What term describes the nutrition of plants?

• A. Heterotrophic
• B. Autotrophic
• C. Parasitic
• D. Saprotrophic

Answer: (B)

Autotrophic nutrition describes how plants make their own food using light energy through photosynthesis. In chlorophyll-rich cells, light energy drives the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into organic molecules like glucose, which store energy for growth. Because this self-synthesis of organic matter from inorganic sources is characteristic of plants, they are categorized as autotrophs. The other modes—heterotrophic, parasitic, saprotrophic—describe organisms that obtain nutrients from others or from decaying matter, not the general way plants obtain energy and carbon. Some specialized plants may rely partially on others, but the common picture of plant nutrition is autotrophic.