The Living World

7 NEET-UG practice questions on The Living World, part of Botany. The first 7 are below; the first 5 with answers and explanations (tap Show answer after you have chosen), the rest in Learn with a free account.

1. Question 1 · Easy

   In a correctly written biological name, the two words follow different rules. Which description is right?

   1. AThe genus begins with a capital letter and the specific epithet with a small letter
   2. BBoth the genus and the specific epithet begin with small letters
   3. CBoth the genus and the specific epithet begin with capital letters
   4. DThe genus begins with a small letter and the specific epithet with a capital letter

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   Answer: A · The genus begins with a capital letter and the specific epithet with a small letter

   Binomial nomenclature uses a generic name followed by a specific epithet. The first word starts with a capital letter and the second with a small letter, as in Mangifera indica.

   • B: The genus must begin with a capital letter.
   • C: Only the genus takes a capital letter.
   • D: This reverses the rule for the two words.

   Remember this

   Genus takes a capital initial, the specific epithet a small one, and both are Latinised and italicised in print.

2. Question 2 · Medium

   Given below are two statements: Statement I: Felidae and Canidae are placed in the same order, Carnivora. Statement II: Order is a lower taxonomic category than family. Choose the correct answer.

   1. ABoth Statement I and Statement II are correct
   2. BBoth Statement I and Statement II are incorrect
   3. CStatement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
   4. DStatement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

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   Answer: C · Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect

   Cat and dog families are separate families grouped under the order Carnivora, so Statement I is correct. An order is a group of related families, so it stands above family, which makes Statement II incorrect.

   • A: Statement II reverses the positions of order and family.
   • B: Statement I is correct as NCERT places both families in Carnivora.
   • D: Statement I is correct and Statement II is the wrong one.

   Remember this

   The ascending sequence is species, genus, family, order, class, phylum or division, kingdom.

3. Question 3 · Medium

   Arrange these taxa of wheat from the lowest category to the highest. A. Poales B. Triticum C. Monocotyledonae D. Poaceae

   1. AB, D, C, A
   2. BD, B, A, C
   3. CB, D, A, C
   4. DB, A, D, C

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   Answer: C · B, D, A, C

   Triticum is the genus, Poaceae the family, Poales the order and Monocotyledonae the class of wheat. Moving upward gives genus, family, order, class.

   • A: This places the class below the order.
   • B: This places the family below the genus.
   • D: This places the order below the family.

   Remember this

   Names ending in -aceae are families and those ending in -ales are orders in plants.

   Mnemonic: King Philip Came Over For Good Soup (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).

4. Question 4 · Medium

   Match List-I with List-II. List-I (taxonomic aid) A. Herbarium B. Botanical garden C. Museum D. Key List-II (description) I. Pairs of contrasting characters called couplets II. Dried and pressed plant specimens preserved on sheets III. Living plants grown for identification and reference IV. Insects in boxes and larger animals stuffed and preserved

   1. AA-II, B-IV, C-III, D-I
   2. BA-I, B-III, C-II, D-IV
   3. CA-III, B-II, C-IV, D-I
   4. DA-II, B-III, C-IV, D-I

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   Answer: D · A-II, B-III, C-IV, D-I

   A herbarium stores dried, pressed plant specimens, while a botanical garden keeps living plants. A museum holds preserved specimens such as insects in boxes and stuffed animals. A key identifies organisms through couplets of contrasting characters.

   • A: This swaps the living plants of a garden with the preserved specimens of a museum.
   • B: This treats a herbarium as a key and a museum as a store of dried sheets.
   • C: This swaps the dried specimens of a herbarium with the living plants of a garden.

   Remember this

   In a key, a pair of contrasting characters is a couplet and each statement in it is a lead.

5. Question 5 · Medium

   Worker bees do not reproduce, yet they are alive. A sand mound becomes larger as material collects on it, yet it is not alive. What do these two observations show?

   1. ANeither growth nor reproduction can be a defining property of living organisms
   2. BReproduction is a defining property of living organisms but growth is not
   3. CBoth growth and reproduction are defining properties of living organisms
   4. DGrowth is a defining property of living organisms but reproduction is not

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   Answer: A · Neither growth nor reproduction can be a defining property of living organisms

   A living organism that does not reproduce rules out reproduction as a defining property, and a non-living object that increases in size rules out growth. Metabolism and cellular organisation are found in all living organisms without exception.

   • B: The worker bee shows that a living organism may not reproduce.
   • C: Each observation is an exception, so neither property defines life.
   • D: The sand mound shows that increase in size also occurs in non-living things.

   Remember this

   Metabolism, cellular organisation and consciousness define life; growth and reproduction do not.

6. Question 6 · Easy

   Moving up the taxonomic hierarchy from species towards kingdom, what happens to the number of characteristics shared by members of a taxon?

   1. AIt stays the same
   2. BIt increases
   3. CIt decreases
   4. DIt first increases and then decreases

   Answer and explanation in LearnFree account

7. Question 7 · Hard

   Read these statements on naming and classifying organisms. A. In Mangifera indica Linn., the abbreviated word shows who first described the species. B. In a handwritten biological name, the two words are underlined together as one continuous line. C. Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae are both placed in the order Polymoniales. D. Mango and wheat belong to the same class but to different divisions. Which statements are correct?

   1. AA and C only
   2. BA, C and D only
   3. CA, B and C only
   4. DB and D only

   Answer and explanation in LearnFree account