OCR GCSE Biology 2026 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The primary purpose of vacuoles in plant cells is to store nutrients and waste products. These large, membrane-bound compartments can hold various substances, including water, ions, sugars, and metabolites. In plant cells, vacuoles play a crucial role in maintaining turgor pressure, which is the pressure of the cell sap against the cell wall. This pressure helps to support the cell structure, keeping the plant upright and maintaining its shape. Additionally, vacuoles can store waste products that might be harmful to the cell, thus isolating them from the rest of the cellular environment.

While support of cell structure is a function of the vacuole through turgor pressure, it is not its primary role. The other options, such as assisting in respiration or facilitating protein synthesis, do not pertain to vacuoles at all; rather, respiration occurs in mitochondria, and protein synthesis mainly takes place in ribosomes and the endoplasmic reticulum. Thus, the focus of vacuoles on storage highlights their importance in plant cell functionality.