Biology · Science General

Diversity in Living Organisms

3,829 Questions

The diversity in living organisms deals with the classification of life forms into various kingdoms and phyla. This topic covers specific traits of bacteria, animal body cavities, and structural adaptations for survival. These fundamentals are crucial for biology sections in medical entrance and state board exams.

Animal phyla characteristicsBacteria and flagellaBiological adaptationsKingdom Animalia classificationBody cavity typesExtinct organism subphylaJawless animals identification

Diversity in Living Organisms Questions

Multiple choice
  1. Cell wall

  2. Plasma membrane

  3. Nuclear membrane

  4. Ribosomes

  5. Chromosomes

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Prokaryotic cell does not possess nuclear membrane because nucleus is absent in prokaryotic cell.

Multiple choice
  1. Shape of hair

  2. Number of forelimbs

  3. Attached ear lobes

  4. Rolling of tongue

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The number of forelimbs (arms) in humans is not a variant - all normal humans have exactly two forelimbs. The other options are genuine variations: hair shape (curly/straight), ear lobe attachment (attached/free), and tongue rolling ability (able/unable) are all classic examples of inherited human variations that Mendelian genetics helps explain. These traits vary between individuals while forelimb number is constant.

Multiple choice
  1. Humans

  2. Birds

  3. Lizards

  4. Snails

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Many snail species are sequential hermaphrodites, meaning they can change their sex during their lifetime in response to environmental conditions or population needs. This ability is extremely rare among vertebrates like humans, birds, and lizards.

Multiple choice
  1. Pitviper

  2. Hydrophis

  3. Python

  4. All the above

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Pythons, like other snakes in the family Boidae, possess vestigial hind limbs visible as small spurs near the cloaca. These are remnants of their lizard-like ancestors and are used during mating. These pelvic spurs are more developed in males and are the only external evidence of their four-legged evolutionary history. Sea snakes (Hydrophis) and pit vipers show no such vestigial structures.

Multiple choice
  1. tissue grade

  2. cellular grade

  3. organ grade

  4. organ system grade

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Annelids (segmented worms like earthworms) exhibit organ system grade of body organization. They have well-developed organ systems including digestive, circulatory, excretory, and nervous systems with specialized organs working in coordination. This is more advanced than tissue grade (like cnidarians) but represents true organ-system level organization characteristic of complex invertebrates.

Multiple choice
  1. Procoelous

  2. Homocelous

  3. Amphicoelous

  4. Heterocelous

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Fish vertebrae are amphicoelous, meaning they are concave on both anterior and posterior surfaces with a persistent notochord in the concavity. This is a characteristic feature of fish vertebrae, differentiating them from other vertebrate types.

Multiple choice
  1. Bacteria

  2. Algae

  3. Fungi

  4. Protozoa

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Phytoplankton are photosynthetic microscopic organisms that float near water surfaces. Algae are the most common phytoplankton. Bacteria, fungi, and protozoa are not classified as phytoplankton.

Multiple choice
  1. simple diffusion

  2. filtration

  3. translocation

  4. reabsorption

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In unicellular organisms, e.g. amoeba, paramecium, there are no separate excretory organs. They excrete out waste through general body surface through simple diffusion. The biological process involved in the removal of harmful metabolic wastes from the body is called excretion. These metabolic wastes include the nitrogenous materials. Different organisms use varied strategies for this. Many unicellular organisms remove these wastes by simple diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of particles from the region of high concentration to the region of low concentration. Filtration – It is a physical process used to separate solids from liquid or gases. Reabsorption occurs in kidney, which selectively reabsorbs substances like glucose, protein, sodium, which had already been secreted in the renal tubule. These reabsorbed substances return to blood. Translocation is the transport of soluble products of photosynthesis by the food conducting tissues, called phloem. Therefore, simple diffusion is the correct answer.

Multiple choice
  1. mammals

  2. plants

  3. birds

  4. amphibians

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Shedding of body parts for getting rid of waste material is a characteristic of plants. Plants store the wastes in some organs like leaves or stalk, which ultimately die and are shed. In various other creatures like birds, mammals and amphibians, there is shedding of feathers or outer skin or even wings. This is different from the shedding of leaves or stalks in plants, which occur to get rid of wastes which are stored in them.

Multiple choice
  1. 1 and 2

  2. 1 and 3

  3. 1, 3 and 4

  4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

All four features are common to reptiles like snakes, turtles, and lizards. They have scales covering their bodies (1), breathe using lungs (2), and their eggs have tough, leathery shells (3). As vertebrates, they all possess a notochord during embryonic development (4), which is a defining feature of the phylum Chordata. Therefore, all four characteristics apply.

Multiple choice
  1. pseudocoelomate

  2. coelomate

  3. acoleomate

  4. haemocoelomate

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Nematodes have a pseudocoelom, which is a body cavity not fully lined by mesoderm tissue. The pseudocoelom lies between the mesoderm and endoderm, distinguishing it from a true coelom. This is a defining characteristic of nematodes (roundworms). Coelomates have a fully-lined body cavity, acoelomates lack a body cavity entirely, and haemocoelomate is not a standard term.

Multiple choice
  1. coelomates

  2. acoelomates

  3. pseudocoelomates

  4. haemocoelomates

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Platyhelminthes (flatworms) are acoelomates, meaning they lack a body cavity entirely. They have solid bodies with mesenchyme filling the space between the gut and body wall. Coelomates have a true body cavity lined by mesoderm, while pseudocoelomates have a body cavity partially lined by mesoderm. Flatworms are the simplest bilaterally symmetrical animals and triploblastic, but they lack any type of body cavity.

Multiple choice
  1. Presence of four chambered heart

  2. Presence of hairs

  3. Presence of oil glands

  4. Presence of beak

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Both birds and crocodiles are archosaurs that share a four-chambered heart, which is an evolutionary advancement allowing complete separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. This differs from most reptiles which have three-chambered hearts with partial mixing. The four-chambered heart supports higher metabolic rates and endothermy in birds, while crocodiles retain this structure from their archosaur ancestors.

Multiple choice
  1. Poriferans

  2. Coelenterates

  3. Echinoderms

  4. Molluscs

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Echinoderms possess a unique water vascular system (also called the ambulacral system) that operates their tube feet for locomotion, feeding, and respiration. This network of fluid-filled canals is powered by hydraulic pressure and is one of the most distinctive features of this phylum. The term 'water driving tube system' refers to this water vascular system.