Question

Animal fibre is

• A. Hemp
• B. Flax
• C. Silk
• D. Jute

Hint:

Silk is the most well-known animal fiber, harvested from the larvae of silkworms.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Hemp, flax, and jute are all bast fibres extracted from the stems of their respective plants, so all three are plant fibres. Silk stands apart because it is a protein filament (fibroin) spun by the silkworm to build its cocoon, making it the one fibre of animal origin among the four. So the answer is silk.

Answer 2

We can also separate these fibres by their chemical composition rather than just their source organism.

1. Hemp: Composed mainly of cellulose, the structural carbohydrate that makes up plant cell walls.
2. Flax: Also a cellulose fibre, chemically very similar in composition to hemp and jute.
3. Silk: Chemically, silk is a protein fibre (fibroin, held together by sericin), an entirely different class of biomolecule from the cellulose fibres, since it is manufactured by a living animal's silk glands rather than grown as part of a plant's cell wall.
4. Jute: A cellulose-based bast fibre, chemically grouped with hemp and flax.

Since silk alone is a protein fibre while the other three are cellulose fibres, and protein synthesis of this kind occurs only in animal tissue, silk is confirmed as the animal fibre.

Therefore, the correct answer is Silk.