The Living World MCQ Solved Paper for UPSC IES

1. Which of the following statements are correct about herbarium?
A. It is a store house of collected plant specimens that are dried and preserved on sheets.
B. Herbarium sheets contain information about date and place of collection, names, family, collectors name, etc.
C. It serves as quick referral systems in taxonomical studies.
D. All of the above
Answer : D

2. Which one of the following is not a correct statement?
A. Botanical gardens have collection of living plants for reference.
B. A museum has collection of photographs of plants and animals.
C. Key is a taxonomic aid for identification of specimens.
D. Herbarium is a store house that contains dried, pressed and preserved plant specimens.
Answer : B

3. Identify the correct sequence of taxonomic categories.
A. Species ? Genus ? Order ? Class ? Family ? Phylum/Division ? Kingdom
B. Species ? Genus ? Family ? Class ? Phylum/Division ? Order ? Kingdom
C. Species ? Genus ? Family ? Order ? Class ? Phylum/Division ? Kingdom
D. Species ? Genus ? Family ? Order ? Class ? Phylum/Division ? Kingdom
Answer : D

4. In multicellular organisms, _____ refers to the production of progeny possessing features more or less similar to those of parents.
A. growth
B. reproduction
C. metabolism
D. consciousness
Answer : B

5. As we go from species to kingdom in a taxonomic hierachy, the number of common characteristics
A. will decrease.
B. will increase.
C. remain same.
D. may increase or decrease.
Answer : A

6. Which of the following statements (i - vi) are correct ?
(i) Growth cannot be taken as a defining property of living organism.
(ii) Dead organism does not grow.
(iii) Reproduction cannot be an all inclusive defining characteristic of living organisms.
(iv) No non-living object is capable of replicating itself.
(v) Metabolism in a test tube is non-living.
(vi) Metabolism is a defining feature of all living organisms.
A. (i) and (iii)
B. All except (v)
C. All except (iii)
D. All of these
Answer : B

7. Which of the following factors exclusively affects reproduction in seasonal breeders, both plants and animals?
A. Water
B. Temperature
C. Photoperiod
D. All of these
Answer : C

8. Statement 1 : The species is reproductively isolated natural population.
Statement 2 : Prokaryotes cannot be kept under different species on the basis of reproductive isolation.
A. Statement-1 and Statement-2 are True and statement-2 is a correct explanation for statement-1
B. Statement -1 and statement -2 are True and statement-2 is not a correct explanation for statement-1
C. Statement-1 is true and statement-2 is false
D. Both the statements are false.
Answer : B

9. Match column-I (Biological name) with column-II (Class) and choose the correct option.

Column-I	Column-II
(Biological name)	(Class)
A. Homo sapiens	I. Dicotyledonae
B. Musca domestica	II. Mammalia
C. Mangifera indica	III. Monocotyledonae
D. Triticum aestivum	IV. Insects

A. A IV; B II; C I; D III
B. A II; B IV; C III; D I
C. A II; B IV; C I; D III
D. A II; B I; C IV; D III
Answer : C

10. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct ?
(i) All living organisms have ability to respond the environment stimuli which could be physical, chemical or biological.
(ii) Plants respond to external factors like light, water, temperature, other organisms, pollutants, etc.
(iii) Photoperiod affects the process of reproduction.
(iv) Human being is the only organism who has self consciousness.
A. Only (i)
B. Both (ii) and (iii)
C. Both (i) and (iv)
D. All of these
Answer : D

11. In majority of higher animals and plants, _____ and _____ are mutually exclusive events.
A. growth; nutrition
B. nutrition; consciousness
C. growth; reproduction
D. reproduction; consciousness
Answer : C

12. Which of the following are unique features of living organisms?
A. Growth and reproduction
B. Reproduction and ability to sense environment
C. Metabolism and interaction
D. All of the above
Answer : D

13. X being a higher category is the assemblage of families which exhibit a few Y characters. The Z characters are less in a number as compared to different genera included in a family. Identify X, Y, and Z.
A. X - Order; Y - Similar; Z - Similar
B. X - Genus; Y - Similar; Z - Different
C. X - Species; Y - Different; Z - Similar
D. X - Class; Y - Different; Z - Different
Answer : A

14. Couplet represents the choice made between two opposite options which results in
A. rejection of both the option.
B. acceptance of both the option.
C. either acceptance or rejection of both the option.
D. acceptance of only one and rejection of the other.
Answer : D

