophyll molecules strongly absorb light in both the blue (around 430 nm) and red (around 660 nm) regions of the spectrum [t2, t5]. However, regardless of whether blue or red light is absorbed, the resulting fluorescence is typically red. This occurs because the excited electrons quickly lose energy through non-radiative relaxation to the lowest excited state before emitting a photon. Reason (R) is also true and provides the correct explanation via the principle of fluorescence and the Stokes shift. In fluorescence, the emitted radiation always has a longer wavelength (lower energy) than the absorbed radiation [t4, t8]. Since blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light [c4], the energy absorbed from blue light is emitted at the longer red wavelength, resulting in the characteristic red fluorescence of chlorophyll [t1, t4].

Sources

  1. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9173860/
  2. [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006349504735341
  3. [3] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 10: The Human Eye and the Colourful World > 10.6.2 Why is the colour of the clear Sky Blue? > p. 169
  4. [4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5357263/
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