Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The primary function of the placenta during pregnancy is to facilitate the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the mother and the fetus. This ensures that the fetus receives oxygen and eliminates carbon dioxide, supporting its growth and development. While the placenta also allows for the transfer of nutrients and waste products between the mother and the fetus, its main role is to ensure proper gas exchange. Therefore, choices A, C, and D are incorrect as the primary role of the placenta is not to produce insulin or excrete waste products from the fetus. Selecting the correct answer, choice B, highlights the crucial role of the placenta in providing oxygen to the fetus and removing carbon dioxide, which are essential for fetal well-being and development.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Sodium chloride (NaCl) is an example of a salt. Salts are ionic compounds formed by the reaction of an acid with a base. In this case, sodium chloride is formed by the reaction of sodium hydroxide (a base) with hydrochloric acid (an acid). Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and sulfuric acid (Hâ‚‚SOâ‚„) are not salts because they are not formed by the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base, which is a characteristic of salts.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: A) Made up of cells: All living organisms are composed of one or more cells, a fundamental characteristic of life as defined by cell theory. B) Able to reproduce: Reproduction is a key characteristic of living organisms to pass on genetic information. C) Require energy: Energy is essential for carrying out life processes like growth and maintenance of homeostasis. D) Non-motile: While some living organisms are non-motile, movement is common in many organisms for survival activities like finding food, escaping predators, and responding to the environment. Therefore, being non-motile is not a universal characteristic of living organisms, making it the correct answer in this context.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is 'Mass.' Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object and remains constant regardless of changes in its state. When matter changes its state (solid, liquid, gas), its mass remains the same. On the other hand, volume can change with the shape the matter takes, density changes as the mass is distributed differently, and weight can vary with the gravitational pull. Therefore, mass is the property that remains constant irrespective of the state of matter, making it the correct choice in this scenario.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: A concave lens is thinner at the center than at the edges, causing light rays to diverge when passing through it. This type of lens is also known as a diverging lens because it causes light rays to spread out. Concave lenses are used in various optical devices to correct vision problems and in scientific instruments to diverge light rays for specific purposes. The other choices are incorrect. A convex lens is thicker at the center and converges light rays, while a plano-convex lens has one flat surface and one convex surface, converging light. Diverging lens is a general term that can refer to concave or plano-concave lenses, but in this context, the specific type being referred to is a concave lens.