15. Refer the botanical name of wheat Triticum aestivum and identify the statement which correctly describes it.
A. The second word belongs to genus and starts with a small letter.
B. Both the words Triticum aestivum denote the specific epithet.
C. The first word Triticum denotes the genus which starts with a capital letter.
D. The first word Triticum denotes the specific epithet while the second word denotes the genus.
Answer : C

17. Statement 1 : Taxon and category are different things.
Statement 2 : Category shows hierarchical classification.
A. Statement- 1 and statement-2 are true and statement-2 is a correct explanation for statement -1
B. Statement -1 and Statement -2 are true; statement-2 is not a correct explanation for statement - 1
C. Statement - 1 is true and statement- 2 is false
D. Both the statements are false.
Answer : A

18. In angiosperm, characters of flowers are used in classification because
A. flowers are attractive.
B. flowers are large.
C. character of flowers are conserved.
D. none of the above.
Answer : C

19. Which of the following characters given below displays the description of lowest taxonomic category of the organisms of plant and animal kingdom?
A. It includes one or more than one order.
B. It is a group containing one or more families.
C. It is a group of related individuals that resemble one another.
D. It is a group of organisms that are closely related and share similar characteristics.
Answer : C

20. ICBN stands for
A. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
B. International Congress of Biological Names
C. Indian Code of Botanical Nomenclature
D. Indian Congress of Biological Names
Answer : A

21. The taxonomic unit phylum in the classification of animals is equivalent to which hierarchial level in classification of plants ?
A. Class
B. Order
C. Division
D. Family
Answer : C

22. The sum total of all the chemical reactions occurring in our body is known as
A. metabolism
B. growth
C. regeneration
D. reproduction
Answer : A

23. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct for Metabolsim ?
A. It is the sum total of all physical reactions taking place inside a living system.
B. All plants, animals, fungi and microbes exhibit metabolism.
C. Isolated metabolic reactions in-vitro are not living but are living reactions.
D. All of the above
Answer : B

24. Select the correct statements (i-v) regarding taxonomic categories.
(i) Each step or rank in hierarchy is called taxonomic category.
(ii) Species is a group of individual organisms with fundamental similarities capable of breeding among themselves.
(iii) Taxonomic studies of all unknown organisms have led to the development of common categories like kingdom, phylum or division, class, order, family, genus and species.
(iv) Lower the category, greater is the difficulty of determining the relationship to other taxa at the same level.
A. (i) & (ii) only
B. (ii) & (iv) only
C. (i), (ii) & (iii) only
D. All of the above
Answer : A

25. Two animals which are the members of the same order must also be the members of the same __________.
A. class
B. family
C. genus
D. species
Answer : A

26. Which of the following is the only taxonomic categories that has a real existence?
A. Phylum
B. Species
C. Genus
D. Kingdom
Answer : B

27. Which of the following taxonomic categories is being described by the given statements (i-iii) ?
(i) It is the basic unit of classification.
(ii) It is defined as the group of individuals which resemble in their morphological and reproductive characters and interbreed among themselves and produce fertile offsprings.
(iii) Human beings belong to the species sapiens which is grouped in the genus Homo.
A. Species
B. Genus
C. Order
D. Family
Answer : A

28. In printed scientific names, only the ______ is capitalized.
A. class
B. species
C. genus
D. family
Answer : C

29. Which of the following is not a characteristic of life?
A. Reproduction
B. Complex chemical organization
C. Adaptation to environmental changes
D. Differentiation from cells to tissues
Answer : D

30. The living organisms can be unexceptionally distinguished from the non-living things on the basis of their ability for
A. interaction with the environment and progressive evolution.
B. reproduction.
C. growth and movement.
D. responsiveness to touch.
Answer : B

31. Match column I with column II and choose the correct option.

Column-I	Column-II
A. Family	I. tuberosum
B. Kingdom	II. Polymoniales
C. Order	III. Solanum
D. Species	IV. Plantae
E. Genus	V. Solanaceae

A. A IV; B III; C V; D II; E I
B. A V; B IV; C II; D I; E III
C. A IV; B V; C II; D I; E III
D. A V; B III; C II; D I; E IV
Answer : B

32. Which of the following aspects is an exclusive characteristic of living things ?
A. Isolated metabolic reactions occur in vitro.
B. Increase in mass from inside only.
C. Perception of events happening in the environment and their memory.
D. Increase in mass by accumulation of material both on surface as well as internally.
Answer : C

33. Te most important feature of all living systems is to
A. utilize oxygen to generate energy.
B. replicate the genetic information.
C. produce gametes.
D. utilize solar energy for metabolic activities.
Answer : B

34. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
A. Only living organisms grow.
B. Plants grow only up to a certain age.
C. The growth in living organisms is from inside.
D. All of the above
Answer : C

35. Study the following statements and select the correct description of botanical garden.
(i) Plant species are grown for identification purposes.
(ii) Labeling of each plant consists of its botanical name/ scientific name and its family.
(iii) Specimens are preserved in the jars and containers.
(iv) It is a type of store house which contains dried, pressed and preserved plant specimens on sheet.
(v) Plant specimen contains a labeling of information about date and place of collection.
A. (i) and (ii) only
B. (i), (ii) and (iii) only
C. (ii) and (iv) only
D. All the five statements.
Answer : A

36. Which of the following statements regarding growth is incorrect?
A. In plants, growth by cell division is seen only upto a certain stage.
B. Growth exhibited by non-living objects is by accumulation of material on the surface.
C. A multicellular organism grows by cell division.
D. Growth in in vitro culture of unicellular organisms can be observed by counting the number of cells.
Answer : A

37. The order generally ends with
A. ales
B. aceae
C. eae
D. none of these
Answer : A

38. Each statement in the key is called _______.
A. lead
B. catalogues
C. manuals
D. monographs
Answer : A

39. Herbarium is a
A. garden where medicinal plants are grown.
B. garden where herbaceous plants are grown.
C. dry garden.
D. chemical to kill plants.
Answer : C

40. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A. The scientific name for humans is Homo sapiens.
B. Organisms placed in the same genus are least closely related.
C. Moving from species to kingdom, more different species are included in each higher category.
D. Species that are in the same genus share very specific characteristics.
Answer : B

41. Which of the following term is used to refer the number of varieties of plants and animals on earth ?
A. Taxonomy
B. Identification
C. Biodiversity
D. Classification
Answer : C

42. Taxon is a
A. unit of classification.
B. species.
C. highest rank of classification.
D. group of closely related organisms.
Answer : D

43. Which of the following statements regarding nomenclature is correct?
A. Generic name always begins with capital letter whereas specific name with small letter.
B. Scientific name should be printed in italics.
C. Scientific name when typed or handwritten should be underlined.
D. All of the above
Answer : D

44. In the given columns, column I contains the terms and column II contains its description. Select the correct match from the option given below.

Column I	Column II
A. Growth	I. Production o f offspring.
B. Reproduction	II. Compos ed o f one or more cells .
C. Metabolism	III. Increase in mass and increase in number o f individuals .
D. Cellular organization	IV. Sum total of all chemical reactions occurring in body.

A. A - I, B - II, C - III, D - IV
B. A - III, B - I, C - II, D - IV
C. A - III, B - I, C - IV, D - II
D. A - II, B - IV, C - III, D - I
Answer : C

45. The fungi, the filamentous algae, the protonema of mosses, all easily multiply by _____.
A. budding
B. fission
C. regeneration
D. fragmentation
Answer : D

46. One of the most important functions of botanical gardens is that
A. they provide a beautiful area for recreation.
B. one can observe tropical plants there.
C. they allow ex-situ conservation of germ plasm.
D. they provide the natural habitat for wildlife.
Answer : C

47. Which of the following statement(s) is/are not correct ?
(i) Reproduction is the production of progeny possessing features dissimilar to their parents.
(ii) The fungi, the filamentous algae, the protonema of mosses, all multiply by budding.
(iii) Many organisms like mules, sterile worker bees do not reproduce.
(iv) Reproduction is not an all-inclusive defining characteristic of living organisms.
A. Only (i)
B. Both (i) and (ii)
C. Both (ii) and (iv)
D. All of these
Answer : B

48. Which of the following statements are correct?
(i) Genus comprises a group of related species.
(ii) Taxon represents a taxonomic group of individual organisms.
(iii) Family comprises a group of related genera.
(iv) Taxonomic category class includes related orders.
A. (i), (ii), and (iv)
B. (ii) and (iv)
C. (i), (iii) and (iv)
D. (ii), (iii) and (iv)
Answer : C

49. Which of the following taxonomical aids is being described by the given statements (i-iv) ?
(i) They generally established in educational institutes.
(ii) They have collections of preserved plant and animal specimens for study and reference.
(iii) Insects are preserved in boxes after collecting, killing and pinning.
(iv) They often have collections of skeletons of animals too.
A. Herbarium
B. Museum
C. Zoological parks
D. Botanical gardens
Answer : B

50. Which of the following taxonomic category of housefly is incorrectly matched?
A. Genus Musca
B. Family Muscidae
C. Order Primata
D. Class Insecta
Answer : C