What is the answer to the respiratory quotient NEET 2026 question?
Option A, between 0.5 and 0.95, is correct for the respiratory quotient NEET 2026 question. The supplied reaction gives 102 parts carbon dioxide evolved for 145 parts oxygen consumed, so RQ is approximately 0.7.
This is a single-correct Biology question under Plant Physiology. The question bank classifies it as medium difficulty, not an official NEET rating. Its expected solving time of 60 seconds is the question bank’s attempt target, not a measured student average.
Restated question: A biomolecule undergoes respiration according to the reaction below, restored from the official solution. Which listed value or interval describes its respiratory quotient?
How do you turn the reaction coefficients into the RQ ratio?
Put the carbon dioxide coefficient in the numerator and the oxygen coefficient in the denominator. Follow the official solution’s definition-first method: write what RQ measures before taking numbers from the reaction.
Gas volumes at the same temperature and pressure are proportional to their mole amounts. The balanced reaction’s coefficients give those mole proportions, so they also supply the required gas-volume ratio.
- 102 is the coefficient of carbon dioxide. It belongs on top.
- 145 is the coefficient of oxygen. It belongs below.
The substrate coefficient 2 does not enter this definition. Neither does the water coefficient 98: RQ compares carbon dioxide evolved with oxygen consumed, not every reactant and product.
Keep coefficients and subscripts separate. A coefficient sits before a chemical formula and counts relative molecular or mole amounts. The substrate’s subscripts 51, 98 and 6 count atoms within one molecule; they are not the required gas-volume ratio.
How does the calculation confirm option A?
The division gives approximately 0.7034, which falls inside option A’s interval. Retain enough digits to check the interval, then report approximately 0.7, matching the official solution’s rounded result.
RQ is dimensionless because the two gas volumes are measured in the same units, which cancel. The decisive comparison is:
Correct answer: A, between 0.5 and 0.95. A quick multiplication checks the arithmetic:
That is close to the numerator 102. Here, less carbon dioxide is produced than oxygen is consumed, so RQ must be below 1. Use that check, but do not replace the calculation with a memorised substrate label.
Why does reversing the ratio incorrectly give option D?
Reversing the gas coefficients gives approximately 1.42, which falls inside option D. The division is arithmetically valid, but it calculates the reciprocal of RQ because the definition has been reversed:
Use this correction cue: carbon dioxide out on top, oxygen used below. Write it before substituting if you are unsure which way the fraction goes. The original coefficients provide an independent direction check:
An answer above 1 therefore cannot be right for this particular reaction. Rounding cannot fix a reversed ratio: return to the definition and restore the numerator and denominator. The check concerns this equation, not every respiration reaction.
What is the RQ for glucose respiration?
The answer is 1.0, because this reaction produces and consumes equal mole amounts of the two gases. This is original practice question 1, from respiration within Plant Physiology, not an additional verified NEET PYQ.
Question: Find the RQ for glucose respiration represented by the equation below. Select one correct choice.
Correct choice: C. Equal carbon dioxide and oxygen coefficients produce RQ equal to 1 in this reaction. Compare this with the main question:
The supplied gas coefficients decide the answer. Assuming every respiratory substrate has RQ equal to 1 would give the wrong option in the main question.
Can respiratory quotient be greater than 1?
Yes, when the volume of carbon dioxide produced exceeds the volume of oxygen consumed at the same temperature and pressure. This is original practice question 2, from the same respiration topic, not another verified NEET PYQ.
Question: Find the RQ for the balanced oxidation of malic acid shown below. Select one correct choice.
Correct choice: C, four-thirds. More carbon dioxide is produced than oxygen is consumed, giving RQ greater than 1. Unlike the reversed fraction in the main question, this result follows from correctly ordered gas coefficients:
A value above 1 is valid only when the correctly ordered coefficients support it. For your next attempt: write the definition, identify the two gas coefficients, divide, then match the option.
Next step: the past-paper archive on NEET JEEnius AI and search past NEET papers by year, subject or chapter, each with a worked solution (100 free searches a month).
Keep going with Some Basic Principles NEET 2026: Carbocation Donors.
Frequently asked questions
What is the answer to the respiratory quotient NEET 2026 question?
Option A, between 0.5 and 0.95, is correct. The supplied reaction gives RQ = 102/145, approximately 0.7034, which lies within that interval.
How do you calculate respiratory quotient from a balanced equation?
RQ is the volume of carbon dioxide evolved divided by the volume of oxygen consumed. At the same temperature and pressure, gas volumes are proportional to mole amounts, so divide the carbon dioxide coefficient by the oxygen coefficient. The substrate and water coefficients do not enter this ratio.
Why is 145/102 the wrong ratio for this RQ question?
The ratio 145/102 puts oxygen consumed above carbon dioxide evolved, reversing the definition of RQ. It gives approximately 1.42 and incorrectly points to option D. The correct ratio is 102/145, which must be below 1 because the numerator is smaller than the denominator.
What is the respiratory quotient of glucose?
For complete aerobic respiration of glucose, RQ is 1.0. The balanced equation produces 6 moles of carbon dioxide for every 6 moles of oxygen consumed, so RQ = 6/6.
Can respiratory quotient be greater than 1?
Yes, RQ exceeds 1 when the volume of carbon dioxide evolved exceeds the volume of oxygen consumed at the same temperature and pressure. In the article's malic acid practice reaction, RQ = 4/3, approximately 1.33.