Biology · Science General

Diversity in Living Organisms

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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

Which of the following is not a characteristic of organisms of phylum Protozoa of kingdom Protista?

  1. The organisms are unicellular and mostly aquatic.

  2. The organisms reproduce asexually and sexually.

  3. The organisms have their body naked or covered by pellicle or hard shells.

  4. The locomotion of these organisms is by using finger-like pseudopodia, flagella or cilia.

  5. Body is only long, coil-shaped.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Their body shape may be irregular, spherical, oval, elongated or flattened.

Multiple choice

Which of the following eukaryotic organisms has been proven to be of great industrial importance?

  1. Penicillium chrysogenum

  2. Bacillus subtilis

  3. Saccharomyces cerevisiae

  4. Streptomuctes griseus
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) is a eukaryotic microorganism with immense industrial importance in baking (bread leavening), brewing (beer and wine production), and bioethanol production. Penicillium chrysogenum (option A) is also eukaryotic and industrially important but the question specifically notes Saccharomyces. Bacillus subtilis (option B) and Streptomyces griseus (option D, misspelled) are prokaryotic bacteria, not eukaryotes.

Multiple choice

Enzymes are absent in

  1. algae

  2. fungi

  3. bacteria

  4. lactic acid bacteria

  5. virus
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

No enzymes are found in the virus as these are inert particles. These exist as a connecting link between living and non living kingdom.

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

  1. Except mammals and reptiles, no other animal group has the unique arrangement of three bones in the middle ear.
  2. Mammals are osmoregulators (maintain the pressure of body fluids).

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect. Only mammals have the unique arrangement of three bones in the middle ear. Statement 2 is correct. Mammals are osmoregulators, i.e. they maintain the percentage of salts and water in their body.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is/are the characteristic(s) of mammals?

  1. Homodont dentition
  2. Three auditory ossicles
  3. Four chambered heart
  4. Attached placenta

  1. Only 3

  2. Only 1 and 3

  3. Only 2, 3 and 4

  4. Only 2 and 4
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Mammals have the following characteristics:

  1. Heterodont dentation (different kinds of teeth like incisors, molars, premolars and canines)
  2. Three auditory ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes)
  3. Four chambered heart (two auricles and two ventricles)
  4. Attached placenta (The placenta is attached to the wall of the uterus by blood vessels that supply the fetus with oxygen and nutrition and remove waste from it.)
Multiple choice

The word in the passage that means ‘in body form' is _______.

Directions: Read the passage and answer the given question.

The great white shark is at the top of the marine food chain. In the shark family, it is the king that will eat anything, even other sharks. But as it gets older, bigger and slower, it develops a preference for seals, penguins and carrion - especially dead whales.

In locating their food, most sharks use all their senses including excellent vision. Their sense of smell is incredible and their ears are aided by pressure-sensitive cells along each side of their body. Nothing escapes this eavesdropping system, which is attuned to vibrations in the water. Sharks also have a sixth sense which enables them to detect the weak electrical fields emanating from the beating heart or the muscles of a potential prey.

The white shark's most fearsome assets are its huge head, its black eyes, and its razor-sharp, serrated teeth. The circulatory system of the white shark is different from that of most other sharks. Its blood temperature is about three to five degrees Celsius above water temperature. This speeds up digestion and adds to its strength and endurance.

It is known that the white shark spits out its wounded prey after an initial, powerful bite. Then it waits for the victim to die before eating it. Why does it use this bite-and­ spit strategy? Experts speculate that this is because of its eye. Unlike other sharks, the white shark has no eyelid like membrane to protect its eyes. Rather, it rotates them in their­ sockets when a collision is imminent. At the moment of impact, the eye is exposed, perhaps to the flaying, claws of a seal. "Therefore for the white shark a quick mortal strike and release is common behaviour.”

The public image of sharks has been greatly coloured by the novel Jaws which was turned into a popular movie. Overnight the white shark became evil incarnate. However, it is not a demon craving human flesh. The smell of blood does not drive it into a feeding frenzy as it does certain other sharks. Nevertheless it is the dangerous animal that should be treated with caution and respect.

  1. imminent

  2. incarnate

  3. serrated

  4. carving
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

  'incarnate' means embodied in human form.

Multiple choice

Which of the following are the characteristics of Aves?

  1. Forelimbs are modified into wings.
  2. Respiration is not through lungs.
  3. Heart is four-chambered.
  4. They lay eggs.

  1. Only 1 and 2

  2. Only 1, 3 and 4

  3. Only 2 and 4

  4. Only 1, 2 and 4
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

All birds are classified under the class Aves. The characteristics of birds are:

  1. Forelimbs are modified into wings.
  2. Respiration is through lungs.
  3. Heart is four-chambered.
  4. They lay eggs.
Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

  1. The branch of science dealing with the study of birds is Ornithology.
  2. Among mammals, reptiles, fishes and amphibians, the smallest eggs belong to amphibians.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Statement 2 is incorrect. Among mammals, reptiles, fishes and amphibians, the smallest eggs belong to class mammals.